Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Summer II/Section 013/Watkins Abernathy

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Overview[edit | edit source]

Watkins Abernathy was a white farmer living in southern North Carolina during the Great Depression. He was a beloved father and husband and was well-liked by his community. Abernathy was interviewed on his family's farm on October 22, 1938.

Great Depression farmer checking on his crops.

Biographical Information[edit | edit source]

Early Life

Watkins Abernathy was born in 1872 in Newton Grove, a small, rural town in North Carolina. At a young age, he married a woman and they had a son together. Shortly after their son died, Abernathy's first wife also died, unexpectedly. He then married his second wife who had 11 children, 6 boys and 5 girls. They lived in a small home, nearly one-hundred yards from the road.[1]

He was a successful farmer and grew most of his food and all of his meat himself. Abernathy grew cotton, tobacco, and corn. He was also an avid supporter of the Republican Party. Abernathy was an active member of his church, Hoophole Christian Church and served as a deacon for more than 15 years. The title of "deacon" was a title that Abernathy was extremely proud of. Although he was a religious man, many believed he was an alcoholic.[2]

Late Life

Abernathy injured a nerve in his leg and was told that he could not work on his farm anymore. He then sold the twenty-one-acre farm to a local businessman and paid rent on a portion for many more years. After selling his farm, Abernathy spent time visiting filling-stations in Newton Grove by daymand strolling around the town of Clinton's Courthouse by night. He was known throughout his community as an honest and hard-working man. Abernathy was proud of his family and their farm, which is where the interview was conducted on October 22, 1938.[3]

Political Issues[edit | edit source]

The Republican Party and Political Reform

Many southern men, especially white farmers, supported the Republican Party during the time period of the Great Depression.[4] The Republican Party had control over the economy and was very influential. "A surface explanation for the quick rise and fall of the GOP House majority of 1928 is the Great Depression. As the party in power, Republicans owned the economy, and voters punished them for it."[5] The Progressive Movement and other political developments were surfacing during the 1920's and they "were a period made almost unique by an extraordinary reaction against idealism and reform."[6] Southern white men were not in favor of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's belief that Americans could become rich easily, as they knew first-hand that this was not true.[7] Many southern men supported the Republican Party and did not support FDR during the Great Depression which caused a political divide among the United States.[8] Therefore, reform was encouraged and the New Deal was introduced. The New Deal healed the conflict in the United States by establishing economic programs and other regulations that gave Americans hope for the future.[9]

Social Issues[edit | edit source]

Alcoholism during the Great Depression

Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol.

Alcoholism was a prominent issue among many people during the Great Depression. Many alcoholics turned to alcohol because of the economic stress they were under. The Great Depression eliminated Prohibition, which also caused an increase in the consumption of alcohol during the time period.[10] It is said that during the Great Depression, "Bootleggers were becoming rich on the profits of illegal alcohol sales and violence was on the rise. But it wasn't until the Great Depression that the repeal movement truly gained steam."[11] Many Americans argued that the United States needed the money alcohol provided through taxes to help the weak economy. However, the reverse of Prohibition caused an increase in crime, crooked public officials, and an overwhelmed court system.[12]

Economic Issues[edit | edit source]

Southern Farmers and Financial Stress

During the Great Depression, farmers were under an extreme amount of stress. After the stock market crashed, farm owners had to shut down their farms and fire many workers as a result. Bankruptcy was common among farmers due to the high interest rates.[13] "Financial stress turned to crisis when declines in farm commodity prices, income, assets and land values made it difficult for some farmers to service their debt."[14] The economic struggles that farmers faced often caused them to turn to alcoholism. There were also farm strikes led by angry farmers in North Carolina and other states throughout the United States. Farmers had become desperate, many barely surviving due to low crop prices and increasing farm foreclosures. According to many, "Legislative action had long been a goal of the Farmers' Holiday Movement..."[15] Farmers wanted legislative action after the financial burden they had been under throughout the Great Depression. The federal government required farmers to perform many new tests on farm animals. However, farmers revolted against the government to protect their animals and violent protests were the result.[16]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Interview, Foster, William O. on Watkins Abernathy, October 22, 1938, Federal Writers' Project papers #3709, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  2. ↑ Ibid.
  3. ↑ Ibid.
  4. ↑ Ibid.
  5. ↑ Zeitz, Josh. “What Happened the Last Time Republicans Had a Majority This Huge?” November 15, 2014. https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/11/1928-congress-last-time-republicans-had-a-majority-this-huge-112913.
  6. ↑ Link, Arthur S. "What Happened to the Progressive Movement in the 1920's?" The American Historical Review 64, no. 4 (1959): 833-51. doi:10.2307/1905118. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1905118.
  7. ↑ Interview, Foster, William O. on Watkins Abernathy, October 22, 1938, Federal Writers' Project papers #3709, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  8. ↑ Ibid.
  9. ↑ History.com Editors. “New Deal.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, November 27, 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/new-deal.
  10. ↑ Greenspan, Jesse. “How the Misery of the Great Depression Helped Vanquish Prohibition,” February 22, 2019. https://www.history.com/news/great-depression-economy-prohibition.
  11. ↑ Ibid.
  12. ↑ Thornton, Mark. “Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure.” Cato Institute. June 18, 2020. https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/alcohol-prohibition-was-failure.
  13. ↑ Franks, Jeremy R. “Predicting financial stress in farm businesses.” European Review of Agricultural Economics 25, no. 1 (Aug. 1997): 30-52. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/25.1.30.
  14. ↑ Ibid.
  15. ↑ Anderson, Wayne Gary. "Honest to Goodness Farmers: Rural Iowa in American Culture during the Great Depression." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis, The University of Iowa, 2014. https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.du2s2fvh.
  16. ↑ Ibid.
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