Sea Glass: Hardships during the Great Depression

Imagine this. You wake up one morning in the year 1929, in your luxurious, pricey mansion. You then make your way downstairs to eat that nice big breakfast. Then you kiss your family good bye and head off to your fancy job. You come home that evening and suddenly you’re flat broke. Meaning all your money and life’s savings vanished. Unreal right? Well it was real for hundreds of families on October 29, 1929. The day the stock market crashed and when America’s confidence was challenged greatly.

The stock market crash, called Black Tuesday. Unequal distribution of wealth was a key factor during the time period as well. The day know as “Black Tuesday” was the day the stock market crashed. This led to the fall of stock prices, in fear, people sold their stocks and gathered the money they could. The people who didn’t, lost all of their stocks. Those who bought them on credit, they were now in debt. Investors lost a collective amount equal to the amount spent in WWI, that’s billions of dollars gone, approximately thirty-two billion dollars (32,000,000,000). As bad as the crash was, unequal distribution of wealth did not help. The rich saw an income increase of 70%, and the poor saw an increase of 9%. More than 70% of families earned less than $2500/year. Many of these families couldn't afford household products, such as the flood of overproduced goods. Only one out of ten families owned an electric refrigerator. One thing many people overlook when on the subject of the Great Depression is the president's influence on the situation. The two presidents during this time were Herbet Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hoover was in office during the collapse of the economy, he didn’t believe in national relief, he believed in self-prevalence and self-help. His beliefs didn’t get the confidence of the people, in 1933, a fourth of working American’s were out of a job, that’s more than fifteen million people unemployed. Many people disliked Hoover, so when they needed to make a home out of paper, glass, tin, or whatever they could find, they named the towns constructed from these items “Hoovervilles”. They were found mostly on the outside of cities. Hoover's idea of self-reliance didn’t get him reelected, he lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Roosevelt brought forward a new strategy to take on the economic problems, it was called the New Deal. The New Deal was a series of actions him and his

In the book one of the most noted families known for being hit during the Depression were the Cunninghams. The first sign of struggles

During the 1920s Wall Street was representing the decade of expanding economic opportunity for every American. During 1927 some American banks failed due to bad investments and low prices for agricultural products. On Thursday October 1929 American stock market failed and millions of investors are plunged into bankruptcy. Over 12,894,650 shares changed hands, many at fire. About two months after the crash in October, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars. The slump was made worse by the share-buying fever that infected the country in the 1920s. Everyone wanted to make quick fortunes, therefore they bought company shares on margin. Competitive buying of the shares drove share prices high above their actual value. Then, when cautious

“On the morning of October 29, 1929, panicked voices shouted over one another. Here and there, men leaned against the walls, hands over their faces as if trying to shut out the scene. In the street outside, a crowd had gathered, trying to learn the news. A man staggered out the door, clutching his hat in both hands. He looked as though he might weep. “It’s gone,“ he whispered, so quietly only the few closest to him heard. “It’s all gone.”# The term ‘Great Depression’ according to Kristin Brennan evokes black-and-white images of thin men in threadbare suits and worn-out shoes selling five-cent apples on city streets, of “grim-faced women lined up three deep to collect bread and milk at relief stations.”# The Great Depression of the 1930s

The book Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the 1920s by Frederick Lewis Allen recounts all the events leading up to the stock market crash in 1929, beginning with the end of World War I in 1918. The story, told chronologically, contrasts the changing social and political views of the American people throughout the “Roaring Twenties,” as the time period came to be known. Allen makes history enjoyable, vividly describing the creases in Al Capon’s shirt and the painted faces of the young generation.

One might say that the Great Depression was a time of despair and feeling vulnerable from those who lived through it. However, writings have shown that some Americans during this era did not give up and had an optimistic view as opposed to a pessimistic view. In “Anacostia Flats” by John Dos Passos, it shows that the ex- service men during the Great Depression had a sense of determination for getting their bonus. The film 42nd Street demonstrated the tenacious spirit of Americans who worked on a play during The Great Depression. Meridel Le Seur’s “Women in the Breadlines” depicted the reality of struggling without employment but having the will to keep trying. During these times, society had not surrendered as several of them stood up for

The Great Depression affected many Americans throughout the 1930s. Many people had no source of income and had no other choice but to travel and find new jobs. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George Milton and Lennie Small wander through California in search of a new job that would help them make enough money to live their American dream on “the fatta the lan’”(Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie’s hard work and determination is not enough for them to live their dream. Lennie has a mental disability that slows the two friends down from living their dream; they have to run from job to job because of Lennie’s unintentional actions.

The Great Depression was a time of great economic tragedy during the 1930’s. October 24, 1929 was the day of the stock market crash, causing economical shortage everywhere, even globally, and this scared everyone, including the rich. This day was/ is known as “Black Thursday”, where over 2.9 million shares were traded. On “Black Tuesday”, five days later, more than 16 million more shares were traded in another wave of panic. Many investors then lost confidence in their banks and demanded deposits in cash which forced the banks to liquidate loans in order to supplement their on hand cash reserves. By 1933, around 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. This stopped Americans from purchasing which then led to less production of goods and decreased the amount of needed human labor. In the end, millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks with borrowed money were wiped out completely.

October 29, 1929 marked the “unprecedented change” in the stock market. That day was a result from the outcome of changes that were occurring in the United States. The Roaring Twenties changed the perspective of the average American. It was an era of optimism, where women gain the right to vote to the inventions of airplane, radio

During the Great Depression in 1929, there was Fernando Francisco the farmer with his only alluring and style 16 year old daughter Nancy Francisco at their barn. On a Tuesday morning in October 29, 1929, Fernando rocked back and forth, while glimpsing through the newspaper. Something caught his eye, it was this “The stock market has just crashed today, Wall street is in a panic and wiped out millions of investors.” After reading, Fernando went straight to the front of the entrance, and started to make billboards.

Black Tuesday will forever be remembered in the history of the American economy. It marked the beginning of the depression with the weakening of the economy, first in the stock market crashing (Goldfield, The American Journey,716). The same economic policies that increased the economy in the 1920’s led to economic disaster with the government failure to produce laws regulating oligopolies, banks, and the stock market (Goldfield,717). President Herbert Hoover’s response to providing federal aid to the United States was seen in the beginning of the depression, when the depression worsened, and towards the end of his presidency.

During Hoovers presidency, the world experienced black Tuesday which was when the stock market crashed and was the beginning of the great depression. More than ten billion in stock market revenue vanished in a matter of hours. That is equivalent to ten times as much in today’s world. Soon, the United States and, indeed, the entire world found itself in the grip of the Great Depression, the economic disasters in modern history. Even before 1929, signs of economic trouble had become evident. Southern California and Florida experienced frenzied real-estate speculation and then spectacular busts, with banks failing, land remaining undeveloped, and mortgages foreclosed (3). The highly unequal distribution of income and the prolonged depression in farm regions reduced American purchasing power (1). A crash of such epic proportions truly changed

In the 1920s, American economy had a great time. The vast majority of Americans in 1929 foresaw a continuation of the dizzying economic growth that had taken place in most of the decade. However, the prices of stock crested in early September of 1929. The price of stock fell gradually during most of September and early October. On “Black Tuesday” 29 October 1929, the stock market fell by forty points. After that, a historically great and long economic depression started and lasted until the start of the Second World War. The three causes of the Great Depression are installment buying, uneven distribution of wealth and the irrational behavior in the stock market.

The author sets the story during The Great Depression, a time where many Americans were struggling everyday just to get by, taking nothing for granted and not having any control as far as knowing what tomorrow will be like. The setting ties in perfectly with the theme of, taking control of the uncontrollable. The main protagonist represents the main theme extensively, such as when she finds herself marrying Mr. Williams just so that she can have a place to stay. At this point in the story she has lost her parents, who were the only family members that would give her shelter. The protagonist’s siblings all had wives that opposed the idea of helping her, so she marries Mr. Williams, a shoe repair shop owner, just so she can have somewhere to stay.