14.2 – Hardship & Suffering During the Depression

Urban Depression• Depression brought

hardship, homelessness & hunger to millions

• Evictions skyrocket – people sleep anywhere

• Shantytowns (shacks) become common

• People scrap for food – dig through garbage

• Soup kitchens offer free or low-cost food – LONG lines

• Minorities suffer more– Discrimination– Higher unemployment

rates

Rural Depression • Rural life was hard, but one advantage of over urban life:– Farmers could grow

OWN food

• Thousands lose their land– 1929-32: 400k lost to

foreclosure

• Many turn to tenant farming

• Most barely scrap by

Dust Bowl

• Caused by loss of top soil through over farming (overproduction)– Plowing takes off top soil

• Massive drought expands problems = dry, loose soil

• Land = dry, flat, few trees• Winds push soil across

the land = exposes sand & grit = dust

Dust Bowl (c.) • Hardest Hit:– Kansas, Oklahoma,

Texas, New Mexico, & Colorado

• Area known as the Dust Bowl

• Thousands head west to California and/or wander to find work

• P. 474 - Map

Men• Men struggle coping not being able to support the family– Daily searches for jobs– Many stop looking, some

abandon families

• Hoboes, or the traveling poor, span the country looking for food & work

• No system of direct relief – cities try to organize charities for struggling families

Women • Women do everything to keep family life going– Save EVERY penny

• Increasingly leave the home to survive

• Become source of resentment– Men, not women should be

employed

• Misconception: Women had it better than men during the Depression– P. 476

Children• Poor diets & bad care =

health problems– Rise in diet-related diseases

(ex. Rickets)

• Education suffers: school year shortened or schools closed

• Children enter workforce = sweatshops & bad conditions

• Teens leave home, search country for jobs– “Hoover Tourists”

Effects • Many lose will to live– 1929-32: Suicide Rate +30%

& 3x mental admissions• Sacrifices & Compromises

– Doctor & Dental visits plummet

– College enrollment drops– Marriage & family rates fall

• Main Goal: Achieve & maintain financial security

• Positive: People showed kindness– Help those in need as much

as possible