The Great Depression was the worst economic downfall in America’s history. The President at the time was President Herbert Hoover. He underestimated the power of the Great Depression. He figured it was going to pass after a while. He and others in his administration believed the economy was going to cure itself, all America had to do was sit back and wait. However, he was wrong. The great depression lasted ten years, from 1929-1939.
Before the start of the Great Depression, Americans invested in stocks. With a small down payment, one could invest or practice buying “on margin”. Afterward, one would borrow the rest from a bank or a stockbroker. Between 1927 – 1929 stock prices increased, which meant investors produced an adequate amount of profits to pay off the loan and reinvest the rest, repeating the cycle. However, by early September 1929, the stock market dramatically decreased. By the end of October, investors lost a large sum of money, fifty billion dollars. Because of this tragedy, businesses began to fall. It was so devasting, that some stockbrokers and investors committed suicide. “The resulting economic slowdown became so severe and long-lasting that it came to be known as the Great Depression.” (1150). However, it came to be found that the collapse of the stock market was not the cause of the Great Depression. The prosperity of the 1920s had been built on weak foundations.
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During the Great Depression, millions of Americans faced a crisis no one was prepared for. After the stock market crashed, it became evident that the economy was failing. This caused many Americans to fear losing their hard-earned money. Because of this, everyone went into a mental panic and hurried to the banks. There they stood in long lines, wrapped around the building as seen in the image “A Run on the Bank”. People waited anxiously to redraw their finances from the banks. Due to this psychological panic over 9,000 banks were forced to close by 1932. During this time, the United States economy suffered a devastating downfall. With the Great Depression came nationwide devastation. One out of every four Americans was without employment. This caused families and many individuals to go without.
The commodity relief line represents many workers who could no longer afford items they once could. They stood or even sat in long lines to receive services or food. Also, because many farmers could no longer make mortgage payments, sheriffs served farms with foreclosure papers. This led to farmers forming the Farmers’ Holiday Association. The goal of the Farmers’ Holiday Association was to be heard by the government, so they can be provided government assistance with their cases. They met up as represented in the picture, “Agricultural Workers’ Meeting”.
Farmers threatened to go on strike if their demands were not met. By going on strike, they will withhold crops, milk, and livestock from the nation’s market. However, individual groups of farmers took their own action before the Farmers’ Holiday Association got a chance to start. These individuals took immediate action by obstructing off-roads and banning the passage of milk and grains. Some groups even went as far as trespassing in courthouses and intimidating judges with threats of violence. It became so horrifying, that one mob almost lynched a judge. Between 1930 and 1932, unemployment dramatically increased from 4 million to 12 million. In many of the large cities, nearly half of the working adults were out of a job. The millions of others who were privileged to still have a job saw their working hours and earnings lowered. African Americans suffered far worse than whites this time. They were the last hired, first fired. This led to half a million people losing homes or farms due to not being able to afford mortgage payments. Unfortunately, this caused an increase in crime. One man stated the dangers of walking the streets.
“Desperate conditions led desperate people to do desperate things.” Instead of married couples getting a divorce, many unemployed husbands abandoned their wives and children. There are only a mother and three children in the family in the picture “Minors Family During Strike”. It looks as if the father has abandoned the family. Many men made the heartbreaking decision to just abandon their families because couples could no longer afford to separate or pay the legal fees for an attorney to help grant a divorce. This caused the divorce rate to drop. Due to this and because married couples agreed not to reproduce any more children, birth rates dramatically decreased. Often when parents were struggling to make ends meet, they sent their children off to live with loved ones. Almost a million children left home on their own. They simply became one of the increasing armies of homeless migrants. Notice the little girl in “South Carolina Farm Girl”.
In 1932, twenty percent of working women were unemployed. This changed as the Depression worsened. The primary target of layoffs was married women. This was in part because many believed women should be at home taking care of their husbands instead of stealing jobs from a husband and a father. This led to some states adopting policies to no longer allow marry women employment. However, this did not stop white women from finding jobs such as salesgirls, beauticians, schoolteachers, secretaries, and nurses. African American women were limited to maids, cooks, or laundresses. (1158).
Those who once were wealthy such as lawyers, doctors, dentists, accountants, stockbrokers, teachers, nurses, and engineers made intense sacrifices in an attempt to avoid humiliation. They believed if they went without food and medical care, they could save money and avoid seeking assistance like others. They refused to bring shame upon themselves. The picture “Baby Sick, Truck Broken” represents the hardships Americans faced during the Great Depression. “The U.S Public Health Service revealed that the families of unemployed workers had 66 percent more illnesses than those of employed workers.” (1155). Millions of Americans went hungry. New York City alone reported 100 cases of death by starvation. Churches and charities passed out free food and water at neighborhood soup kitchens or breadlines. This caused millions to line up outside hoping for some free coffee and soup. Louise V. Armstrong once saw American citizens fighting over scraps of food in a barrel of garbage at a restaurant and sat on the road.
Every day, a thousand Americans lost their homes. Due to their not being able to make mortgage payments, their house was foreclosed. Even more, Americans were required to move in with loved ones. Those who the Depression forced to become homeless were placed in almshouses at first. These almshouses were also called poorhouses or workhouses. After a while, homeless people took over public facilities. This forced people to live outside, under bridges, park bridges, and even police stations. Men who were homeless lived on the road or the rails. Some men will jump on the freight trains and ride from town to town.
After a while, President Hoover begins to act. “He invited business, labor, government, and agricultural leaders to a series of conferences in which he urged companies to maintain employment and wage levels, asked unions to end strikes, and pleaded with state governors to accelerate planned construction projects so as to keep people working.” (1159). President Hoover's efforts of course did not work. Everyone suffered during the Great Depression. It didn’t matter whether you were white, African American, or Mexican. Money didn’t matter either, the rich and the poor both suffered.
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