The 1930s, a decade of despair and depression all across the United States, contrasted sharply with the prosperity of the "roaring" 1920's (). Many factors played a role in bringing about this decade of despair universally referred to as The Great Depression. The main causes are believed to be a combination of the stock market crash (October 24, 1929) and the greatly unequal distribution of wealth between the rich and middle class citizens throughout the 1920s (). The Great Depression was the worst and longest economic collapse in U.S history and affected the vast majority of Americans and their families. At least twenty-five percent of the American work-force was unemployed by late 1932 (683). Numerous families began lacking adequate food, shelter, and clothing while many blamed themselves for their desperate state. () Those who managed to keep their jobs saw salaries decline by forty percent and their work hours significantly cut back (). Many families did their best to endure......
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Approximate Pages: 3 (260 words per double-spaced page) |