The Great Depression of the 1930s By: Katie May

In the 1930s, thousands of peopled suffered in the United States, after the stock Market crashed. Many people lost their jobs, banks lost people´s money, and people didn´t have the money to marry their loved ones.

The majority of American's lost their jobs during the Depression due to, "Consumers spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and rising levels of unemployment as failing companies laid off workers''. Nearly half of America's banks had failed (bank runs), which made the stock market crash in 1929. Shown in the 1st bottom picture people seem to be protesting to banks so they could get their voice out to bank owners that they need their money. But many people weren't able to get any money out of banks due to it all being lost. This pictures lets us know that these people fought hard for themselves.

¨Dirty Thirties¨

Shortly after the stock market had crashed many families suffered from a horrific dust storm that damaged the environment and agriculturally. It brought severe drought, that fell upon farmers. They weren't able to plant their crops. Due to the strong winds it brought, that eroded the soil. Shown in the picture is how lands look liked during this time. Many people were depressed due to living on dirt and not being about to see pretty views out of their houses, which brought depression towards people.

This photo was taken by, Dorothea Lange. She was a photographer for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange used her skills so show how depressed/sick families were during the dust storms and how they migrated all over the United States. This picture lets us know how sick people became during the dust storms.
This photo was taken by, Margaret Bourke-White. She was an American documentary photographer. This photo taken by her shows how couples were hurt emotionally, mentally, and physically during this era.
Escapism: the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind in entertainment or in an imaginative situation. During the depression many families would go to lost cost movie theaters or would sit around the radio and listen to stories being told. This helped keep families distracted from the difficulties this era brought. This photos shows us just was escapism means.
The Depression brought angry towards many workers, due to them losing their jobs. These photos are showing how sad these families were and with the little they had to survive.
President Roosevelt, called for a New Deal and ideas to work America out of a deep Depression. In 1935, he create the Works Progress administration (WPA). It brought many people jobs. These photos helped people to understand what the reason Roosevelt had created the WPA for.

Made with Adobe Slate

Make your words and images move.

Get Slate

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a Copyright Violation, please follow Section 17 in the Terms of Use.