This was me during the 20's and early 30's. I was a housewife to your father. I stayed home and dutifully completed chores everyday.

Your father is on the right. We moved in together in New York, NY around 1919. He was a bank teller for 10 years before the crash. We had three kids together before 1929.

The Stock Market Crash

On Black Tuesday in 1929, the stock market crashed and the economy collapsed. Our family was very fortunate at first; your father did not get laid off for awhile. We had money saved up, and stayed afloat for several years. Eventually, we couldn't keep paying for the house. Your father had been for laid off. We moved in with your grandparents until after the Depression, and eventually moved back into the house and continued raising you.

having to beg for food. Living conditions were awful and very unsanitary. People were without jobs, shelter, food, clean clothing, etc. It was a very difficult and long time for a lot of people.

The Spread

of Poverty

1/4 of adults lost their jobs after the crash, and 1/2 of minorities were in the same situation. Unemployment skyrocketed and there were more suicides than ever recorded before. People were living on the streets,

A Survival Story From the Depression

There was a man who was our neighbor before we moved who got laid off right as the stock crashed. He was on the streets and struggled to look for work. He barely scraped by but somehow stayed afloat. We were always very close to him, but he suddenly moved to Tennessee claiming there was work for a series of dams. Your father and I considered going, but wanted to stay for as long as we could. He wrote us a couple years later saying that all was well, and we kept in touch.

FDR was elected in 1932, and brought about change that we needed. He passed 15 bills within his first 100 days. He set up construction for dams in Tennessee and provided many jobs. All banks had some sort of holiday as he called it, but once they reopened it, your father found the first job he could and within months, our family was back on our feet and living comfortably for the most part.

Roosevelt's Election

New Deal Programs

1. Bank Holiday- FDR closed all banks in the nation, but reopened them again and provided your father a job which allowed our family to get back on our feet.
2. Radios- FDR had weekly talks on the radio across the nation as an attempt to comfort America and to give everyone a sense of hope to keep trying. He really kept all of our spirits up.
3. Francis Perkins- was the 1st woman in the cabinet who was vital in the government at the time. She called out FDR for everything he could make better. She was the secretary of labor and worked with FDR to create more jobs.

Causes of the Great Depression

1. Industry- railroads, textiles and steel companies barely made any money. Mining and lumbering were no longer and high demand and the number of houses being built decreased so there were fewer jobs.
2. Agriculture- Demands for crops fell after the war and prices fell by 40%. Farmers' farms were foreclosed and many rural banks closed.

Causes of the Great Depression (part 2)

1. Distribution- The difference between social classes was signifigant. The rich only got richer, and the poor, poorer. Most of the poorer made an average of $2,500 every year, and most of their houses at that time had no electric lights or furnaces.