How Did The Great Depression Affect Urban Families

Being black during the Depression was very hard. You would be fired from any job you had and white men would take your place. On occasion if their were any whites out of work, they would call on blacks to be fired. Blacks didn't have jobs so they had no way to sustain themselves or their family. Although there wasn’t slavery during the civil war, African Americans would still sometimes be hired to work at homes to clean, and cook. The Library of Congress wrote, ¨The problems of the Great Depression affected virtually every group of Americans. No group was harder hit than African Americans, however. By 1932, approximately half of black Americans were out of work (Lib).¨ There was barely any money to pay Americans with, so they made significantly less in 1933, than in 1929. With no money there were more people starving, and only surviving off of their self grown foods, and local farming. Even with local farms, and gardens there still wasn’t enough for everyone to eat, due to not having enough money to buy seed.“In 1933, the average family income had dropped to $1,500, 40 percent less than the 1929 average family income of $2,300” (Enc). People were starved because of the lack of food. Many were forced to leave their homes and live on the streets, because they had nothing. From 1931-1940 alone there were no less than 8 million deaths in the United States. “Every sixth American farmer was affected by famine. People were forced

The Great Depression affected many people and families in the 1930s. They had to deal with many different challenges and hardships. These families had to face hunger, unemployment, and some even with being homeless. Some families crowded into a small apartment or house with other families. Others lost their homes and moved into a tent in a Hooverville. To help with fathers being laid off from work, mothers would sometimes go out and look for work. In other cases, teens would travel by freight train or hitchhiking to find a job that they could send money home with. More often the husband would leave his family in search of a new job. This left family relationships torn up. The family would miss their father, but if he were to return without a job things would sometimes get worse. The fathers would feel like failures and would mope around the house. Thus leading to irritated wives which lead to more fights between them. Some fathers

Life during the great depression was very harsh for many people especially when they lost their job. They lost all of their savings so people had to wait in bread lines to get food. People could not afford to stay in their homes so they had to literally make houses of what every they could find. These houses were called hoovervilles

People lost the ability to pay for things they once owned. People bought many things on margin in the years before the depression, they soon found this to be a rather unwise practice as they could no longer afford these purchases once the depression hit. Millions were out a job, and soon their homes followed; foreclosed on by the banks, the items they once purchased sold back. This left many families with little possessions and even fewer places to turn to and many ended up in shanty towns and Hoovervilles. There they lived out of cars and in makeshift tents like the family in picture 5. These places were overrun with undernourished people that rarely had their basic human needs

In 1929, the United States stock market crashed, causing the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, many Americans were starving, homeless, and struggling with unemployment issues. By the mid-1930s, unemployment had reached twenty-five percent in the United States, forcing many Americans to live and sleep in shanty towns commonly referred to as “Hoovervilles.”. Based on the letters to FDR, we can assume that many American families still faced unemployment and eviction issues. Within a letter wrote to FDR by an individual know only by the initials of C.L.F., they state, “The realtors are putting the people out when they

Farmland got its start in 1852 after being founded by Henry D. Huffman and William Macy as a station on the Bellfontaine Railroad. On July 28th 1852 the two gentlemen platted Farmland on their farms. The town consisted of 152 lots including 6 streets, all of which are present today. Many cities that started on the railroad were thrust into a thriving economical environment. Being a station this allowed the city to quickly increase its population and annual revenue. There were many people that saw this economic opportunity and started forming farms alongside the town because it gave them quick access to the railroad. Thus their transportation costs were lower than other farmers. The agricultural business started to boom in the small town and drew more people into the town. People seized the economic opportunities that presented themselves. Sadly though the town did grow slow. But in 1870 the census found 532 people residing there. Starting from just two families the town gained over 500 residents in just 18 years. That is truly remarkable for the time that our nation was in.

The stock market crash signaled the beginning of the great depression, the crash alone did not cause the great depression but it quickened it arrival. The source of income for this family living in Kansas was difficult because they have a Farm and due to the dust bowl, it ruined that which means no income for the family. The family is affected by the following factors of the great depression because now they can not afford to feed their children and themselves as well, have a clean environment for their children so they don't get sick, be able to promise their children that everything will be okay when in fact everything wasn't in that given time period because anything could've happened. The fact that their is a big amount of children in the family makes it far more difficult to get things done, and possibly travel to a better

Families found themselves setting up in a way unfamiliar before. The Depression bombarded families who lost everything in their saving accounts and were suddenly facing poverty. Around nine million families lost everything they had in the banks creating two kinds of poor; the poor who were already suffering to make a living and new the “new poor ,” middle class Americans losing their homes left and right. Men and women’s roles

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.

During the Great Depression most people were without a home. Homeless living became life in a lot of areas. People left and struggle to survive as said “,Homeless living soon became a way of life for many Americans as they struggled just to stay alive. Across the

market did not cause the Great Depression people took the crash as a signal. Why? Because

The Great Depression can be a tough subject for most people, but still inspiring to others. The Great Depression was a very difficult time for America as well as women. The women of the Great Depression struggled through many trials, as did many others in the United States, but they were able to get through it all. The women of the Great Depression worked their hardest to stay true to themselves, and their family, as well as, to keep a job, a stable household, and for some, a strong marriage.

The 1920s was known best for its wealth, parties and free spirits giving it the nickname of the ¨roaring 20s¨. Contributing to the the lavish lifestyle of the 1920s, women, known as flappers, challenged gender roles and broke social norms with their outfits and behaviors. New inventions, such as radios and model-T cars became the foundation for the thriving economy. The country 's culture had been making huge strides and the economy was on an upward climb. Everything about society in the ‘20s seemed to be flourishing. At a rapid rate, more middle and lower class people began investing massive amounts of money. Borrowing money from bankers to finance the get rich quick hobby these classes were engaging in produced dangerous trends. At the peak of the economy in the 1920’s, warning signs began to present themselves of a future economic decline. Many United States citizens ignored the small signs like a subtle rise in stock prices. As the small signs began to become increasingly more evident, big investors sensed danger and took proper precautions. However, the middle and lower class investors were not savvy enough to predict the crash. Finally, on October 29th, 1929, what is now known as ¨Black Tuesday¨, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped almost 23 percent and the market lost between $8 billion and $9 billion in value.

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.

Family pressure during the great depression was unlike any the U.S. has ever seen. Everything about families changed in the 1930s. Couples during the depression delayed marriage, and at the same time the divorce rates dropped because people could not afford to pay for two households. Birthrates also dropped and for the first time in American history below the replacement level. Income was closed to none in all families; regular income had dropped by 35% just in the years Hoover was in office. Families had a lot of stress; some pulled together and made do with what they had others pushed away. People turned to who ever they had, family, friends, and after all else the government. Although there were rich people in the depression as well