Families: The Effects Of Great Depression On Families

The Great Depression often seems very distant to people of the 21st century. This article is a good reminder of potential problems that may reoccur. The article showed in a very literal way the idea that a depression can bring a growing country to its knees. The overall ramifications of the event were never discussed in detail, but the historical significance is that people's lives were put on hold while they tried to struggle through an extremely difficult time.

The young, recently married farmers living in the Great Plains during the 1930s had a terrible life. First off, being married meant having multiple people to provide for. This is more responsibility, and leads to dividing up the food between family members. Then, the country was also in an economic downturn, so the price of food and crops were low. Farmers already had debt because of new machines and land that was purchased during World War I to keep up with the demand during the war. Then the depression caused banks to fail, so farmers lost all their money that was in the bank. Everyday life was treacherous, and there were few amenities in the home, with no plumbing or electricity. Life was awful for a farmer during the Great Depression.

"Growing Up" by Russell Baker is an autobiography on the troubles him and his family faced during the Great Depression.. While the United States is enormously changing from war to war, Russell tells his story of growing up in an extremely depressing environment. During the Depression, the major problems that Baker faced through the novel were about the financial difficulties that his family endured, ending in result of his father passing away, the struggles of moving from rural life to urban life, and the lack of Medical attention around the area.

At the end of the 1920s the world experienced a devastating economic depression that struck countries with market economies. Despite the great depression being mildly experienced in some countries, the United States of America was hit so mind-bogglingly that at its nadir in 1933 an approximate value of 25% of all workers and an overwhelming 37 % of all non-farm workers were completely out of work and thrown to the curbs. The book Great Depression: People and Perspectives that is written by Hamilton Cravens gives us a peek of the tribulations suffered and encountered by individuals during the trying times of the Great Depression. It showcases the adverse level of suffering experienced, enlightening the sad misfortunes faced by individuals, instances where some individuals starved to death with their loved ones helpless and instances where many others lost their treasured homes and farms. It paints a pictures of homeless vagrants niggling onboard freight trains that crossed the nation for lack of the necessary funds (Cravens, 2009).

"The Changing American Family" by Cris Beam and "The American Family Is No More" by Allie Bidwell. Both of these articles are explaining how the traditional American family has changed and that there is no traditional American family anymore. These articles all explain how times have changed and families are growing more diverse and no longer follow the trends the once followed. While the article by Cris Beam was more based of statistics and how much things have changed, Allie Bidwell's article still had the same bottom line main idea. Both authors’ views were essentially the same and made the same arguments.

Family pressure during the great depression was unlike any the U.S. has ever seen. Everything about families changed in the 1930s. Couples during the depression delayed marriage, and at the same time the divorce rates dropped because people could not afford to pay for two households. Birthrates also dropped and for the first time in American history below the replacement level. Income was closed to none in all families; regular income had dropped by 35% just in the years Hoover was in office. Families had a lot of stress; some pulled together and made do with what they had others pushed away. People turned to who ever they had, family, friends, and after all else the government. Although there were rich people in the depression as well that the depression did not effect at all who were oblivious to the people suffering around them. By Franklin Roosevelt’s inauguration the unemployment rate was up to 25% only increasing till the 1940s. Within families the role played changed as well. Women and children were now working to put bread on the table. Fathers would despise sons for becoming the main source of income for a family. Unemployed men had a deep lack of self respect. That often led them to running away from there families forever. Because many men ran out or stopped caring the women’s role was enhanced and became working women. Black women found it easier to find work a servants, clerks, textiles, workers, ect. Work made all women’s status go up in their homes. Most mi...

During The Great Depression, many individuals were had lost their fortunes and property due to the crash in the stock market. Many could not even merely afford to buy anything but necessities such as food. Luckily, Boy Staunton was unaffe...

However, as the industrial era drew in the domestication of women became a luxury a significant proportion of American families could no longer afford. Industrialization had a massive effect on the construct of family due to the economical slump. Working class families were living at the marginal economic standards. Stable jobs were rarities and families could not settle down permanently in a community. Ideals of “self-made man” and a “true woman” became fantasies to this working class families. Women found jobs outside of the home in factories, but the most prominent method women made money was “outwork”, which involved chores like embroidery or sewing for other people in order to generate more income for the family.

The Great Depression was a tough time for most who lived through it, the Starkweather family was not excluded from the hard times. Even though they were poor, Guy and Helen Starkweather managed to make a living for themselves and their kids. The couple had seven children. Charles was the third. He had a normal childhood and a good home life. The Starkweather family made memories just like any other family wou...

Walter Evan’s depiction of life and the people during the Great Depression of the 1930s is abandoned, lonely, and disappointed. A good example of poverty is living in a bad condition which will make your health to incline. For instance, the person wearing half of no clothes seems upset. He is looking serious. If the people were for example. Upset of their living conditions then they are living in a condition that they really don’t want to be in. Suppose that you were working so hard to try and provide for your family, you try your best of your abilities but, you get paid little amounts of money that you can’t afford to get barely anything to provide a family of six. This picture has shown many things that has shown poverty. The faces of these

.... “The Economics of Middle-Income Family Life: Working Women During the Great Depression” The Journal of American History 65.1 (1978): 60-74. Web. 31 October 2013

Considering what I read in the text, I do not think there can be any denying that the economy affects families. Where there may be some disputes is in the hows and whys. My understanding is in a capitalistic economy there are always ebbs and flows. One man's loss may very well be another man's gain. Let's look at home ownership. Maybe it's true, part of the American Dream is owning a home. During the housing boom many families were able for the first time to purchase a home. Banks and mortgage companie...

Most people will eventually have to get a job, become employed to pay bills and help support themselves and their family. However, for many people unemployment can go from being something on a shelf in the back of their mind to reality at any point. Unemployment, defined as “the state of not having a job”, can affect any person or family at any time (Merriam-Webster). Unemployment, as we have seen in the past, has no boundaries and can help bring a nation crumbling down. We have seen how unemployment affects a nation through things such as the economy and the poverty level, but how, if at all, does unemployment affect the daily life of a family when one spouse suddenly becomes unemployed? Does unemployment change

The purpose of this paper is to understand the effects that unemployment has on the family as a whole. In today’s society being unemployed impacts greatly on almost every aspect of an individual’s life and depending on their personal circumstances, it is likely to impact on other family members lives too.

When I think about the Great Depression, I think about the traditional American side that post-war, the economy failing because of the lack of trade and flow of money. The stock market crash and the failure of banks sparked the Great Depression, but what did not come to mind, until I analyzed the photo essay, was the effect it had on migrants and people in the farming industry to that extent. There were two large devastations during this time period: the stock market crash and the dust bowl drought. People had less faith in the bank and less faith in the ideology of saving through trusting a intermediary transaction system. After people were left without their savings in the bank, many farmers were kicked off their farms after an extreme drought. Crop failures went ramped and migrants from other countries were dealing with the devastation of not living long enough in the United States to become citizens. Animosity of immigrants grew—shown in an