Describe the Affects That the Depression Had on Americans and Their Families?

The Great Low (1929-1939) was the worst economic downturn in modern history. The preceding decade, known as the "Roaring Twenties," was a fourth dimension of relative affluence for many middle- and working-class families. As the economy boomed, new innovations allowed for more leisure fourth dimension and the creation of a consumer club. Simply the economic depression that followed those boon years profoundly affected the daily life of American families, in ways big and small.

Even the affluent faced severe chugalug-tightening.
Four years after 1929 stock market place crash, during the bleakest point of the Groovy Low, about a quarter of the U.S. workforce was unemployed. Those that were lucky enough to accept steady employment often saw their wages cut or their hours reduced to part-time.

Even upper-middle class professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, saw their incomes drop past as much as 40 pct. Families who had previously enjoyed economic security suddenly faced financial instability or, in some cases, ruin.

The boilerplate American family unit lived by the Depression-era motto: "Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without." Many tried to keep up appearances and carry on with life as close to normal as possible while they adapted to new economic circumstances.

Households embraced a new level of frugality in daily life. They kept kitchen gardens, patched worn-out clothes and passed on trips to the movies as they privately struggled to retain ownership of a habitation or auto.

A female parent serving dinner in the clean surround of a Farm Security Administration camp in Visalia, California, 1939. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Potlucks and 'thrift gardens' were the norm.
Women'due south magazines and radio shows taught Low-era homemakers how to stretch their food upkeep with casseroles and one-pot meals. Favorites included chili, macaroni and cheese, soups, and chipped beef on toast.

Potlucks, often organized past churches, became a popular manner to share food and a cheap form of social amusement.

Many families strived for self-sufficiency by keeping small kitchen gardens with vegetables and herbs. Some towns and cities allowed for the conversion of vacant lots to community "thrift gardens" where residents could grow nutrient.

Betwixt 1931 and 1932, Detroit'due south thrift garden programme provided food for about 20,000 people. Experienced gardeners could be seen helping quondam office workers—even so dressed in white push-downward shirts and slacks—to cultivate their plots.

Children playing cards in the front yard in Washington, DC, 1935. (Credit: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Lath games and miniature golf courses thrived.
The boilerplate American family didn't accept much extra income to spend on leisure activities during the 1930s. Earlier the Low, going to the movie house was a major pastime. Fewer Americans could afford this luxury after the stock market place crashed—so more than 1-third of the cinemas in America closed betwixt 1929 and 1934.

Frequently, people chose to spend fourth dimension at dwelling. Neighbors got together to play cards, and board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly—both introduced during the 1930s—became pop.

The radio also provided a free grade of entertainment. Past the early on 1930s, many middle class families owned a dwelling radio. Comedy programs such as Amos 'n' Andy, soap operas, sporting events and swing music distracted listeners from everyday struggles.

Mini-golf became a Low-era craze. More than thirty,000 miniature golf game links sprang upwardly beyond the state during the 1930s. Prices ranged from 25 to 50 cents per circular.

Workers at a button mill in New York, circa 1935. (Credit: FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Women entered the workforce in increasing numbers.
Some families maintained a center-class income by adding an extra wage earner. Despite widespread unemployment during the Low years, the number of married women in the workforce really increased.

Some people criticized married women for taking jobs when then many men were out of work, though women often took clerical or service manufacture positions that weren't seen equally socially acceptable for men at the fourth dimension.

Women found work as secretaries, teachers, telephone operators and nurses. But in many cases, employers paid women workers less than their male counterparts.

Families on authorities support were less stigmatized.
The New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt meant the expansion of government into people's everyday lives after 1933. Many Americans received some level of financial aid or employment as a result of New Bargain programs.

Prior to the Great Low, most Americans had negative views of government welfare programs and refused to go on welfare. In some towns, local newspapers published the names of welfare recipients.

While attitudes toward regime assist began to modify during the Great Depression, going on welfare was still viewed equally a painful and humiliating experience for many families.

A family of migrant workers in Blythe, California, 1936. (Credit: Dorothea Lange/Getty Images)

Economic hardship caused family unit breakdowns.
The stress of financial strain took a psychological toll—peculiarly on men who were suddenly unable to provide for their families. The national suicide rate rose to an all-time high in 1933.

Marriages became strained, though many couples could non afford to split up. Divorce rates dropped during the 1930s though abandonments increased. Some men deserted their families out of embarrassment or frustration: This was sometimes called a "poor man's divorce."

It's estimated that more than two meg men and women became traveling hobos. Many of these were teens who felt they had become a brunt on their families and left home in search of work.

Riding the rails—illegally hopping on freight trains—became a common, yet dangerous way to travel. Those traveling the country in search of work often camped in "Hoovervilles," shantytowns named after Herbert Hoover, president during the early years of the Bang-up Depression.

Crime was mythologized, simply this was largely hype.
Famous outlaw duo Bonnie and Clyde went on a two-year bankrobbing spree across America, while in New Jersey, famous aviator Charles Lindbergh's toddler son was abducted, held for ransom and then murdered.

High-contour events like these, broadcast through radio announcements and in newspaper headlines, contributed to a sense of lawlessness and crime in the Great Low, stoking fears that hard times had created a criminal offence moving ridge. But this was more hype than reality.

Fierce crimes initially spiked during the first few years of the Dandy Low, just nationwide, rates of homicides and violent crimes began to fall sharply betwixt 1934 and 1937—a downwardly trend that continued until the 1960s.

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Source: https://www.history.com/news/life-for-the-average-family-during-the-great-depression