The Great Depression: Hardship and Suffering During the Depression Chapter 14, Section 2

FACTS about this decade: Population: 123,188,000 in 48 states Life Expectancy: Male, 58.1; Female, 61.6 Average salary: $1,368 Car Sales: 2,787,400 Food Prices: Milk, 14 cents a qt.; Bread, 9 cents a loaf; Round Steak, 42 cents a pound Lynchings: 21

Depression in the Cities Unemployment = 25% nationally From 1929 to 1934, U.S. personal income plunged 44% “Underemployment” meant that even those with jobs were not paid well.

Depression in the Cities Jobs lost = people evicted from homes / apartments –Residential real-estate foreclosures doubled between 1926 and 1929 – before the Great Depression actually began. –Foreclosure rate jumped from 3.6 per 1,000 mortgages in 1926 to 13.3 in –In 1933, 1,000 home were being foreclosed each day. – spikes-in-mortgage-rates/7969 Shantytowns (Hoovervilles), settlements consisting of shacks, arise in cities To feed themselves: –People dig through garbage, turn to begging –Soup kitchens offer free or low-cost food –Bread lines—people line up for food from charities

Minorities African Americans and Latinos were hit especially hard by the depression “Last hired, first fired” Higher unemployment (50%) and lower pay when they did have a job Many Latinos were deported (even when they were citizens) Rise in racial violence

Depression in Rural Areas Advantage over city life: Most farmers can grow food for their families About 400,000 farms lost through foreclosure –Many become tenant farmers –Many farm families migrate to Pacific Coast states - known as “Okies” Dust Bowl –Dust Bowl: from North Dakota to Texas

Men in the Streets Men were the primary provider – the condition of the family was dependent upon them –The divorce rate fell, for the simple reason that many couples could not afford it. –Psychological pain to not work / watch family suffer But rates of desertion soared. –By 1940, 1.5 million married women were living apart from husbands –As many as 300,000 hoboes wander the country on railroad box cars

Women Struggle to Survive Homemakers budget carefully—can food, sew clothes, buy food as group, etc. Women work outside home—getting paid less and resented by unemployed men Married women often denied a job (seen as taking a man’s job) Many women suffered in silence— starving to death in cold attics and rooming houses—too ashamed to stand in bread lines

Children Poor diets and health care lead to serious health problems in children Lack of tax revenue leads to shortened school year, school closings Teenagers, called “Hoover Tourists,” left home to alleviate stress on parents “one less mouth to feed” and to look for work. –More than 200,000 vagrant children

Social and Psychological Effects 1928–1932, suicide rate rises over 30% Admissions to state mental hospitals triples People give up health care, college, put off marriage, children But: –Many show great kindness to strangers –Develop habit of saving and thriftiness