Great Depression In America Essay Example

Imagine getting your home taken from your and having barely enough food to keep yourself from starting. This harsh reality was what many Americans faced during the Depression. During the 1930s, the American economy fell into a recession that would become so bad, it would be known as the Great Depression. During this time, the banks failed, the stock market crashed, and the Oklahoma/Texas panhandle region was plagued with the Dust Bowl. In order to cope with the hardships and problems of the Great Depression, many Americans migrated to new places, families found new ways to acquire income, and had to change how they came by and used food. 

During the Great Depression, many Americans started to move around the county, looking for work and/or a better life. Document F is an expert from a newspaper that states, “a 21-year-old boy in Baltimore walked 20 miles, looking for work. ‘I just stopped at every place,’ he said, ‘but mostly they wouldn’t even talk to me.’” (Document F). This quote illustrates how a young boy, who is just barely and adult, is wandering around looking for work. Many Americans were in similar situations, moving from place to place during the Depression. At this time, hobos became common. They would just travel around the country as a way of life. Most hobos were previously men, women, and children who had relatively normal lives, but had to leave them behind due to the Depression. These Americnas migrated looking for a place to lead a normal life during the hard times of the Depression. Amerincas also migrated because of the Dust Bowl. During the Dust Bowl, the once fertile and prosperous land of the Southern Midwest had dried up and was turned to dust. With strong winds blowing into the area, the entire region would be engulfed by large storms of dust. This made life very difficult and caused many to migrate out of the region. Document B is a map from 1933, depicting the migration of people from the Midwest. It shows that many people migrated from the Dust Bowl region into California. These people had moved there hoping to get jobs picking fruit, which is why this is another example of Aericnas migrating to cope. 

Another common way that the American people worked to deal with the problems of the Depression is to try and find work. The economic state of America was in ruin, so many people needed money. Before the Depression, men were seen as the primary breadwinners, and women were often stay at home mothers. However, during the Depression, this changed. Document E is an expert form “Freedom From Fear,” a book about the Depression by David M. Kennedy.  According to this document, “ Working women at first lost their jobs at a faster rate than men — then reentered the workforce more rapidly. … the underlying trends of the economy meant that what new jobs did become available in the 1930s, such as telephone switchboard operation and clerical work, were peculiarly suited to women'' (Document E). This quote describes how during the Depression, families needed income, and many more women stepped up and got jobs in order to support their families. This is important because it is a change in the American workplace that was brought about by the Great Depression. Another example of how Ameicans got income was creating jobs, by selling goods on the streets. Document C is an image of people selling apples on the street in New York, from the New York Archives. This photo proves that Americans sold goods on the street for income. While these people likely count turn a large profit, the little bit of money they made helped out tremendously, making this a way the American people worked to survive the Depression. Also, many Americans started to take what little help they could from the government. Originally it was frowned upon by society, but the problems that the majority of Americnas faced led to many accepting this aid as a means to survive. These are ways that American families worked to supplement their income during the Depression. 

Finally, many needed to change the way they got food in order to deal with the problems of the Depression. In a speech by Oscar Ameringer, a newspaper editor, in front of a House committee from 1932, the problems with the American food citations were brought up. He states that a farmer, “had killed 3,000 sheep this fall and thrown them down the canyon, because it cost $1.190 to ship a sheep, and then he would get less than a dollar for it.” (Document I). This highlighted the paradox with the food situation, since many were going hungry, but farmers would make a profit on food, so they wouldn't sell it. People  couldn't pay “normal” prices, so farmers stopped selling, leading to the people needing new ways to get food. This leads to people taking different actions to get food. Document H is an image of a soup kitchen from 1932, by H. W. Felchner in  New York City. This image shows large amounts of people waiting outside for free “coffee and doughnuts'' (Document H). The large amount of people waiting outside conveys the situation that many Americans were in during this time. Another example of how the people dealt with the problems of the Depression was rationing food. Document A is an excerpt from The Invisible Scar, by Caroline Bird. The Invisible Scar is a book about the Great Depression. In this document, “A teacher in a mountain school told a little girl who looked sick, but said she was hungry to go home and eat something. ‘I can’t,’ the youngster said. ‘It’s my sister’s turn to eat.” (Document A). This demonstrates how even little children had to go hungry and ration food as a way to deal with the problem.  In Cinderella Man, the main character gives his daughter his small meal for the day and didn’t eat, so his child could. While this solution was far from perfect, it was something many Americans did in order to survive. 

In order to deal with the problems of the Great Depression, the American people migrated, changed how they obtained money, and altered how they acquired and consumed food. Families moved around the county looking for work, and women became more prominent in the workforce. Young children grew up with just barely enough food to survive, and could barely afford the basic necessities for life. The people during this time had gone through struggles that are unfathomable to people today, but they lived through them by coming up with new means of survival. These lifestyle changes greatly impacted America and set the stage for many changes in the future of society.