Black Tuesday Research Paper

The economy of the United States expanded greatly through the 1920 's reaching its climax in August 1929. By this point, production had already declined and unemployment was at an all-time high, leaving stocks to imitate their real value. During the stock market crash of 1929, better known as Black Tuesday, investors traded vast numbers of shares in a single day, causing billions of dollars to be lost and millions of investors to be eliminated. This "crash" signaled the beginning of a decade long Great Depression that would affect all Western industrialized nations; a crash that would later become known as one of the darkest, longest lasting, economic downturns in American history. People all around the world suffered greatly as personal income,

The photograph 's title, Migrant Mother identifies the mother, as a migrant worker inferably a farmer outside of her home, as the majority of Americans were as they suffered through the tragedy of the Dust Bowl. Migrant workers traveled from farm to farm picking vegetation and other crops at starvation wages (Boundless). The mother and her children 's location in a tent support the suggestion that they moved frequently and did not possess a home of their own. The mother herself wears unmatched clothing: a plaid shirt underneath a linen coat. The coat is frayed at the sleeves barely extending to her elbows. Her face is beaten and her hair looks to be thrown back in a messy pony tail free of care. She displays no trace of earrings, necklaces, rings or other lavish accessories. The baby lies wrapped in what looks to be soiled cloth. It could possibly be that it is stained by dirt and debris. Its face is unclean and covered in dirt. The child leaning on the mother 's left wears a coat filled with holes and that is teared towards the bottom sleeve. Their hair is not groomed and their hands are soiled with dirt. There also appears to be a bruise on its visible arm. The child leaning on the mother 's right is wearing a loosely fit blazer, clearly not fit to size. These aspects of poverty displayed by the mother and her children display the Great Depression 's grim impression on several aspects of their lives

The physical image of poverty portrayed by the family reflects The Great Depression’s toll on their livelihood. It is clearly and plainly displayed that the mother and her children are impoverished by the techniques of black and white color choice, and intricate, detailed texture. The hardship faced by the family is highlighted by the photograph being in black and white. This allows for the simplicity of their condition to be shown without the distractions a photograph in color would provide. The image is very detailed and defined by texture, to leave no question to whether the family lacks wealth or riches. The mother’s face filled with wrinkles, the children’s face streaked with dirt and clothes filled with holes confirm such