Life and Struggles During the Great Depression in America

this video is brought to you by captivating history if the roaring 20s was one long party

the great depression was the ultimate hangover the decadence and flamboyance that

characterized the previous decade came crashing down after october 29 1929 now known as black tuesday billions of

dollars invested in the stock market were wiped out in a single day the aftermath of this event rippled

throughout the world having unprecedented effects in the decades to come

at the epicenter of the crash lives were affected across the board the first four years saw a quarter of

the u.s workforce lose their jobs people lucky enough to have employment didn't necessarily have financial

security as even those in the top professions saw a 40 drop in their income

wages and hours were slashed and families were forced to cut back in many ways

world war one and the spanish flu pandemic were within living memory for many people yet a return to a more

frugal lifestyle took its toll on the population the twenties had brought with it many

advances in the way of life of the average american by 1925 half of the american homes had electric power and

along with that new domestic appliances like refrigerators were coming onto the market

higher living standards meant that many people felt the need to keep up appearances despite the genuine threat

of losing their homes or newly acquired automobiles during world war one america had

contributed to the war effort with the national war garden commission american citizens were encouraged to

grow fruits and vegetables to allow more food to be exported to the allied countries in europe

people during the depression almost certainly drew from this experience creating kitchen gardens where possible

and some towns were allowed to convert vacant lots into communal gardens food had to be stretched as far as it

could go so cheap meals like mac and cheese baked beans potato soup and very basic cornbread were popular

fashionable magazines of the time contained tips on making the most of your food budget with recipes for

casseroles and chilies social activities were one of the first things to be cut back and in the first

five years of the depression more than one third of american cinemas closed free forms of entertainment gained

popularity church organized potlucks became common and were attended as a free social event

not just for the food board games brought people together with neighbors meeting up to play cards and

other games mini golf gained popularity as a cost-effective pastime and over 30 000

mini golf courses have been established by the 1930s listening to the radio became an

increasingly prevalent pastime the radio offered a way to keep up to date with current events

it was a form of escapism by listening to sports games comedies and soap operas music was a release and an inspiration

of hope jazz swing and big band music were in style for dancing and listening despite the lack of work more women

joined the workforce than previously women took jobs as secretaries nurses telephone operators and teachers

while these careers were not seen as socially acceptable for men some criticized women for taking jobs

when many men were out of work a few cities started to refuse to let married women become school teachers as

they felt that they would not be struggling as much as men of course this was not always the case

as employers could pay women less which helped keep staff costs down women may have felt more pressured to

keep up appearances but they suffered as much as anyone else during the depression

the burdens of budgeting often fell to women they would darn in patch old clothes

cook as economically as possible and manage the food shopping budgeting on food often had dire

repercussions for growing children deprived of dietary staples such as milk meant the cases of rickets and other

diet related illnesses rose children did not just suffer from a bad diet schools closed due to falling tax

revenues and thousands could not receive an education many of these children went out to work

in sweatshops and other unregulated workplaces thousands of teenagers disillusioned

with life in america and not wanting to burden their families rode the freight trains across the country searching for

work and adventure but this was not always the whimsical life that is imagined

many of these vagabonds were jailed more worse and from 1929 to 1939 nearly 25 000 trespassers were killed on railroad

property before the great depression welfare was something that many families would take

pains to avoid even if they needed it the stigma attached to government welfare programs changed somewhat during

the 1930s although families on welfare still felt it was a humiliating situation

one government caseworker in chicago eileen barth had the job of assessing the claimant's financial position

her supervisor told her that she had to see the poverty for herself including checking how much clothing they had

during one visit she had to ask an unemployed railroad man if she could look in his closet

she recalls i could see he was very proud he was so deeply humiliated this humiliation was too much for some

people to bear another survivor called virginia durham remembers people of pride went into

shock and sanatoriums my mother was one but it was not just the mortification of asking for government handouts that

affected citizens the great depression forced many people into homelessness

during the early 1930s insurance companies started to issue mortgages these companies took advantage of

borrowers knowing that if they failed to keep up the repayments they would have to hand over the ownership of their

house those unable to keep up with property payments were evicted and ended up on

the streets sleeping in parks and even sewer pipes soon shanty towns began to spring up

with people living in everything from old cars to piano boxes soup kitchens fed the people free or

low-cost food lines of people waiting for this food became known as the breadline and from this evolved the same

living on the bread line describing people who lived on a low income family life was strained and despite

divorce rates dropping abandonments increased men feeling embarrassed and emasculated

when they could no longer support their family deserted them out of sheer desperation

these men would often resort to life on the streets known as hobos around 300 000 people

mainly men took to hitching rides on box cars sleeping under bridges or heading to the homeless shelters found in the

big cities the national suicide rate rose massively in 1933 as the psychological toll of the

great depression ripped people's hearts and minds this psychological impact was compounded

by media reports of violent crimes such as the bank robbing spree of bonnie and klein or the kidnap and subsequent

murder of charles lindbergh's young son in reality although violent crime increased during the first few years

after 1934 it fell dramatically continuing to fall until the 1960s while the economic storm raged another

kind of storm was ravaging farming communities drought hit the southern plains during

the 1930s and crops failed exposing the over-farmed soil the native grasslands have been plowed

to plant wheat and when the crops died the dry earth that had previously been held in place by the roots began to blow

away dust storms blew across the region causing devastation

this environmental disaster compounded the economic one if farmers could grow any crops at all

they had to be sold at such a low price the families couldn't survive rented farms were repossessed and many

farmers were forced to give up their homesteads and move to california hoping to work as day laborers

by 1940 around 65 000 people had migrated from nebraska during the period known as the dirty 30s

the climate on the great plains was also unpredictable but the 1930s brought unprecedented weather conditions

during 1934 nebraska experienced over 20 days at over 100 degrees the years that followed brought dust

storms floods and more heat those who remained on the plains put up with constant dust storms blowing

through their towns the dust killed crops blacked out the sun and was everywhere

people hung damp sheets up to catch dust and windows were taped in an attempt to keep it out

despite these measures cups and plates had to be kept overturned until used however hardship breeds humor

farmers would joke that a man hit by a raindrop had to be revived by throwing two buckets of sand in his face and some

local stores advertised great bargains in real estate bring your own container despite the hardships and hunger

plaguing the american people in 1933 franklin d roosevelt created the controversial agricultural adjustment

administration the aaa in the eyes of the government the main issue was that farm goods were selling

far too cheaply which was undermining the economy they felt that a surplus of crops and

livestock contributed to the low price so in a bid to tip the supply and demand balance they paid farmers to leave a

segment of their land unplanted and produce fewer crops and livestock the operation began in spring and the

government paid farmers to plant fewer crops farmers were then subsidized and plenty

of agriculturalists in the midwest benefited from this system however while these farmers were growing

less food and receiving federal money to drive up the price of these commodities many americans could not feed themselves

or their families the aaa ended in 1936 but it was renewed and improved only a few years later

still this scheme and subsequent programs really only boosted larger and more productive farms

small and tentative farms were unable to compete which is a trend that continues in agriculture today

many small homesteaders and farm laborers were forced to migrate from the rural countryside to the cities or give

up their own small farms to work on the larger ones incredibly despite all the suffering and

hunger the great depression decreased most mortality rates in america aside from suicide other causes of death

dropped cardiovascular and renal diseases stabilized in the first couple of years

while death from traffic accidents tuberculosis pneumonia and the flu declined

the average life expectancy for white people actually rose by six years between 1929 and 1933

while people of color had a lower life expectancy during the depression it rose more quickly and increased by about

eight years it seems that economic expansion is more detrimental to your health than economic

decline researchers speculate that this is due to a higher smoking rate during economic

upturns in a faster pace of life causing more stress and less sleep than during a downturn

in all life during the great depression was as varied as it is today while some people took up mini golf and

listened to the radio others had dust for dinner some families struggled to pay the bills

to keep their homes and cars others lost everything and were forced into homelessness

people went hungry as farmers planted less to get government subsidies but throughout these struggles many

people formed close-knit communities that shared resources and helped each other throughout these challenging times

the bonds within neighborhoods provided strength and resilience to many and shaped the attitudes of a generation of

americans to learn more about the great depression check out our book

the great depression a captivating guide to the worldwide economic depression that began in the united states

including the wall street crash fdr's new deal hitler's rise and more it's available as an e-book paperback

and audiobook also grab your free mythology bundle ebook while it's still available all

links are in the description if you enjoyed the video please hit the like button and subscribe for more

videos like this