Carter Hamel
Mrs. Day
Honors 9th Literature and Composition - 4
25 April 2017
Trials and Tribulations
The Great Depression was the perfect breeding ground for fear and chaos. The United States was drastically impacted, and no one could escape its wrath! The Great Depression not only affected the nation’s economy and way of life, but it also had a huge impression on people’s beliefs and attitudes. Life was a daily struggle, and Americans had to adapt and cope during hard times. People feared the unknown and had to be very resourceful. A landmark trial made headlines because “riding the rails” became a popular means of transportation.
Americans were hit hard during the Great Depression which lasted from 1929-1939. “The Great Depression
…show more content…
Desperate times called for desperate measures! Over two million people went on the road to look for work, and they became known as hobos. They wandered from town to town, and the fastest way to get anywhere was to get on a train. “Riding the rails” became the transportation of choice because it was free. However, it was illegal and very dangerous! Hobos would jump, leap, or hop onto a moving freight train and take a ride for free in an open boxcar or on top. “Every time a hobo jumped at a moving train, he was taking his life into his hands” (Morgan). Many lost their limbs or even their lives. In addition, bulls, the railroad police, would beat or arrest hobos when they caught them riding the rails or hanging around the yards. They were vicious! It is reported that over 50,000 either died or were injured from 1929-1939 (Ganzel).
The hobo life was very difficult, and finding food and work was a daily struggle. Since they were considered drifters or bums, they were not treated very nice. All they wanted was a better life. No matter where they went, they could not escape the Great Depression. Since hobos had to catch a train while it was moving, they waited on the outskirts of rail yards in what was known as “jungles”. They were makeshift camps (Ganzel). Hobos even had their own code or symbols to help one another find shelter, food and work (Morgan). Riding the rails became a popular way to travel and past time,
The Great Depression is probably one of the most misunderstood events in American history. It is routinely cited, as proof that unregulated capitalism is not the best in the world, and that only a massive welfare state, huge amounts of economic regulation, and other interventions can save capitalism from itself. The Great Depression had important consequences and was a devastating event in America, however many good policies and programs became available as a result of the great depression, some of which exist even today.
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
The Great Depression was an economic downturn in America that lasted from 1929 until about 1939, making it the longest lasting depression ever experienced by the industrialized world. The stock market crash caused a chain reaction that involved problems such as unemployment, deflation, an increase in debt, and general poverty for lower class citizens. Attempts at escaping the depression weren’t altogether successful. In fact, most of the efforts resulted in high consumer debt as well as over optimistic loans given to the public by banks and business investors. The Depression caused severe political changes in the US as well as its obvious economic failures. After three years of the depression, Herbert Hoover lost the presidential election
In conclusion, the Great Depression was a downside of America’s history. But, in the dark times, one of our nation’s best presidents came into light. Franklin D. Roosevelt once said “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. This meant in those times that Americans were doing more harm than good. When they withdrew their stocks and money from the banks, they were causing more damage to the economy. With shutting down the banks and getting congress together, they were able to solve the dilemmas of the Great Depression through actions taken by federal and state
When most people hear the phrase “The Great Depression” they only associate it the crash of the stock market and the hard times that followed. Here in the Midwest, when we think of the Great Depression we also think of the Dust Bowl and the Dirty Thirties. The Great Depression was a very climactic end to a series of poor choices that greatly affected the entire United States.
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.
A national disaster in American history, the Great Depression of the 1930s had an enormous effect on the entirety of the United States population, and was not specific to any race or gender. The Great Depression, as its title suggests, was a long period of economic struggle in America, lasting from 1929 to 1933, caused by numerous factors such as the crashing of the stock market and the end of technological
The Great Depression was a devastating time for many Americans. From 1929 to 1932, the US experienced an economic downturn that was calamitous to the lives of many people. Millions upon millions of Americans lost everything when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. After exiting an era that left people living a life of luxury, the stock market crash came as a surprise. As a result of the stock market crash, many became unemployed and many families were being forced to close their businesses. Although there were many factors that contributed to the cause of the Great Depression, the three main causes were The Stock Market Crash of 1929, high unemployment, a decrease in consumer purchases due to being “stuffed with stuff” during the roaring twenties.
A hobo is homeless person who wanders from place to place with no permanent home. Many schools and business closed down due to the low numbers of young people. About 250,000 young people,from ages 16-25 years old, left their homes in looking for a better life. About 2 million of the hobos during the Great Depression(1929-1939) were men and 8,000 were women.“Hobo signs helped hobos find proper medical treatment, clean water, and a sanctuary”(New). Some hobo’s turned to be successful and famous. Louis L’amar was a famous author, Art Linkletter became a tv personality William O. Douglas became a Supreme Court Justice. Hobos didn’t have good clothes, and went days without food. With riding trains being an option, many thought that jumping off and on to train carts was too dangerous. So they stood on
The Great Depression time period took place between the years 1929 and 1939 and it affected millions of Americans through all its time. Several people like Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, and Dorothea Lange served an impact during this time. The stock crash of this time period left a decade of consequences for the lives of many Americans. The economic plumet of the 1930’s can also be related to our economic standings today.
The Great Depression is one of the most misunderstood events in not only American history but also Great Britain, France, Germany, and many other industrialized nations. It also has had important consequences and was an extremely devastating event in America. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world. When the New York Stock Exchange crashed in October 1929, the United States dropped sharply into a major depression. The world was in wide demand for agricultural goods during World War I, but they had rapidly decreased after the war and rural America experienced a severe depression throughout most of the 1920's and even on into the 1930's.
Particularly, the Great Depression was a long, tough, and sad time for America. It caused a tremendously large decline in the economy and increased
In the 1930s, things were not looking good. America’s economy was not any good after the crash of the stock market. This brought a lot of depression to the US and destroyed our economy. This resulted in multiple problems for the American people and the government, thus, this age was named, The Great Depression. Americans people faced multiple problems during the Great Depression and they must overcome it somehow.
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.
The Great Depression is a defining moment in time for not only American, but world history. This was a time that caused political, economical, and social unrest. Not only did the Great Depression cause a world wide panic, it also caused a world wide crisis unlike any before it. This paper will analyze both the causes and the effects of the Great Depression in the United States of America.