The United States of America during the 1920s seemed like a nation with endless prosperity. Booming construction, flourishing businesses, and a soaring stock market encompassed the nation as a whole. However, on October 29, 1929 the stock market crashed sending massive shockwaves throughout the economy and causing the Great Depression. Banks failed, businesses closed, and millions found themselves out of work. 18 million elderly, disabled, and single mothers already lived at a bare subsistence level in the USA. By 1933, another thirteen million Americans had lost their jobs. State and local governments could no longer provide even minimum assistance for those in need. These desperate times began to put into question the old American concept