Life During The Great Depression

Many years ago when the Great depression affected the economy and that is known as a big part of history, and a big part of me, especially before my Grandfather passed away he told me as many stories about how he served in the war and how when he was a child and was in the great depression. Now my Grandfather was a man that would keep EVERYTHING i mean like from yogurt cups to boxes with nothing in them. Now i use to ask my mom when i was little why does he do that and she explained that it was because of how he was raised they didn't have anything and when they had anything they would keep it because they could use that one day. That was the one thing i would hear from him over and over “ i can use that one day.” or “ I can use that for something.”

The great depression all started with the stock market crash of 1928. The president at the time was herbert hoover who promised to keep peace. He ended up winning 444 electoral votes to his opposing opponent who only had 87 electoral votes (Notes). After the stock market crashed banks started to fail and had no money to give to people. Nobody had money to pay anyone so unemployment roared all the way to 23% from 3%.

“Growing up in a time when all you worry about is if your family will be able to make it through to the next day is definitely a very scary and difficult time to live in” (Vonder Haar). My great-grandpa had this to say to my grandpa about growing up during the great depression. For many people in America from the 1930s to 1940s, life was a constant struggle. The people living in the Midwest, especially St. Louis, knew much too well how difficult it was to live through the great depression. When great-great grandpa first came to St. Louis from Germany he purchased a farm. From that point on, my family struggled to maintain the farm that would still exist today. Many people were affected by the great depression. Throughout the time period before

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

The Great Depression, however inevitable, took people by surprise when the stock market crashed in 1929. At first people did not fully understand the state of the economy, they could not wrap their heads around the transition from popping champagne bottles to eating bread crumbs for dinner. People were expecting a quick fix to the problem, assuming their lives to go back to normal after a few months, ultimately underestimating the situation America was in. As a result, no one was prepared to properly combat the extreme shortage of food, jobs, and money in the years to come.

October 29, 1929, a date that will never be forgotten in the United States for it was the day that the “Great Depression” began, also known as “Black Tuesday—when the American stock market–that had previously been moving swiftly upward for about ten years suddenly crashed, causing the U.S to plummet into the most severe economic downturn known to this date. In 1931, the rate of unemployment was at its lowest as almost a third of the population was jobless. Until Franklin Roosevelt also known as FDR campaigned for office in 1933 and became the thirty second President. FDR quickly began to alleviate the horrendous economy. His plan was to provide stable jobs and assist the many suffering people in the economy. For more than eight

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.

Imagine living during the Great Depression, and the hardships of having to live there. Imagine the type of people who lived during the Depression and which ones were affected the most. Lastly, imagine how people reacted to this situation during the Depression. With this in mind, an large amount of people were evicted from their homes, and fired from jobs. There were many people affected by this and most of them had nowhere to go. In short, people who did not have anywhere to go decided that they would make their own shelters. This is where the creation of Hoovervilles came into place. This soon became a huge deal during the Depression and across America.

Before the Stock Market Crash in 1929, people were living the greatest life, but soon that great life was going to turn into a nightmare. During the 1920s, people were wasting more money than they had. They were buying cars, radios, refrigerators, etc., on credit, and when the stock market crash they couldn’t pay it, which made them go broke. When many objects decreased in sales, factories laid off a lot of employees. Later on in 1929, many market investors started to sell their stocks, which caused stock market prices to decrease. Besides the banks closing, there was also a drought in the 1930s which led a decreased in the growth of food. When the farmers could not support themselves they would travel to the West. They moved to the West to find better land opportunities. So how did people survive during the Great Depression?

Long long ago , there was a time period called the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a time zone when many people didn’t have a lot, and people lost their jobs and didn’t have a lot of money. The Depression affected people’s lives in many ways. Some the Great Depression affected people’s lives were , it made people cut back on a lot of resources , made people go into debt and take out loans , and it the president pass new bills and laws.

Great depression means people live on the street , people out of work, getting fired, and many people have nothing to eat. During the Great Depression many people out of work all unite start many unemployed people get on the road travel from town to town, city to city, state to state hoping that they would fine work and feed their family or even just to feed themself. Not many people had cars so many of them had to walk to rode the rails.october 29 1929 stock market crashed is the day that official beginning of the great depression . The stock price is really fast out any hope of recovery panic have to bankruptcy.

Having had a great economic impact, the Great Depression also shaped the way people viewed each other. In the South, struggling whites faced enmity, in which “the greatest hostility to poor whites came from their fellow southerners, sometimes blacks but more often upper-class whites” (Boney). In a social aspect, the needy were categorized as inferior because they could not support themselves. A difficult time for most, wealthier individuals prioritized themselves over others and stayed above poverty. In the home, connections within the family were affected, as “domestic violence and child abuse increased during the Depression” due to “disputes over finances, food, and other basic necessities” (Batchelor). For the purpose of survival, individuals

The Great Depression is one of the single most important events in the financial history of the United States and the world; the effects of and leading to the Great Depression lasted for several years (Shindo). The great depression was a very difficult time in the time that it occurred. It hit people hard and left an everlasting memory (Shindo.) It would lead to a lot of devastating events better all over would feel the affect of this crisis. It was a very unexpected and sudden event that would change America forever.

Stock prices continued to rise and by fall that year had reached levels that could not be justified by future earnings. The stock market finally burst, as investor began to dump shares en masse. Millions of shares ended up being worthless and those investors who had bought stocks were wiped out completely. “The American economy entered an ordinary recession during the summer of 1929, as consumer spending dropped and unsold goods began to pile up, slowing production.” (The).

Mahatma Gandhi, a legendary activist for humans, once said, “A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and soul of its people.” People drive our culture not only as a nation, but also as a global community. Without people from the past not only would humans not be able to develop as a society, but they would not be able to learn from mistakes made in the past. This iconic period in American history, known as the Great Depression, truly did change the cultural and social aspects of the United States. In the Great Depression, pop culture provided an outlet for the millions of deprived unemployed Americans. Men commonly fled their homes and families out of shame of their inability to find work, leaving it up to their wives to find jobs and take care of the children. The Great Depression was a hard time for many Americans, but influenced many aspects in their lives of civilians including crime, entertainment, and art.