The Great Depression of the 1930s is notably one of the greatest crises of American history. During this time frame the American economy collapsed in great part because of factors such as the existence of massive wealth inequality, the dust bowl that started in the Great Plains, and the rampant business speculation of the 1920’s. These factors helped turn an awful economic depression into what would be called an all-out social crisis. Bread lines and soup kitchens became a common occurrence in American cities. Thousands of families were evicted from their homes everyday, and took to the streets hoping for some type of assistance. Throughout this time of struggle many American citizens took to writing the white house and its officials in an …show more content…
The men of the family were less likely to write the white house because of their fear of being looked at as weak or incapable of providing for their family. This fear is shown in several of the letters, including a letter written by a mother to President Roosevelt. In the letter the mother asks for money to help feed her family and concludes the letter with stating, “if my husban new this he could Kill me.” In chapter three of the text by McElvaine there is a letter that stands as an example of a female American citizen pleading to the first lady for clothes. However, what differentiates this letter from the majority is that this individual is not asking for her family, but asking of a spring coat for herself. In this letter the woman by the name of Mrs. J.T. addresses the first lady at the time, Eleanor Roosevelt, as “My Dear Friend”. This intimate greeting supports the idea that the American population at the time felt as though the Roosevelt’s understood the daily struggle of living through the depression. These citizens were comfortable confiding in them and sharing their hardships. A belief that the government including the Roosevelt’s would provide much-needed relief to the country came with this sense of comfort and intimacy. Not all American citizens, however, wrote to the white house in need of clothes or money. The Works
In the 1950’s America was changing, the difference in just two decades was phenomenal. After World War II America became unrecognizable from the past. It was almost as if America did not even go into the Great Depression. In 1950 new signs of America influence came from every which direction. With the American economy booming, Americans were able to come up with more ideas to go along with the society they were now living.
The 1930s was one of the most challenging times in US history, where the Great Depression caused millions of Americans to suffer through hardships because of the economy. Many people were out of work and unemployed, and the government at the time, believed that the best option was to stay out of its affairs, leaving the struggling people hung out to dry. It was not until Franklin Roosevelt was elected president, that the state of the country began to change. And that was due to the creation of the New Deal; a plan to alleviate the state of the country, providing help through increased government spending and programs, that led to its eventual recovery after the second World War.
Former President Calvin Coolidge said, “In other periods of depression, it has always been possible to see some things which were solid and upon which were solid and upon which you could base hope, but as I look about, I now see nothing to give ground to hope- nothing of man” and to some extent it was true. Americans lost all hope in life entering a deep dark tunnel with no light in the end. The Great Depression was not something that appeared out of thin air; it grew over time like a tumor and eventually plagued America with an excessive disease. No decade was more terrifying in the twentieth century than the 1930s. The stock market crashing, due to people buying stocks on load, the debts from WWI farmers and consumers in deep debt, and
If there had ever been a quick wit to match that of the great John Adams one would more often than not look toward the many distinguished men of the revolution however behind every strong man is an equally strong woman. In the letter written by Abigail Adams to John Adams the reader quickly becomes aware that Mrs. Adams was no push over behind the pen. She just like her husband John can easily be seen as a linguistic weaver moving from serious hard-pressed questioning to a more “And, by the way” (Abigail Adams 349) here’s what I want mentality. It is almost humorous to see their letters to one another due to the fact that numerous people hold John Adams on a pedestal when in reality he had to deal with domestic problems just like
The 1920’s was a decade of discovery for America. As mentioned in “who was roaring in the twenties? —Origins of the great depression,” by Robert S. McElvaine America suffered with the great depression due to several factors but it managed to stay prosperous at the end. In “America society and culture in the 1920’s,” by David A. Shannon there was much more to the great depression. It was a time of prosperity an economic change. Women and men were discovering who they were and their value to society in “The Revolution in Morals,” by Gilman M. Ostrander. Even if Racism still existed as mentioned in “ The Tribal Twenties,” by John Higham, the 1920’s still was time of change that affects people today.
This act was created in 1974 there are many events that could have impacted the need for such a policy. One event that impacted the need for the RHYA is the Great Depression. The Great Depression led to about 400,000 young boys being homeless. Another important event is the Vietnam War, though it was coming to an end around the time that the act was passed, it lasted for many years and effected the family structure of American households. The draft caused by the war made a lot of families turn into one income families, which could have made teens need to leave home before they were old enough to support themselves in order to leave more resources for the rest of the family.
The assigned readings offered an interesting and complex view of some of the diverse groups of people who were marginalized in California during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The primary sources shared detailed information on how Mexicans, Filipinos, and White Americas experienced hostility and inequality in California. In Resistance, Radicalism, and Repression on the Oxnard Plain, Frank Barajas discusses how beet sugar growers on the Oxnard Plain cut the wages of Mexican laborers working in their fields. This ignited an uproar and began a strike movement among the betaberleros (sugar beet workers), who felt it was an injustice to lower wages and face discrimination just because they were minorities (Barajaos, 29-51). As commotion was occurring within the Oxnard Plain of California, conflict between the residents of the agricultural community of Watsonville and the Filipino farm labor community emerged. Many Watsonville residents showed a strong anti-Filipino sentiment, as well as social and sexual stereotyping of Filipinos (Witt, 293). This tension between Watsonville residents and Filipinos sparked the Watsonville Riot of 1930 (Witt, 299-300).
The nation gathered together to support their country. Eleanor was immersed in the war motivated to find a way to contribute to the event of her lifetime. Eleanor met with men of French and English diplomats, held daily meetings with servants to manage ways to cut waste, and volunteered heavily. As each month passed, Eleanor’s self-confidence grew from leadership in her work. Eleanor was taking control of her own household. She was no longer the timid, insecure lady she once was. She became noticed of her talents and was made active on the Navy’s League Comforts Committee, but she still felt obliged to help in more ways in the war. As demanding months passed Franklin and Eleanor became submersed in their duties until Eleanor discovered love letters from Franklin’s personal secretary Lucy Mercer, stunned and baffled their love vows broken from Franklin’s affair, Eleanor’s grief overcame her growing confidence but Eleanor had encountered grief before with her parents, brother and son’s death. Eleanor stayed with Franklin for the kids and his political image, but she went on with life working more than ever where she discovered a new love within herself from helping others. Eleanor would still support the man who had betrayed her more than anyone else but yet their life together was work rather than
The 1930s, also known as the era of the Great Depression, was a hard time not only in the United States, but all throughout the world. However, the United States was not just struggling financially, but had conflicting morales. During the Great Depression, the United States had two different presidents, Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These two presidents have very different opinions on how to try and bring the United States out of the Depression. Herbert Hoover wanted to limit government access and test the American character; he believed involving the government too much would destroy American citizens’ moral character and undermine their freedom. On the other hand, Franklin D. Roosevelt believed the government must act
In the book “Capital Dames: The Civil War and Women of Washington 1848-1868,” by Cookie Roberts. Mrs. Roberts talks about women in political families and how they changed the Capital. The author really brings to life the women and their life styles and their stories about what was going on during the Civil War, but also what other issues that were happening during this time. The author talks about how the women were deeply involved in the careers of their husbands, fathers, or brothers. The women attended all the debates in Congress. They wrote their husband’s speeches and letters. While the men were also important they did not have any influence on the women’s stories. The main significance of this book was the women’s stories in their own
11.6.2 - Understand the causes of the Great Depression and the steps taken to combat the Crisis.
2.)The Great Depression began in the 1920s and was commonly known as the ‘roaring 20s’. This term is used to describe the general prosperity of this period. Corporate profits increased and consumerism expanded, but a large portion of the population was suffering terribly. The agricultural section of the population was impacted greatly. Farm income was sluggish and the housing market was depressed due to low wages. The economic gains of this period were unevenly distributed, which was the main cause of the Great Depression.
In the United States there has been times of economic hardships for Americans. One of those hard times was during the Great Depression. This place in history was when agriculture, the banking system and our nation’s purchasing power was in turmoil. For many farmers droughts had taken a toll. Their farms were turned in large dust bowls and growing crops was almost impossible. The banking system was very volatile because of bad investments. Many of the banking institutions had invested a lot of money in the stock market and loaned businesses money in which they invested into the stock market. The stock market crashed on Black Tuesday in 1929. Billions of dollars were lost on this day. The conditions of the Great Depression called for some new
The roaring twenties was a time filled with hope and change. President Warren G. Harding promised a “return to normalcy”, which reflected his own conservative values and the voters’ wants for stability and order. Americans felt that they had been through more than enough, and desired prosperity. During the years 1919 and 1920 the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments were passed; the outlaw of alcoholic beverages and the right for women to vote, which ones of the many reasons society was turning their backs on Progressivism. Republicans were beginning to return to their previous dominance. The 1920’s was an economic boom for America, including everything from an increase in jobs, a rise in plentiful goods, new consumer products, and the reduction of taxes. The country was filled with jazz music, dance, and what appeared to be a brighter future. The 1929 crash of stock market was the beginning of a downward spiral leading in to the Great Depression. The stock market crash is often to be confused as the cause of the Great Depression, although that is false. A few of the issues that lead to the Great Depression included; farming (which decreased in demand as farms increased through the states during World War I), banking, and mass unemployment. Capitalism took shape as what was once the individualistic Protestant work ethic was reshaped into industrial work on a grand scale. Each worker contributed to the greater good, and the workers were presided over by a boss
Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother depicts destitute pea pickers in California, centering on Florence Owens Thompson, age 32, a mother of seven children, in Nipomo, California, March 1936.