Decade of Despair: Winnebago County During the Great Depression by Werner E. Braatz and Thomas J. Rowland

Badger, Anthony J. .The New Deal: The Depression Years, 1933- 1940. 1989. Reprint. Chicago : Ivan R. Dee, 2002. Print.

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 stock market crash of 1929 sent the nation spiraling into a state of economic paralysis that became known as the Great Depression. As industries shrank and businesses collapsed or cut back, up to 25% of Americans were left unemployed. At the same time, the financial crisis destroyed the life savings of countless Americans (Modern American Poetry). Food, housing and other consumable goods were in short supply for most people (Zinn 282). This widespread state of poverty had serious social repercussions for the country.

It is common knowledge that the Great Depression happened when the stock market crashed of October of 1929. The entire U.S. fell into economic depression, while in Oklahoma, pieces of it varied. Long before the stock market incident on Wall Street, Oklahoma’s communities and industries were already in severe depression, meaning the Great Depression made things go from bad to worse. Some of the New Deal projects were contributors to making it the very worst years of the depression in Oklahoma by the end of the 1930s (pg. 218). A portrayal of Oklahoma’s experience before and during the Great Depression was the fate of E.W. Marland. Marland was last seen managing over the construction of his mansion. After it was completed in 1928, he moved in with his wife. However, a couple of

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 of the 1930's is a benchmark for all depressions and recessions in the past and in the future. In the booklet "The Great Depression of the 1930s in Canada" , Michiel Horn gives an intellectual dissection of the events that occurred during the Great Depression. Michiel Horn's approach leaves the reader with a foul taste for the Dirty Thirties. This essay will summarize Michiel Horns key points as well as discuss the ability of Michiel Horn to report his findings.

Think about the character you used during the “Living the Great Depression” activity. Is your character male or female? How old is your character? What is your character’s position in life? What is your character’s background? Does your character have other people who are dependent on him or her? Everything about a person and his or her background can influence the thoughts and opinions a person has.

The documentary America the Story of Us: Bust summarizes the transition from the prosperous and roaring 20s to the struggling Depression. Focusing on events and causes leading to the Depression as well as its effect on the American population during the time, the film gives an overlook of one of the most unfortunate times in American history. Beginning with the public’s distress during the stock market crash the depression began to spiral as people lost jobs from layoffs, lost homes due to foreclosure, and lost many of life’s basic necessities. The prosperous 1920’s was behind them and the publics high consumerism and production rates of the time reached an all-time low. After summarizing the causes of the Depression the documentary continues bringing attention to the building of the Hoover Dam and how its completion boosted American moral and started the slow and hard fight out of the Depression.

Arguing that the majority of farmers during the Great Depression benefitted from the government policies produced through President Roosevelt’s New Deal is an inaccurate claim. While history textbooks highlight the improvement of finances for people in rural areas in the United States of America, the personal experiences of family farmers contradict those textbooks. Writers of textbooks about American history should consider looking further into the delicate topic of how the Great Depression effected common farm families. In the West, farmers endured the Dust Bowl. In the North, people in rural areas competed to make a profit. Although statistics show the most economic damage of the Great Depression beginning at the end of 1929, small farm families refer to the effects of the Depression dating back as early as 1925 since government policies mostly benefitted large farm industries as small farms were forced to foreclose.

Through my search process I came across all the answers to my questions simply because the information concerning the Great Depression is plentiful due to its huge impact on our country. During it all I came first upon the answer to my question how the farmers that lived in the 1930's era. I found out that actually farmers had it quite hard if not harder then the citizens who lived in the city. This is because of the fact that when the Depression happened was also the timing of the Dust Bowl unbeknownst to me. Due to the Dust Bowl and one of the longest droughts in American history lasting from 1930 to 1934 while also covering almost 80 percent of the United States farmers had almost an impossible time attempting to grow crops. This was due to the drought. Also as a side affect of the massive drought was that the more farmers tried to plow and till their fields the weaker they made the sod. So as a result this led to the massive Dust Bowl ending in thousands upon thousands of crops getting destroyed.

When the citizens had bought all that they could buy, there was a decrease in demand. Suddenly, the industries had an excess of goods and no one to sell it to. At this point, the Fordney-McCumber Act began to cripple the economy of America. Other nations introduced high tariffs to boost their revenue and to spite the United States. Sadly for the United States, these high tariffs and low demand were instrumental in the depression that America experienced. When the stock market crashed on October 29th, 1929 or “Black Tuesday”, the united states, along with other nations were in economic turmoil and the widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly. The depression threatened people's jobs, savings, and even their homes and farms. During the heart of the depression, over one-quarter of the American population was out of work. For many Americans, these were extremely hard times. When Roosevelt was voted into office, he introduced the New Deal. While this plan tried to help the united states out of it’s isolationist rut, the second world war was the final solution. Mobilizing the economy for world war finally cured the depression. Millions of men and women joined the armed forces, and even larger numbers went to work in well-paying defence jobs.

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.

Don Nardo, a renowned writer and historian, has written many books about American history. He is also the book editor of this publication. This book is compiled with various essays written by scholars regarding the Great Depression. Each essay relates to the next, and the book as a whole therefore aims to inform the reader of This source is valuable because it includes many accounts and viewpoints of several individuals, therefore the reader can see where the writer of the essay is basing their opinions on. One limitation is that since there are so many different viewpoints presented in this book, it may confuse the reader when it comes to searching for a definite answer.

During the Great Depression, a countless amount of people lost their homes and lived in what was called “Hoovervilles” – named after the man who was president at the start of the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover (Stephen Feinstein). Many

The great depression hadn’t appeared before in the history of the economic field. It was something unprecedented. Some countries recovered during a decade while others not. This depression affected the smallest individual tin the society even farmers were affected. This collapse created a special case which was known as bowl. In the west a catastrophe appeared from August 1929 to March 1939. It affected the economic field very severely for a long period. In spite of being