HIS-FPX1150_Assessment4-1

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Capella University *

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1150

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Economics

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Jan 9, 2024

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docx

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Living History The Great Depression: From One’s Perspective December 29, 2023 HIS-FPX1150_ Assessment4-1 The Great Depression was worst economic downturn in our country’s history and caused an anguished impact on my life in my early adulthood. It all began in 1929, when I thought it was just a typical problem that could be resolved and we would keep living our regular lives. The

economic expansion during the “Roaring Twenties” came to an abrupt end. The onset of the Great Depression came, as most people at the time saw it, with shocking suddenness (Himmelberg, R. F., 2000). The New York Stock Exchange suffered an unprecedented 50% when investors panicked and swiftly liquidated 16 million shares of stock, losing hope in the American economy. Prior to October 24, 1929, as an upper-middle-class professional, my family had enjoyed financial security. Then, on that dreadful historic day, my family began to face and worry about financial instability. I will never forget the struggles my family went through at the time. My work informed us that there will be a thirty percent pay decrease because of the way the economy fell. We all attempted to live a normal life. I had to do things that I had never previously performed. For instance, in order to be self-sufficient, I had to establish and maintain a little kitchen farm to help. Even though my family was little, I had difficult times supporting them. In order to support the family, my wife had to work, even if it was only a one-day or one-week job. And there was always the Saturday night ordeal as to whether or not I would get home with a paycheck (Rauchway, E., 2008). Most people, including my friends, had comparable problems to what I had. One of my friends once moved away from his family because he felt ashamed of his inability to support them. I know people who have had to give everything up and moved to communities of shacks on the edges of cities or landfills that, soon enough, Americans learned to call “Hoovervilles.” (Rauchway, E., 2008). I lost my life savings as well. My only options were to take on the burden and live, or to ignore it and not live at all. I pulled my kids out of private school and got a second job. Despite the numerous negative effects, the Great Depression had on my life, I am a stronger person now than I was before.

The Great Depression was, as I just mentioned, the worst economic downturn of my lifetime. It changed my regular, everyday existence and made it into a life I never would have imagined for me and my family. Since it started four years ago, I have juggled multiple jobs to support my family, who were enjoying a happy and secure life before to the economic collapse. I was always teetering on the verge of becoming unemployed. Before this, I had a life savings and was financially secure. But as the Great Depression set in, all of my savings vanished and life became one of hardships. The Great Depression forced me to accept a new way of living and a certain degree of thrift. Moving my family to live with my parents when I had to move out of my house to avoid debt that would have prevented us from eating was another difficulty. I had to sell my cars for less money than their worth so I could utilize the proceeds to start and run a produce farm that my family could use. Since the prices of agricultural products have dropped by more than 70% from their prior market worth, I did not cultivate for commercial use. After I took the kids out of boarding school, I gave them agricultural training so they could assist on the farm. People in the community who depended on farm produce for their daily requirements had to adjust to their difficult circumstances because the money they received from selling their produce was insufficient to even meet their basic need. People found solace and hope in the church and the support of their family. Africa Americans suffered even more. The precipitous decline in employment options and wages brought about by the Great Depression hit African American domestic workers particularly hard with lowered wages, and increased hours by employers’ demands ( Stewart, C. A., 2021). Even those with higher education qualifications, found employment difficult to achieve. The Great Depression forced men and women to compete

for the few jobs that were available, even temporary ones, in a community and society where women had not historically participated substantially in the workforce. It surprised me to see how many women were joining the workforce to help support their families and spouses. It even forced my wife to take a job as a secretary. The majority of the occupations they engaged in were such like telephone operators, secretaries, and teachers, which at the time were seen by males as socially taboo. As the nation descended into the Great Depression, an unusual circumstance devasted families and moved thousands of children into foster homes and orphanages ( Morton, M. J., 2000). Some of my children’s friends were placed in foster care because their parents could not afford to take care of them. And I have heard some gave up their children to orphanages because they have lost hope of ever caring for their offspring. The Great Depression was linked to a number of problems. One of the main problems was unemployment. It was the highest unemployed rate in our nation's history, at 24.7% of the total population. The other event involved many bank collapses, partly due to a decline in public trust in banking, which resulted in depositor "runs," or massive cash withdrawals, forcing banks to liquidate and file for bankruptcy (Himmelberg, R. F., 2000). Along with the stock market's collapse came the forced closure of financial institutions. Both individuals and businesses lost a substantial sum of money, if not all of it. The largest and most devastating economic downturn in history was the Great Depression. It was marked by sharp fluctuations in industrial production and prices (deflation), a rise in the unemployment rate, panics in financial institutions, and sharp rises in the rates of food insecurity, destitution, and unstable housing. Almost every country on the planet was impacted throughout its roughly ten-year duration. The economic crisis had its worst impacts in America, where GDP decreased by 30%, unemployment increased to over 25%,

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