The 1920’s are remembered as, “the roaring Twenties”, because it was a time of economic and cultural prosperity. The streets of Harlem, New York were filled with tunes of blues and jazz music. Construction sites could be seen throughout the state. And New York’s population was up to about six million. New York’s period of ease and leisure was brought to a halt with the crash of the stock market on October 29, 1929. The stock market crash was only the beginning of the Great Depression, a decade filled with high unemployment and an economic state of turmoil. The stock market crash filled people with panic and confusion and the people of New York found themselves jobless and homeless. Despite people’s pleas for an increase in government involvement, President Herbert Hoover objected. Instead, he implemented acts similar to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, which loaned money to banks and insurance companies; the RFC was an attempt by Hoover to lower unemployment and increase consumption. (Holley) Hoover’s laissez faire approach left many families with very little options. Newly homeless people settled into shanty towns nicknamed, “Hoovervilles” (History). Hooverville’s sprang up on …show more content…
The New Deal was composed of many different reforms that were aimed at helping to get the country back on track. The Works Progress Administration and the Civil Works Administration were two of the relief programs. Both of which were an attempt to get men and women out of unemployment. As a result of these programs, New York was flourished with many new projects. Under the CWA and the WPA, New York’s Central Park underwent reconstruction. After the renovations, Central Park was no longer a sight of Hoovervilles, but a pleasant scenic park (“Central Park Improvements”). Today Central Park is not only one of New York’s many tourist attractions, but one of the most visited urban parks in the