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How Did The Great Depression Affect Families

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Imagine this: A family is living their normal lives in the 1930s. All of a sudden, banks go under and jobs start to disappear. The same family that was living in comfort, now has to stretch every dollar. Common items have become scarce. Diapers are being used as dish towels and things are becoming dire. The Great Depression had negative effects on the people who lived through it such as there were no steady jobs, a lack of luxuries, and most families did not have a dependable income. Every member of the family has to do everything they can to help each other. Similarly, the Great Depression had very awful effects on people because there were no steady jobs. "The closing of the Old West Mine meant the end of anything resembling a steady job for the next eight years." (Hastings, 1). The Old West Mine was were most men of the day worked. But the mine had to close because the owners did not have enough money to continue to keep it running any longer. Because of this, a lot of men were out of a job that supported them and their entire families. "With simple barber tools he cut my hair and that of the other kids in the neighborhood, for maybe ten cents a head." (Hastings, 10). People during the Great Depression took any job that they could find. These jobs included …show more content…

"With no dependable income, they cut back on everything possible." (Hastings, 4). The loss of jobs during the Great Depression directly resulted in families losing a constant flow of money into their household that they could rely on. Without a sure income, many families had to go without multitudes of essential items. "Banning child labor." (The New Deal, 5). The lack of a sure income got so stressful that many parents put their young children to work. These children were no older than six or seven years old. The Great Depression was turning into the Great

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