A Comprehensive Examination of The Far-Reaching Effects of The Great Depression

Many consider the Great Depression a tragedy but few actually know the ways in which it actually affected the people who lived through it. One way it affected the people of the time is the hopelessness it brought. During the early 1920's many men returned from the "Great War" jaded and angry. The same effect was seen in most people during the depression. It was this hopelessness that spawned modernist literature and thought. Another way the depression affected the everyday man was the loss of homes. Many homes were foreclosed during the depression and this left many homeless. In fact the "Okies" were people left homeless after farm foreclosures. The last way the depression affected people was the broken homes it caused. The number of father's leaving their families rose dramatically during

People packed up their homes with their families and lived out of their cars to try and have money to survive this drastic depression. People willingly traveled to try and find work to keep their spirits uplifted. This depression left people not knowing how they were going to provide their next meal. Many farmers even lost their land during the depression, some farmers even left their land because they did not have the means to to provide upkeep for it. Also during this time people had poor sanitation they were hardly ever able to take baths.

The Great Depression (1929-39) was the deepest and the longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. It was caused by the stock market crash of 1929. Millions of investors were left hold worthless stocks and bonds. If you didn't have cash at the time then your fortune was gone. Money on paper was not worth the ink it took to print the bonds.

The Great Depression was a very influential era in American history, affecting many future generations. One of the most prevalent impacts it had on society was the extreme poverty that swept across the nation, affecting both people in cities and in the country. The main cause for this poverty was the mass loss of jobs among the middle class. Millions lost their jobs and consequently their homes. Families lived out of tents and cars in shanty towns or Hoovervilles. In these camps, many people didn’t have their basic human needs met, children and adults alike starved. They lived in clothes that were caked in dirt and tattered, too small for growing children and too cold for the frail elderly. Government relief programs attempted to help but offered little support to the now impoverished families of the millions that lost everything.

The Depression changed social structure in America forever. “The real story of the 1930’s is how individual families endured and survived, whether battling the despair of hunger and unemployment in the city of the fear of unending drought and forced migration in the dust bowl of the Great plains.” (Press, Petra pg 6)

The Great Depression transformed American society and the way people thought about themselves and their relationship to the country. During this horrendous time period, many people lost many important pieces in their lives like money and jobs. Millions of families lost their savings as many banks collapsed in the early 1930s. They were unable to make rent payments or mortgage and many were removed from their apartments. The Great Depression challenged American families in vital ways, placing great economic demands upon families and their members.

2. The depression lasted from 1930 to 1941, and it impacted the poor, such as delaying marriages, dropping the birth rate and many children became sick and ill. However on the other hand the wealth were not as affected because they could afford more of a loss with their crops.

Cecchetti, Stephen G. "Understanding the Great Depression: Lessons for Current Policy ." Monetary Economics (1997): 1-26.

Americans felt desperation during the time of great economic shortage. If they were to survive this era, they needed to condition themselves mentally and psychologically for the tougher times that might stretch on for years on end. Millions of families lost their savings as numerous banks collapsed in the early 1930’s. Incapable of making mortgage or rent payments, many were deprived of their homes or were evicted from their apartments. Working and middle class families were immensely affected by the Depression. The cultural change that happened in America during the Great Depression can be divided into two types: one was type of culture that accepting and embracing the extreme poverty and by finding logical ways to stay alive. The other

During the Great Depression roughly 25% of the workers were 15 years old or younger, 20% of the children were starving and didn’t have access to new clothes and other necessities and about 40% of the young adults 16-24 were either unemployed or not in school. This shows that a great majority of the youth living during this time were not able to experience a normal childhood where they went to school and came home to play with their friends, because they had to work and were not able to attend school and get a proper education. Most of the kids also went to bed starving because their families could not afford to pay for food. Living as a child during the Great Depression was incredibly challenging

On Thursday, October 24, 1929, United States witnessed it’s first national crisis when the stock market crashed. It was eight months after former President Herbert Hoover was elected. The Great Depression caused a myriad of changes in American economic policies and society, many of which linger to this day. In the onset of the Great Depression many American were shocked into poverty. The Great Depression challenged American families in major ways, placing great social, economic and psychological strains. Many ethnic minorities like Mexican Indians, American Indians, and the African Americans fared rather poorly.

The Great Depression caused families in many areas to endure hardships. The unemployment rate was at 25% in 1929, many men, women, and even some children begged and searched for jobs everyday, some even hopped on trains in hope that they would find a job. Many people, mainly men were hostile with women because they found that women could find a job easier than a man, although women were also going through the same hardships. Not only was unemployment part of the suffering people went through, many people while jobless lived in shacks made of whatever they could find out of the garbage or debris from roads. Many people who had families made houses out of crates or rusted out car bodies, some men would show up at homeless shelters while searching

During this time period of the Great Depression the U.S went through many social and economic changes. From 1929-1939 people suffered the effects of the stock market crash, business failures and bank collapses. People took their money out of banks which made the economy worse and put us deeper into a depression. There was an increase in unemployment and many families lost their jobs which caused them to lose their homes and savings. Many husbands abandoned their wives and many people starved. The streets were filled with garbage and filth. Throughout the depression woman were largely effected in many ways.

The 1920s seemed to promise a future of a new and wonderful way of life for America and its citizens . Modern science, evolving cultural norms, industrialization, and even jazz music heralded exciting opportunities and a future that only pointed up toward a better life. However, cracks in the facade started to show, and beginning with the stock market crash of 1929 the wealth of the country, and with it the hopes and expectations of its people, began to slip away. The Great Depression left a quarter of the population unemployed and much of the rest destitute and uncertain of what the future held. Wealth vanished, people took their money out of banks, and plans were put on hold. The most significant way in which the Great Depression affected Americans’ everyday lives was through poverty because it tore relationships apart and damaged the spirit of society while unexpectedly bringing families together in unity.

What was the world’s greatest economic disaster and left millions of citizens unemployed for years? The Great Depression was a major economic disaster which left the people of the world shocked. Many countries were already left in a bad position due to the effect of World War I. Countries that bought and sold on the international market were affected. The United Kingdom, France, and Germany were just a few of the affected countries that had a difficult time getting their country back to great economic shape.