Tag: breadline

03/14/11

Hard life during the Great Depression

Picture above: Free food was distributed  in some urban centers to large numbers of the unemployed.

Picture on the left: Number of people who were unemployed and looking for a job.

During the Great Depression,the unemployment rate reached a extremely high point. Ten of thousand of people lost their jobs and they were just kept looking for a job. However, it was impossible to satisfy everyone. The amount of unemployed people were so great meanwhile the job opportunity was so less. When the people lost their job, they could not provide food to their families, not even themselves. Therefore, the government provided free meals to those people. The Great Depression made a terrible effect on everyone and it took a more than ten years to recover the society.

03/13/11

Hard Times Are Hoovering Over Us

This image has been taken from the Presidential Library & Museum of Herbert Hoover. Taken by Underwood and Underwood. This image depicts children insulting the president for letting nation slip into depression

Image taken in CA 1930, by Bettmann. Hundreds to thousands of people waiting on line for some free food to survive the great depression.

The great depression was very sad and difficult time in American history. After the New York stock market crashed in October 1929, thousands and thousands of people lost their jobs and their life savings. Thousands of people were forced to live on the street as they were unable to afford shelter. Many of these people took to living in small shanty towns, Hooverville, that grouped hundreds of homeless people. In the first image, a family insults the president Herbert Hoover by using his last name to describe a situation at the time. Plenty of blame has been placed on president Hoover as he was said to have let the nation slide into depression. Many other terms were coined during this time such as the hoover blanket (a newspaper), hoover flag (turned out pockets) and hoover wagon ( a automobile pulled by a horse). The second image, directly represented many people on the breadline that offered free food to the poor and homeless. Many individuals could not afford to buy their own food let alone afford shelter during the great depression.

03/8/11

The Not-so-great Depression

This is a "town" of shacks in Central Park, called a Hooverville. (From http://ephemeralnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/centralparkhooverv.jpg)

This is a “town” of shacks in Central Park, called a Hooverville. (From http://ephemeralnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/centralparkhooverv.jpg)

During The Great Depression conditions in America were horrible. Now, I know we think we had it bad the past few years, but that does not even compare to how bad it was in the early 20th century. Most people had no work. Now, I am not strictly talking about unskilled workers, but rather many professionals did not have work as well. Everyone was looking for jobs and nobody was able to support their family. In order to even attain some food people would wait on these breadlines. The lines were hundreds, or thousands, of people lined up waiting to get a small portion of food given out for free. This is what a majority of America had to resort too. People couldn’t afford housing either. Some lived in cardboard boxes. and others lived in houses that were not much better. Shown in the picture is a village of tiny, dinky shacks that was set up in New York’s Central Park. While nearly impossible, I hope the two pictures that I posted give you an idea of the poverty present in The Great Depression.

This is a breadline where people can come and get free food. (From http://dailycapitalist.com/2009/06/24/the-great-depression-a-short-history/)

This is a breadline where people can come and get free food. (From http://dailycapitalist.com/2009/06/24/the-great-depression-a-short-history/)