Great Depression

A period in American history called "The Great Depression" was a time of devastation and great chaos. A lot of American people underwent this period but still coped to pull through and come out of it eventually. Throughout the decade of suffering farmers were beaten the hardest. Many farmers lost capital because of the dust bowl that flounced the country. Given that numerous families were having debts their kids would have to mature fast and be put to job. The Great Depression which began in 1929 continued until 1939. The stock market went down on "Black Tuesday" of 1929, October 29th. At that time prices of stock decreased forty percent. Hundreds of banks clashed and millions of people's investment accounts were gone astray. Companies stopped working, and salaries fell down by approximately sixty percent. Unemployment increased from nine percent to twenty five percent. Nearly fifteen million Americans remained without work.

That phase was also known under the name "The Dirty Thirties." People had many diverse opinions on why this was another nickname for this period of devastation. Some thought it was this for the reason of the dreadful weather with the drought leading to one of the largest dust storms ever to hit the nation. Others considered it was called as this due to poor working conditions and such shanty cities people had to go into because of low earnings or none at all. These cities developed by homeless people were called "Hoovervilles." People settling there lived in huts made from everything including egg crates and redundant boards. Cities were named after President Herbert Hoover, which a lot of Americans considered guilty for the breakdown of the state's economy in the first place.

So, what is the reason for Great Depression? Since it included uneven distribution of capital, high taxes and war debts, over production in manufacturing and cultivation, it eventually led to the biggest stock market collapse and placed the economy in a condition of financial panic. The Great Depression of the 1930s continued for a decade. This happened and mostly effected regions of the Great Plains in the states, such as Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. In the year of 1934 strong winds hit the soil which developed into massive clouds of dust and blew crosswise the land. The farming demolition helped to extend the Depression since its consequences were felt globally. This period of human poverty and distress was well depicted in John Steinback's book, "The Grapes of Wrath."

When Franklin D. Roosevelt became the president he started on the New Deal and began with Congress to bypass the new Emergency Banking Relief Bill that supported the reopening of banks and banned export of gold. He assisted unemployed people to get jobs through the organization called the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It employed over 2.5 million Americans on the whole. FDR's emergency relief projects, Social Security Act, business control, putting assurance back in people to use bank services and buy stocks, and other Roosevelt's New Deal Programs helped the American economy to revive and re-establish order in the state. Throughout the era of Great Depression, a lot of Americans felt the necessity to get away from that all and enjoyed themselves with different leisure activities. Although people lacked cash they still got additional money for activities like cinema, music, radio shows, and so on. Going on a picnic or playing some golf was good way to pass the time while being unemployed.

Therefore, the Great Depression will always be in the minds of people as a period of a withering economy that once collapsed financially and naturally. In economical sense, people lost their work and still had to survive; however, ultimately they pulled out of it as a strong American Society.

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