The Effect Of The Great Depression On Black Americans

Why was the Great Depression such a hard time for Americans? In 1929 the stock market crashed in America. Which resulted in massive amounts of disarray, and caused Nine Thousand U.S. Banks to Fail. During the Great Depression of the 1930’s, African Americans were hit the hardest by the scarcity of jobs and money. During the Great Depression almost all of the blacks were fired from their jobs and had no way to sustain themselves or their families due to the loss of food and money. After being fired it was nearly impossible for them to get another job, and if they did happen to be hired they received almost no pay. John Hardman wrote, “The Great Depression of the 1930s worsened the already black economic situation of black Americans. African

When the Great Depression hit, no other minority group had it worse than the African Americans. Unemployment for African Americans was fifty percent or more, and even ninety percent in certain cities, while white unemployment ranged around thirty percent (Sustar). Aid was scarce from the Roosevelt Administration, where his NRA, National Recovery Act, was referred by blacks as the Negro Removal Act (Anderson). The NRA claimed that its goal was nondiscriminatory hiring and equal wages for blacks and whites, but they rarely employed blacks and when they did maintained racist wages (Sustar). It became more of a tool to keep African Americans from competing with white workers. Blacks were usually excluded from unions so they had to organize their own such as the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (Sustar). But, those who tried to organize unions became targets for lynch mobs. Only the Communist Party actually took black workers seriously and helped organize a union for them (Sustar). Still, many blacks were forced to migrate out of the South and to the northern cities for a better opportunity, where the conditions were a little better. Patterns of segregation and racism in the South during the Depression remained relatively unchanged. Take for example the famous Scottsboro case. Nine black teenages that were on a train in Alabama were accused by two white women of rape, a crime that was unthinkable in 1930s Alabama. However, there was no evidence whatsoever that the women were raped. But nevertheless, the all-white jury in Alabama convicted all of the nine boys where eight of them were sentenced to death (Blunder). Clearly, being an African American in the early twentieth century was not ideal in a country where racist views were relatively normal. It didn’t matter if they were a decorated Olympian like Jesse Owens, or

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.

African Americans lifestyle did not see much change from before the depression and during the depression in the sense of the capital dollar. They assumed the New Deal brought up by president Roosevelt at the time would bring change to their life, but the white public would not stand to be on equal terms with a person of color. “Unemployment was rampant, and many whites felt that any available jobs belonged to the whites first.”i Many white Americans did not want African Americans to be paid minimum wage, but be paid lower than minimum wage. Industry’s also wanted to pay their employers a different wage depending on the color of their skin. “Negro unskilled labor,

Segregation took a huge toll on African Americans emotionally and ecumenically. Schools where segregated, and black schools where known for being hugely underfunded. So they started off with a bad education, which makes getting jobs harder. This was true even in colleges, which were also segregated. Not only that but because of racism an employer would always hire a white person over a black person. Black people where also generally paid less. Even if a black person got money they where not allowed to live in the same neighborhoods as white people or even go to the same shops. So there was never the possibility of moving up the social later. “He has been a beggar economically, a beggar politically a beggar socially a beggar even when it comes to trying to get some education” (Malcom

The Great Depression affected everyone and everything in America. It affected families, friends, businesses, jobs, cities, states, the entire country! But everyone, no matter whether they were a man, a woman, or an african american, was affected in different ways, some ways worst than others. Everyone who lived through the Great Depression had a different experience for themselves. The women had a tougher time surviving than the men. The white men got jobs faster than the african americans. The african americans were the first fired and the last hired.

African Americans didn’t know that is was a Great Depression. African Americans have always been poor and knew how to survive. By 1932, approximately half of black Americans were unemployed, blacks always felt unemployed and under paid. Whites attempted to keep blacks out of work by not hiring African Americans. They used racial violence, and discrimination tactics to keep an underprivileged population depressed.

The book starts out addressing the problem with the New deal and Great Depression. Black Americans suffered the most because they were mostly in agriculture and would be hit the hardest. Black urban unemployment reached well over 50 percent, more than twice the rate of whites. In my own opinion that wasn’t a coincidence. In southern cities, white workers rallied around such slogan “back to the cotton fields city jobs are for white folks." The most violent times took place on southern railroads, as unionized white workers intimidated, attacked, and murdered black firemen in order to take their jobs. Throughout African Americans lost their jobs in various parts of the South. Ku Klux Klan practices were being resumed and it became more and more dangerous for Blacks to live daily lives.

President Roosevelt's New Deal program during the 1930's failed to aid impoverished African-American citizens. The New Deal followed a long, historical chronology of American failures in attempts to ensure economic prosperity and racial equality. During the nearly seventy years after the conclusion of the Civil War, the United States faced a series of economic depressions, unmotivated Congress,' and a series of mediocre presidents. With the exception of Teddy Roosevelt, few presidents were able to enact anti-depression mechanisms and minimize unemployment. The America of the 1920's was a country at its lowest economic and social stature facing a terrible depression and increasing

Blacks were treated with tremendous cruelty in many different ways. Black lives before the civil rights movement were treated cruel and unfair. African Americans did not have the same opportunities that they have today. Before the movement they could not get an education, a good job, or a place to live. These men and women who worked for white landowners were pretty much treated like slaves. They were barely paid anything for the work that they did. Many blacks lived in the streets and did not even have a place to get out of the weather. Due to these factors many blacks lived in poverty and were treated very cruel. A staff Writer wrote, “For black Americans, the pre-Civil Rights era was a time of danger and turmoil, as they set out to claim

The Great Depression. The worst financial crisis to ever hit America. Unemployment rates of over 25%. A 50% decrease in national income. Billions of dollars lost in a single day. (Trotter, pg.8) The Depression affected everyone in America. Young and old, rich and poor, black and white, none were spared. However, for America’s 12 million African Americans (Encyclopedia of Race and Racism) the Depression didn’t just start in 1929.(Africa to America: From the Middle Passage Through the 1930s) African Americans were a subjugated minority. Racism wasn’t only present in America, it was accepted by many. In the South, Democrats fought to keep African Americans under harsh segregation and oppressive laws. (Trotter, pg. 9) Efforts to relieve

The investigation of how the New Deal negatively affected African Americans has given me the opportunity to use a variety of researching methods that are commonly used by historians. Throughout my investigation, I used many primary sources such as commentaries from firsthand accounts and interviews of people who experienced the effects of the new deal, the national archives, along with various secondary sources that were proven accurate as a way to gain knowledge from a perspective of looking back at the event and analyzing the events that occurred. The investigation showed me how many reliable sources were available to historians in various means if they were searched for properly. I was able to research my investigation thoroughly through the use of books, as well as detailed internet research in order to get the most reliable, and valuable information available.

Many people speculate that the stock market crash of 1929 was the main cause of The Great Depression. In fact, The Great Depression was caused by a series of factors, and the effects of the depression were felt for many years after the stock market crash of 1929. By looking at the stock market crash of 1929, bank failures, reduction of purchasing, American economic policy with Europe, and drought conditions, it becomes apparent that The Great Depression was caused by more than just the stock market crash. The effects were detrimental beyond the financial crisis experienced during this time period.

“Shrunken perhaps by the vicissitudes and exigencies of the times, Broadway presented itself admirably throughout the Thirties. It not only managed to preserve the best, but also nurtured and expanded them. At the brink of the new decade, Broadway stood smaller but brighter”

There were many primary causes for The Great Depression, Unequal distribution of money to the economy,