October 24th, 1929 the stock market crashed and the American world changed. This event is known as “Black Thursday". On Black Thursday, the banking system collapsed, and 25% of the labor force, around 12.8 million people at the time, became unemployed. “...prices and productivity levels had fallen 1/3 of their level in 1929.” With Americans having trouble finding work and the banking system struggling, people weren’t spending and saving money. This led to an economic decline and a never-ending cycle of decline in the United States. President Hoover was in office during this time, and not many were happy. Americans were looking for help from the government and not receiving anything. Americans felt as though Hoover wasn’t trying to help their situations. “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American …show more content…
Americans believed in family unity and traditional values. Families would spend time together by listening to the radio and playing games. Families would work together to help each other out as much as possible. Money was tight, and this put pressure on many families. Due to the increased daily pressures and struggles, families broke apart under the stress of the Great Depression. During the Depression, men were the primary provider for their families. Men had difficulty dealing with unemployment; they would be looking for jobs daily, weekly, and monthly. The pressure of not finding a job to provide for their families caused men to leave their homes. They would wander the country by hitchhiking rides. Those men were called hobos. The weekly wage that was given to families by New York City at the time was $2.39 per family. This was still not enough money to feed a family for a week. Many people would go through garbage daily to find food. Soup kitchens and other charitable organizations would provide food for needy people. People would stand in line for hours to just get one loaf of