Chapter 23: The World at War, 1937–1945 The Great Depression.

The Great Depression
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Question#1: Describe what the Great Depression was like for ordinary Americans?
Answer: For a large number of people in the United States, the Great Depression meant a significant decline in standards of living. The hallmarks of the Great Depression were unemployment and insufficient healthcare and educational facilities. Various Americans considered it a decline in the value of investments, and the others called it a loss of savings. In one way or the other, the Great Depression left drastic impacts on the public. Those who had lost their jobs were forced to work for pennies in order to support their families, and they did it for their survival as they had no other option. The spending power of various American families decreased, and this resulted in the collapse of banks. In addition, the liquidity crisis that had caused the depression deepened. Men worked for low wages, and they gradually developed depression and anxiety.
The major task to facilitate recovery was to work hard to reestablish the confidence of the public. For this purpose, Harry Hopkins, a senior advisor of Franklin D. Roosevelt, came up with a lot of ideas, and their philosophy encouraged people to look to the federal government for immediate assistance. But before that, it was difficult for people to buy goods of their choice such as threads, clothing, and utensils. Many American children left their schools and were asked by their parents to do jobs in order to earn a living. Hundreds to thousands of people were left homeless and went hungry. They did not have enough money to buy food or find the shelter. There are reports that a large number of women and kids chewed on their own hands out of hunger. In the 1930s, nearly 2.30 million children were found to be doing ordinary jobs. Those who could not find work left their cash-strapped families and were lost somewhere, and it is believed that they had committed suicide.
Some middle-class families managed to hold onto their homes by stretching every available dollar and borrowing money from the rich. Those who had no money were left helpless. For quite a long time, no one came forward to help them get out of this uncertain situation, and it became a matter of great conc...