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1. How did the Great Depression affect America?

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1. How did the Great Depression affect America?

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The Great Depression had affected America in many negative ways. One way it was affected was unemployment. When many banks had shut down due to the stock market crashing into chaos, many had lost their jobs. This led to many being unemployed. “The rate of unemployment is higher among youth between 20 and 24 than in any older group, and highest of all for young people between 15 and 20 who are out of school and seeking work” (War not solution...1939). Before the great depression America was in what we called “the roaring twenties,” many inventions were being invented and the rich had bought lots of these innovations. This gave America a false sense of prosperity this was  “setting off a chain reaction that started with the closing of factories and sudden withdrawal of investments” (Top 5 causes… 2017).  This led to even more unemployment within in America.

When the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, people had come to terms which preserving their money. Since there was less spending there was a decline in production and that meant that factories had to let workers go. The cycle repeats and slowly the unemployment rates had risen. To get people’s jobs back, the government had placed a tariff on “over 20,000 types of imported goods. This was done so that American companies wouldn’t lose to competition to foreign companies but the nature of the tax was such that it forced several companies to stop exporting goods to the US.” (Top 5 Causes… 2015). As a response to the tariff that the US had placed on international goods, other nations had also put a tax on U.S. goods. This was the Tariff Act of 1930, or otherwise known as Smoot-Hawley Tariff. The tariff had done no good in helping America’s current situation and “world trade fell by two-thirds between 1929 and 1934. By then, Franklin Roosevelt and a Democrat-controlled Congress passed new legislation allowing the president to negotiate significantly lower tariff rates with other nations.”(Top 5 Causes… 2017).

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Many causes led to the Great Depression but the four primary reasons were the Stock Market Crash of 1929; bank failures; unemployment; and the drought conditions. Before the Great Depression, “the nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, a period dubbed ‘the Roaring Twenties.’”(Great Depression History 2009). The stock market was centered in New York City, and at the time everyone had poured their savings into it and the stock market rapidly expanded in August 1929. Unfortunately, at the time, “production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stock prices much higher than their actual value.”(Great Depression History 2009). During October there had already been multiple stock market crashes but the most significant on was called “Black Tuesday.” On October 29, 1929, the market crashed and was “losing 12 percent of its value and wiping out $14 billion of investments. By two months later, stockholders had lost more than $40 billion dollars.”(Top 5 Causes… 2017). The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was only a contributing factor to the Great Depression, and another cause would be bank failures. Banks had already been in debt and failing to repay the loans. After the crash of the stock market, the situation for banks was chaotic, “Nearly 700 banks failed in waning months of 1929 and more than 3,000 collapsed in 1930.”(Top 5 Causes… 2017). People panicked and caused bank runs, which was when customers withdrew more money than the bank can provide. And with the hasty withdraw, it forced more banks to shut down.

Unemployment rates had already been increasing and many young adults, including women and people of color, sought out for jobs to provide for their family. During this era, men had been mostly unemployed, and the women had to take the role of the head of the family. Jobs for women were limited and the “Jobs available to women paid less, but were more stable during the banking crisis: nursing, teaching, and domestic work.”(Great Depression History 2009). Some of the lowest unemployment rates were in the ages from 15 to 24, “The unemployment census of 1937 revealed that the years of greatest employability are between the ages of 25 and 55 and that while above the age of 55 the unemployment rate becomes higher, it is not nearly as high as under the age of 25.”(War Not Solution… 1939). African American families received even less insurance than other families when the stock market crashed, “farm and domestic work, two major sectors in which blacks were employed, were not included in the 1935 Social Security Act, meaning there was no safety net in times of uncertainty.”(Great Depression History 2009). Although black people had the most unfavorable condition, in the end, it had inspired Roosevelt to establish the first “Black Cabinet” lead by Mary Mcleod Bethune assured that black people had representation and the number of black government workers tripled. Farm and domestic work were the major occupations in the South and when the terrible drought conditions hit called “The Dust Bowl” and “Massive dust storms choked towns, killing crops and livestock, sickening people and causing untold millions in damage.”(Top 5 Causes… 2017) This tragic event left many farmers unemployed, and most of them migrated to California where they sought out for jobs as cotton harvesters and received Federal aid.

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3. What was life like during the Great Depression for families?

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3. What was life like during the Great Depression for families?

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Life during the Great Depression was not very well off for many families. Though many were not well off financially many families had found other ways of entertainment and social activities to partake in. Some social events that some partook in were potlucks, “ often organized by churches, became a popular way to share food and a cheap form of social entertainment”  and Thrift gardens, which were communities where locals could grow their own food (Konkel 2018).  Children at the time played lots of board games. “Neighbors got together to play cards, and board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly—both introduced during the 1930s” (Konkel). Miniature golf was a very cheap source of entertainment, ranging from prices such as 25-50 cents a round. Radio was also a great free source of entertainment for many during the great depression. The radio played many programs, such as comedy shows, “such as Amos ‘n’ Andy, soap operas, sporting events and swing music distracted listeners from everyday struggles.” (Konkel)

The conditions for many families were terrible at the time too. Most children wore clothing passed down from older siblings or cousins. Women had joined the workforce to help their husbands provide for their children, though women had started working they were not paid as much as men were. Lots of families felt economical stress and many fathers and “teens who felt they had become a burden on their families and left home in search of work” (Konkel). Those who lived in the area the dust bowl had effected at the time lived in even worse conditions. Those who lived in the dust bowl, could not work or even go outside. Many suffered because of all the dust being blown around. One man and his family had to leave saying, “Alton and I batch. His mother died of dust pneumonia.. Guess it was about time we was getting out of here” (First hand accounts… 1937). The crime rates had also increased during the Great Depression, it was an overall dangerous and terrible for many families.

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i2psYDMCx6zJzWxA9ppRaRUJ_F8qoK-1bpXX4V-85tA/edit?usp=sharing

Kelly, Martin. "Top 5 Causes of the Great Depression." ThoughtCo, 10 June 2019,

https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-of-the-great-depression-104686 Accessed 16 October, 2019.

History.com Editors. “Great Depression History.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009,

https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/great-depression-history. Accessed Oct. 16 2019.

“Newspaper Headlines about the ‘Black Tuesday’ Stock Market Crash of 1929.” Newspapers.com, The Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 1929,

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22195178/newspaper_headlines_about_the_black/. Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

“Firsthand Accounts of Farmers Living through the Dust Bowl in 1937.” Newspapers.com, The Des Moines Register, 4 May 1937,

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22196357/firsthand_accounts_of_farmers_living/.  Accessed 19 Oct. 2019.

Konkel, Lindsey. “Life for the Average Family During the Great Depression.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 19 Apr. 2018,

https://www.history.com/news/life-for-the-average-family-during-the-great-depression. Accessed 16 Oct. 2019.

“Former Farmers Now Migrants in California Need Aid in 1938.” Newspapers.com, Oakland Tribune, 8 Apr. 1938,

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22200371/former_farmers_now_migrants_in/.  Accessed 17 Oct. 2019.

Ali, Waqas. “Top 5 Causes of the Great Depression – Economic Domino Effect.” WAR HISTORY ONLINE, 10 Nov. 2017,

https://m.warhistoryonline.com/history/top-5-causes-great-depression-economic-domino-effect.html.

Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.

“1939 Editorial: ‘War Not Solution for Unemployment.’” Newspapers.com, The Morning Call, 30 Nov. 1939,

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/22200555/1939_editorial_war_not_solution_for/.  Accessed 18 Oct. 2019.