What happened to the people of America during the Great Depression?

Question

What impact did the Great Depression have on the average American family during this time in the nation?

Answer 1

it made most of Americans poorer. a lot, ie most, lost their jobs. a few, or the richest, were not affected as badly. families would grow crops in their yards to get buy and food, animals, etc would be used to barter for other things. because of the stock market crash, the banks had no money and people lost whatever was in the bank after the money ran out. so, a lot of people lost their homes.

Answer 2

My father was 17 years old, he lied his age and signed up, along with his brothers, for the CCC camps in Northern Minnesota. They, the men, could sign up for six months at a time.

        He "rode the rails" from Minneapolis to Virginia, Minnesota save the fare. It was rough in the winter time, with the temps far below zero, a long ride. All their money $16.00 a month, went home.

          Gasoline was rationed, they used "white gas" from the lamps, that wasn't rationed, for their cars, one gallon of white gas to one quart of motor oil.

           My Grandmother had a still in the back yard, she sold to people in quart jars. She also made Lye soap. We made the rounds with  wheel barrow he said. Finding hard coal the trains dropped from the tenders, They also took the old RR ties home and, cut them up for the stoves.

Answer 3

Shattered their hopes their dreams caused them misery want privation - - - many a family was wrecked, the father unemployed, the mother & children 'forced' to work.   Many a mom & dad told the kids to get out of the house by age 16, telling them it was time for them to fend for themselves.  Many a proud parent found themselves standing in line for a handout; loaves of bread, a pail of soup or stew.  Lawns were ripped up and replaced with gardens.  

Many a family took in boarders, renting rooms out to 'strangers,' this caused many problems.  Children who had a room of their own were forced to bed in the attic or on a porch so a room could be rented out.  Instead of a family of four sharing one miserable bathroom, now that family of four had to share with two or four boarders.

Children found themselves forced to work instead of going on the college, some decided that it was better to enlist in the Army or Navy.

Naturally all of this is a generalization the situation varied from place to place.  Circumstances played a big part.  Due to the Depression and the 'Dust Bowl,' families in places like Oklahoma and Kansas and Nebraska were forced to leave their homes, piling what few belongings they could atop the family car, they headed for the dream that was California.  Many ended up in refugee camps (see 'The Grapes of Wrath' by Steinbeck.),,,,,...........

Peace////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\...

Answer 4

For my grandparents families they have told be some of the stories there was a lot of belt tightening.  It seems in my family on all sides the families seemed to pull more together.  But everybody worked.  Both of my grandfathers were from families that farmed and had livestock so they just tightened their belts and saw it through, one of my grandmothers was from that same type of upbringing. They lived up in the mountains so I don't think it from the way she talked it affected them as much as those living in the cities.  My other grandmother was Jewish and they had a large support system of family and that helped them get through it.