The Masonic Home Bill Mize, my great grandfather, watched in awe everyday as his father did the difficult job of being a railroad conductor in the 1940s. “I was completely fascinated by my father, he worked tirelessly to provide for the family, and was an incredible man,” Bill recalls. At the young age of fourteen Bill suffered the devastating loss of his father, the man he spent most of his childhood admiring. His father died abruptly of tuberculosis at the age of fifty-nine the family was completely shocked and devastated by this loss. Without his father, Bill watched everything in his once normal life quickly fall away; the family’s finances were slim to nothing and his mother could no longer support Bill and his sisters. Throughout the extremely rough time following his father’s death, Bill was forced to make some difficult decisions that no fourteen year old should have to make. Bill had to make the impossible decision to leave the rest of his family so that they would not starve, and move into a home for the children of Freemasons. Following the devastating loss of his father, Bill watched in horror as his mother and four sisters struggled to live through their grief. The United States was still recovering from the depression in the year 1942, and jobs were not only hard to come by but dangerous to their health as Higgs describes in his book, “Often, they entailed substantial risks of death, dismemberment, and other physical and psychological injuries,”
The Great Depression was a dark and hopeless time for all Americans. In An article titled “Sinking Deeper and Deeper”
This statement some people may or may not agree with since this paper will talk about children during this time period you can already come to the conclusion that I agree with this statement. Imagine for a second a child walking into a toy store and sees a toy they really want, now imagine the sadness in the child’s face when they realize that their parent can’t afford the toy. Children during the Great Depression often wanted things they couldn’t have. Some children were forced to grow up to help their parents around the house, and raise younger siblings. One boy named Gordon Park was sixteen years old, he changed from full-time to a part-time bellboy at the Minnesota Club to attend high school (Freedman 2005).
It’s the 1930s and the United States of America is in turmoil. Banks are closing, the stock market has crashed and people are losing their homes and jobs. Everyone in America is suffering from the Great Depression. The Great Depression began in 1929 when the stock markets crashed; this was the beginning of ten long years of economic suffering for those in America. With many out of jobs and homes, it was time for a change to happen. With the election of Roosevelt in 1933, something new was on its way. During Roosevelt's first 100 days in office, his administration passed legislation that aimed to stabilize industrial and agricultural production, create jobs and stimulate recovery. (A&E Television Networks, 2013). As his presidency
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” Jim Rohns quote highlights the basis of Debra Oswald’s play Gary’s house, and also Miroshav Holubs poem The Door. This essay will explore the notion that change causes people to shift their thinking and actions after significant catalysts. Gary’s House illustrates many of the issues and predicaments confronted by the characters and how their alteration in behaviour can have a beneficial outcome for them or others around them. The concept of "The Door" is based on the idea of taking risks and embracing change. The poet uses persuasive techniques to encourage and provoke the audience to take action.
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.
The Depression changed social structure in America forever. “The real story of the 1930’s is how individual families endured and survived, whether battling the despair of hunger and unemployment in the city of the fear of unending drought and forced migration in the dust bowl of the Great plains.” (Press, Petra pg 6)
1. Ben Franklin, pointing to the sun carved on the back of the presiding officer's chair, remarked; "Throughout the days we have been laboring here, I have observed that sun, and wondered whether it was a rising sun or a setting sun. Now I know it was a rising sun."1 Throughout our lives we have been told of how our country was formed. I am here to tell you about the things the history books and teachers don’t tell you about the freemasons and there shaping of the United States of America. We will start with freemasons an agency that has been shaping history since the building of King Solomon’s temple.
September 1st, 1939 is a day that changed the course of history. Lives were lost, families ripped apart, towns destroyed, and jobs were created. World War II had just begun with the majority of the main countries in our world participating in the war that would ultimately kill millions of soldiers and civilians. Two years later, on December 8th, 1941 after the Japanese surprisingly attacked Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war fully. During this time, the U.S. enlisted the help of the entire nation; soldiers, factory workers, nurses, and doctors were required both overseas and on the home front. While many men were sent to fight over-seas or prepare at combat training on bases in the U.S., factories and other business were left with a shortage of workers. World War II encouraged, or more accurately, forced, women and wives to leave their homes to begin working. A familiar image that many Americans are familiar with is of the women flexing announcing “We Can Do It!”, which is greatly recognized as a symbol of the female presence in the workforce. Young adults dropped out of school to help out in numerous ways. The amount of children working also increased greatly. Desperate measures to save money and help in the wartime effort lead to many drastic changes in roles and lifestyles of American families on the home front.
Families had to split up in search for work and many children got jobs to make extra money for their families. In 1933, when Roosevelt took office, “24.9% of the total workforce or 12,830,000 people were unemployed” according to the FDR Library. This statistic shows just how much the average American was struggling to keep themselves and their families afloat. The FDR Library also states that “drastic drops in farm commodity prices resulted in farmers losing their lands and homes due to foreclosure” and that “gangs of unemployed youth, whose families could no longer support them, rode the rails as hobos in search of work.” The previous excerpts depict America’s loss of stability because the people providing food were out of jobs and parents had to send their children away since they could not afford to care for them any further. Thankfully, President Roosevelt and his administration stepped in soon afterward to correct the
The Great Depression, which had begun during the 1920’s worsened the lives of many Americans, especially migrant workers. Imagine trying to survive in a failing economy, with a family to feed and bills to pay. Imagine not knowing where the next meal is coming from, or how you will keep the roof over your head for another day. This scenario was the daily life of many migrant workers during the Great Depression. Because of the Great Depression, employment in farming failed, government assistance increased, and the desire to survive or support your family was crucial.
In approximately 1858, 10-year-old Joseph’s world is shaken with the death of his father. Charles Kello dies of unknown causes. Losing a parent means a loss of childhood, of innocence, and a part of oneself. No other bond exists like the one with a parent. As a 10-year-old child, Joseph depends on his parents. Parents are his caretakers. They provide him with information about the world and supply moral support. The loss of his dad at such an early age has a profound effect on the rest of his life. The loss affects his sense of security and his relationships with his mother and
“’Blackest Day on Wall Street in Many Years. Selling orders Swamp New York Market. Billions quoted. Values Fade’” (Shreve 133). Similar headlines most likely splashed across most newspapers on October 30, 1929, the day after the stock market crashed. From this date, the United States entered the Great Depression, the time period where the economy was at its lowest. Although signs were present, this era came as a shockwave to most citizens because the 1920s were times of extreme economic prosper. People’s lives were completely torn from their roots. They were left without any method to make a living, but used drastic measures to survive. The people became desperate and did whatever they could to buy food on the table. Anita Shreve depicts
As Amy Bloom once said “I find the 1940s very compelling. It is a very excitable period in the U.S. when, whether out of necessity or not, everybody was reinventing themselves”. As the Depression was ending, people wanted to reinvent themselves and be better. They had a new outlook on life; it was full of positivity and belief that they could do anything. It was a time of coming together for common causes, and trying new things that they thought they could not do.
American life prior to World War II may have not been the best from 1931-1939. Already in the Great Depression that started in 1929 people were left very discouraged and hopeless. In 1932 the economy was the worst it had ever been, it had hit rock bottom (p. 850). Many had lost their jobs and over 11 million Americans could not find work (p. 850). America was at its worst and people were hungry, suicide rates had risen and people were having less children than ever before. People’s reaction to the
The Great Depression broke people and their relationships apart. It strapped Americans of their money, way of life, and societal pattern. In Russell Baker’s memoir, Growing up, he talks about this and the experience his mother, Lucy Elizabeth, endured when giving up her youngest daughter Audrey. After the death of his father, George Baker, his mother was left with only “a few dollars of insurance money, a worthless Model T, several chairs, a table to eat from… no way to earn a living, and no prospects for the future” (Baker 84). She couldn’t care for her entire