Life During the Depression
us/videos/the-great-depression#the-great-depression us/videos/the-great-depression#the-great-depression
Cars gave an escape from the depression Status symbol Most prized possession Creation of highways Family vacation Trailers Half of American families owned cars What is the last thing you’d give up?
Appliance revolution continues in the 30s More homes get electricity Refrigerator most popular appliance (sales climb in depression) Chores become easier
Entertainment thrives during bad economic times People saved money for entertainment Movies changed dramatically (sound technology) Color films Gone With the Wind (1939) Mid 30s million people attend movies weekly
Social focus- people gathered around it 10 million homes had radio in 1929 Triples in 10 years Link to the outside world (like tv today) Mirrors tv programming schedule today Mass media (movies,radio,newspaper) What is today’s mass media?
Artists, writers, photographers, painters Focus on struggle of people Inspire readers to fight for social change The Grapes of Wrath American Gothic
Hardship, homeless, hunger Job loss, homes lost People build shantytowns Soup kitchens and bread lines Minorities have higher unemployment rates Depression in rural areas- many lose farms What advantage did rural Americans have? Dust Bowl
Brought family closer together in some cases Men had difficulty coping with their failure to support the family 300,000 hoboes No direct relief provided by government Women struggle to survive How did they survive?
Children Suffer hardships Lack of nutrition- malnutrition Schools were closed- 300,000 students Vagrant children wandered the country Social and psychological effects Suicide rate raises 30% Many sacrifices were made How did this effect the people that lived during the depression for the rest of their lives? Gpa Raub