What was it like to grow up during the Great Depression of the 1930s?
The average American family lived by the Depression-era motto: “Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.” Many tried to keep up appearances and carry on with life as close to normal as possible while they adapted to new economic circumstances. Households embraced a new level of frugality in daily life.
How was life different in the 1930s?
The 1930s saw natural disasters as well as manmade ones: For most of the decade, people in the Plains states suffered through the worst drought in American history, as well as hundreds of severe dust storms, or “black blizzards,” that carried away the soil and made it all but impossible to plant crops.
How did the Depression affect black farmers?
Fifty-nine percent of African Americans lose their farms by the end of the Great Depression, and they never seem to recover. White farmers are not as unfortunate because despite the turmoil during this period only twelve percent of them no longer own their farms by 1950.
How did the Great Depression affect white families?
Millions of families lost their savings as numerous banks collapsed in the early 1930s. Unable to make mortgage or rent payments, many were deprived of their homes or were evicted from their apartments. Both working-class and middle-class families were drastically affected by the Depression.
What were some of the problems with farming during the Depression?
Farmers who had borrowed money to expand during the boom couldn’t pay their debts. As farms became less valuable, land prices fell, too, and farms were often worth less than their owners owed to the bank. Farmers across the country lost their farms as banks foreclosed on mortgages. Farming communities suffered, too.
Why did farmers incomes fell to low levels in the Great Depression?
When farmers were not making money, they could not buy the products that factories were making. When factories couldn’t sell their products, they laid off their workers. The workers could not buy the factory output either, meaning more lay-offs, and the country fell into a downward spiral.
What was the Great Depression How long did it last?
43
The Great Depression/Duration (months)
How did the Great Depression affect African Americans?
The problems of the Great Depression affected virtually every group of Americans. No group was harder hit than African Americans, however. By 1932, approximately half of African Americans were out of work. In some Northern cities, whites called for African Americans to be fired from any jobs as long as there were whites out of work.
What was life like in the south in the 1930’s?
facts about growing up white in the south in the 1930’s: A “good family” would have their own cook, nurse, gardener, members of a church, and father had a good job. Little girls had to wear dresses to school. Girls had to have correct grammar. Little girls were never allowed to raise their voices.
Who was harder hit by the Great Depression?
No group was harder hit than African Americans, however. By 1932, approximately half of African Americans were out of work. In some Northern cities, whites called for African Americans to be fired from any jobs as long as there were whites out of work.