Impacts of the Great Depression

Impacts of the Great Depression

1. In Urban Cities

   • Lost jobs, lost homes, slept in parks and sewer pipes, shantytowns sprang up, and soup kitchens and bread lines became common.

2. In Rural Cities

   • Farmers lost land (1929-1932: 400,000 farms were lost), turned to tenant farming, and hundreds of thousands of families migrated from Dust Bowl areas to Pacific Coast states due to drought and dust.

3. Economic

   • 300,000 hoboes wandered & lived on the streets, no federal system provided direct relief (cash money and food), women weren't allowed to work unless all men were employed, children's healthcare budget was cut, schools were closed and school-years were shortened, and many children hopped aboard freight trains to escape poverty. Consumer confidence went down harming the economy.

4. Social (society)

   • Many families became more united and bonded with other families as habits of saving and thriftiness developed shaping Americans for a whole generation. Racial violence towards minorities i.e. blacks and latinos. Divorce rate went up as unemployment made families incapable of supporting a whole family. Birth rates went down because some families stopped reproducing since some families broke apart. Society became sick of the stigma of poverty.

5. Psychological (individual & national)

   • People lost will to survive (1928-1932: suicide rate increase 30% and many were admitted to mental hospitals), adults stopped caring for their health, and the youth gave up their education.