User:A p worley/Everyday Life During the Great Depression

Background
In 1929, The United States experienced one of the most tragic events that the country had ever seen. When the stock market prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapsed, the country began a long and hard journey. This was a severe economic slump called The Great Depression.

Life at Home
The Great Depression left many Americans without jobs, money, or homes. Since families were losing so much during the slump, families were forced to make drastic lifestyle changes. Families began to cut down on everything but the necessities. A Montreal Woman quoted about life during The Great Depression, saying, "That's how it was in those days. We got along with very little, because we had to, when you don't have any money then you don't worry about it, eh?" People were very creative, in that they reused anything they could think of. One of the most well known ways people reused items was using material that came with other products to create clothing for their families. Food was a very big problem for many people. Families would stretch food to make it last longer by adding inexpensive fillers, such as potatoes, to make more of a small amount of food. Soup kitchens were a way for families who were homeless or in need of money to have a free meal. At first, soup kitchens were run by churches or private charities, such as Volunteers of America. However, by the mid 1930's state and federal governments had begun to run soup kitchens all over America, as well. They also gave food handouts to those in need. People would wait in long lines for a loaf of bread or a can of soup.

Making Money from Your House
Keeping a house soon became a challenge for many Americans. "Having an address is a luxury just now" an unemployed college woman told a social worker in 1932. Some middle class families kept their homes by converting them into boarding houses. This is where families would house and feed boarders who would pay rent. This was less expensive for boarders then renting an apartment, and the money helped pay the homeowner's bills. Some families also began to run businesses from their homes, such as raising chickens to sell eggs, or selling fruits or vegetables that they grew in backyard gardens.

Children's Life
Although not all children felt the harsh changes that the Great Depression had brought to their country, many did. Many children began taking on more mature roles at an earlier age. The older children in the family became parental figures for their younger siblings, since the adults were now working even harder to supply for their family. Though most children continued to go to school, some would drop out to begin working. In 1930, 2.25 million children worked in factories, canneries, mines, and on farms to help support their families. However, not all children were fortunate enough to have a home and go to school. During the Depression, about 250,000 young people were homeless. As a resut, some children would become nomads, and travel the highways and railways.

Rules People Lived By
People began to recognize steps that they had to take to survive the Great Depression. Some of these lessons that people lived their lives by, were:

1.Credit mentality instead of paying cash. “Don’t spend money you don’t already have in your pocket.”

2.Rich grew richer at the expense of others. “Don’t pay someone else to provide something that you can learn to do or to make yourself.”

3.Abandonment of traditional values and frugality. “Never buy anything you can use – only what you can’t live without.”

4.Self-Indulgence and self-gratification by immediate acquisition of possessions. “Don’t buy anything until you have twice the purchase amount.”

5.High Expectations by gambling in the stock market. “It’s doesn’t matter how much money you can make, but how much money you can save!”