Depression

Today, 75% of the world’s carpets and rugs are produced in Dalton, Georgia. Historians explain the humble origins of the tufted bedspread in 1893 and the rise of Bedspread Alley on Highway 41. 

Dan Carter, a historian at Emory University, explains how the stock market crash triggered the Great Depression and led to a downward economic spiral of factories and banks closing, job losses, and no money for food, clothing, or any of life’s necessities. Wilkes County resident Russell Slayton and his daughter Betty discuss life in Georgia in those days, along with Mabel Johnson, who was a young girl at the time. Carter reports that conditions began to improve with the election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932. Many New Deal programs came to Georgia and gave people a boost.

Horace Hampton, a former Depression-era hobo, recounts his experiences of life on the road. W. P. Scott, retired University of Georgia professor, also comments on the challenging history of seeking work in America.