The Depression Among Us
By Noah Roark
A Failing Farm
Even tho the "roaring 20's" came with prosperity and wealth the agriculture part did not show any benefits. Farmers were forced to leave their farms because of the less demand for crops. So they suffered and the banks auctioned off their farms. The farmers had to go into the city and find a job to support themselves and their family. Most farmers were very unlucky like Steve Kerr. Steve and other farmers are not just suffering from the loss of demand in crops, but this is also the biggest drought recorded in history. According to Steve not only is the demand and drought are making things worse, but also the dust storms that come through killing all the crops and burring houses forcing the farmers into the city to find food and jobs. I feel that Hoover should supply food for these hard working farmers and their family.
A Family in Hooverville
Steve Gilmore and has a wife and three kids in a Hooverville on the out skirts of New York City. This Hooverville was stationed right outside the Hudson River. Steve and his family had only 3 beds to sleep on. Most of the shack that they live in is mainly cardboard, wood, and clay. It was a very bad living condition and very unhealthy and unsanitary with many rodents, bugs, and insects. Steve told me it was very hard to feed his family with only a very tiny garden. Steve said he used to have to go through dumps and trash cans looking for extra food thrown away. I believe that if Hoover would just supply better living conditions there would be less Hoovervilles and homeless people.
Dance Marathons
Tom Gates and his wife Aubrey Gates attended a dance marathon for hours to days at a time. Most couples do this to get the winning prize and they get a bed to sleep in and food and water during breaks. Tom and Aubrey did a dance for a big prize of five hundred dollars but missed by a long shot of 15 hours. Tom and Aubrey only lasted 23 hours. Aubrey got blisters in her feet and fell to the ground causing Tom to stop making them loose the competition. These marathons helped a lot but I feel the top three should've got a prize not just first.
The 1932 Election
According to a voter in the 1932 election, known as Bill;" I think that Roosevelt should be the next president because he will improve the economy and turn this depression around." Hoover was a good president but was not helping anyone with the economy or trying to make it better. According to Bill he also said how the election is just gonna be rigged anyways. Roosevelt right now has the lead at this point.
Grown Man Looses His Job and Everything He Has
Jamie Fritz, 39 years old and lives in Cleveland, was layed off from his job when the economy dropped. According to Jamie he lost his house and everything he had. He never had a family and was barely supporting himself, but now he is homeless and is desperately looking for food and money. According to Jamie he gets free meals a decent amount of times from Al Capone. Al Capone has a kitchen were he gives out free meals. Only if Hoover could do this then it would be great.
Riding the Rails
The farmers that left their farms like Steve Gilmore used trains to get to place to place. But Steve did not pay to go on the train, he sneaked on the train or road underneath it. As Steve lost his farm and demand for crops decreased and Steve's profits plummeted Steve started heading more north to Chicago meeting hundreds of other hobos. All trains had at least 1-5 hobos traveling on it. I feel like Hoover should just let the trains carry hobos to their destination for free.
Sharecroppers
The Hall family was a family that really suffered from sharecropping because they acquired so much debt from interest rates. Sharecropping is when tenants would rent out fields and paid the landowner a portion of their crops. failures and annoyances such as unpredictable harvests, mean landlords, and high interest rates were some reasons why people who rented these fields often got into more and more debts over the years. Hoover should change some of these rules limiting rates and debts.
Migrant Mother
Nicole Giant, born in 1904, married Zach Lawrence when she was around 17. Moved to more West to a farm in California. Sadly Zach died from tuberculosis. She continued to work and support her kids.
Citations
(General A History Book)American Heritage PUblishing Staff. America: Pathways to the Present. Upper Saddle River, Nj: Prentice Hall(School Division), 2005. Print.
(In-Class video) The Great Depression. Dir. Mario M. Cuomo. A & E Home Video, 2009. Film.