Life After The Great Depression Essay

The Great Depression was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the world. After the stock market crash of 1929, the American economy plummeted. This was devastating for many families. Thousands of people faced dilemmas such as losing their jobs and being forced to survive off the remnants of others. Many were forced to eliminate personal luxuries, problems in the education systems arose, and the banking system was destroyed. People turned to the government to help them out of their problems. Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt worked to pass relief acts that would boost the American economy. Even though the Depression began with the stock market crash in 1929, schools were not affected until 1932. Thousands of people

Since many people were out of work, it became strenuous to afford wholesome food. Many men were out of work and their wives and children became malnourished. Men, women, and even children took on laborious jobs “and used all the means available to them to stretch their recourses to their limits” (“Food 1929-1941” 21). In the early 1930’s there was little money for food, let alone anything new, but people started finding ways to cope. People started growing vegetables and fruits in their backyards out of necessity. Homeowners also did their own renovations and found ingenious ways to make their home functional and eye appealing. Men ate in moderation so that their families were appeased. They felt that they were “responsible for providing for their families” and that they had to rectify their problems that had befallen them (“Food 1929-1941” 21). Men felt that they were responsible for their wives and children so they would go to breadlines. Breadlines were similar to non-profit soup kitchens that would feed the hungry. Families turned to cheap processed foods during the Depression because they were searching for food that would keep them satisfied while not breaking the

The election was between Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt won by a landslide because his relief proposals were more appealing to the public rather than Hoover’s. The 1932 presidential election was mainly decided by the economic state of the country. All of the unemployed and financially ruined Americans “blamed Hoover for the collapse of the stock market, banking, and industry. FDR, a democrat, was elected in 1932 in a landslide election. Roosevelt promised Americans a New Deal with job creation, aid, and public works” (“The stock market crashes: October 29, 1929” 1). In the 1932 election, between Hoover and Roosevelt, the public became more attracted to Roosevelt because he proposed policies of relief that would help the United States out of its economic slump. In the beginning, Hoover did little to improve economic conditions, “although, he did provide relief funds in the United States in 1932 with the Emergency Relief Reconstruction Act” (“The stock market crashes: October 29, 1929” 3). Many people blamed Hoover for the Depression because he did little to help the economy. Hoover thought that aid was not needed so he did not want the government to intervene. The United States was able to start recovering from the Depression when the government took responsibility. With all of FDR’s