Gypsies During The Great Depression

Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men' explores the everyday lives of migrant workers during the Great Depression. In this era, American men were forced to leave their families and become 'drifters'. These were people who didn't have a fixed job and continually moved from place to place.

The life of a migrant worker in the 1930s were very depressing one. The Great Depression cause many workers to move from place to place for jobs. Most of these migrant workers are alone with no friends or family and unable to trust people. Some Just like George and Lennie from the book Of Mice Of Men travel together. Of Mice and Men is a story about two men the The Great Depression

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.

​Contrary to popular belief, the use of ghettos began long before Hitler came to power in the early 1930s. On March 29th, 1516, the Republic of Venice ordered the Jewish population to live in the confined area of Ghetto Nuova. Ghetto Nuova was a filthy, crowded island that confined the Jewish population by closing the island off at night and surrounding it with patrols. During this era, Jewish people also faced discrimination, as they were ordered to wear a sign of identification such as a yellow hat or badge (“The Ghetto”). Furthermore, this discrimination and persecution of the Jewish people dispersed to other areas. In 1555, Pope Paul IV established Cum nimis absurdum, a papal law, that led to the creation of the Roman Ghetto. In the

The Great depression caused many problems for black people and they were greatly affected by it. Problems of the Great Depression affected every American, however, African Americans were the most affected. By 1932 half of Black Americans were out of work. In some Northern cities, blacks were fired so that a white person could take their job. But yet again, racial violence became more common, especially in the South. Even when President Roosevelt was trying to end the Great Depression there was still a conflict between the blacks and whites in the New Deal Housing and employment projects. This just goes to show that once everything has been set in motion that it can't really become a non-normal thing. Everyone was mostly worrying about themselves and their own people that they didn't bother

In Cinderella Man, James Braddock and his family demonstrate that the Great Depression was a tough time of unemployment and bankruptcy. On October Twenty Ninth, Nineteen Twenty Nine, the stock market crashed, leaving millions of the United States with little, to no money left in their pockets. Not only that, but the employment rate went up to twenty five percent, making it difficult for poverty-stricken people to find well needed jobs. It was challenging for anyone to provide for their family or put food on the table everyday. Many families ended up in “hoovervilles,” which were shantytowns that accommodated the homeless. Most hoovervilles were particularly dangerous. In relation, James Braddock in Cinderella Man, loses his children once the Great Depression hits, because he can not afford to keep them fed and cared for. James and his family has to move to a poor neighborhood because he could no longer afford his house. To try and provide for his family and find income, James Braddock works at the docks where only a few men get picked each day to do strenuous work for low amounts of money. He pursues the job, even with a

In the nineteenth century, families of all different kinds of races resided in tenements. The tenements I will be writing about are located on 96 Orchard Street in the lower east side of New York City. Every room tells a remarkable story of the lives

‘The hardships of the Great Depression in Australia were not shared equally.’ (Anderson et. al.,2012)

Between 1854 and 1929 there were about two hundred thousand children who were either orphaned or abandoned by families who could no longer care for them. These children needed new families to care for them. The children traveled west mainly to rural areas in the Midwest by train in search of new homes where they could live and work. The children generally were a year old to seventeen years old. Most were separated from their brothers and sisters, and some never saw their siblings again. Thus began the “placing out” movement.

During the 1920’s, America was a prosperous nation going through the “Big Boom” and loving every second of it. However, this fortune didn’t last long, because with the 1930’s came a period of serious economic recession, a period called the Great Depression. By 1933, a quarter of the nation’s workers (about 40 million) were without jobs. The weekly income rate dropped from $24.76 per week in 1929 to $16.65 per week in 1933 (McElvaine, 8). After President Hoover failed to rectify the recession situation, Franklin D. Roosevelt began his term with the hopeful New Deal. In two installments, Roosevelt hoped to relieve short term suffering with the first, and redistribution of money amongst the poor with the second. Throughout these years of the

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 started in 1929- 1939, it was the deepest and longest - lasting economic downturn when a stock market crashed. Many people have lost their jobs and they couldn’t afford bills. Birth rates dropped because people could not afford to care for children, and divorce rates dropped because people could not afford legal fees. The Great Depression caused many effects on the American people.

The Great Depression was a time of loss, sadness, and families being separated. Normal people during this time had income but it was slow, and most owned houses and shared with others who didn’t. On the other hand, Hobos were normally penniless and owned only what they had on them. They road the rails to travel, and met many other interesting people along the way. The life of Hobo during the Great Depression was full of variables; hobos were taken care of through soup kitchens and clothing give outs, but they were also blamed for robberies, and assaults very often, people took them in and gave them work, although many people thought it was a horrible mistake, and hobos also road the rails, but needed a way to communicate, they used symbols as their own vocabulary.

The Great Depression was a time of tragedy and despair. There are several factors, which have contributed to the health of the nation during the Great Depression. While there were setbacks, there were also improvements during this time. Disabling diseases were more common in low-income families. However, cures for diseases were also found. Studies have found that the life expectancy increased during and after the great depression.

The lowborn workers toiled away for hours in physically exhausting jobs only to afford apartments that were sterile and cold. “There were some nine cots in the place . . . he was sick of the bareness and privation connected with his venture” (Dreiser, 304). The pay affected the men and woman’s own mode of life. They were forced to share living spaces with other families and more often than naught, had to bunk with complete strangers. The very comforts associated with a home, such as wood and furniture, were often too large of an expense. Even with Governmental/ Charity handouts the citizens had no money in which they could afford better living conditions. The rooms they were given to stay in were cold and sterile, and they were not guaranteed a place to stay every night.