Impacts of the Great Depression

The Great Depression affected people from different classes and backgrounds. Read about the impacts of the depression on women, blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans. Learn about the New Deal policy implemented by Franklin Roosevelt to overcome the depression.

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IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
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IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The Great Depression is known as the worst economic depression the human history. The
depression was not the result of just one factor but it is the combination of many factors that took
place not only in America but all over the world. The Great Depression affected people in
America and abroad. It affected people from different classes and backgrounds. The rich and the
poor were both affected ("The Great Depression"). The effects of the Great Depression also
impacted women, blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans. One of the major causes given by
historians and scholars is that the stock market crash which occurred on Black Tuesday in the
October of 1929. The depression changed the lives of a million people (Elder). It affected
hundreds of families as people went through a dramatic loss of income. Many people lost their
jobs and had to seek out to relatives and families for help. The condition was the same
everywhere. Everyone looked up at the government for help with a ray of hope in their eyes.
Franklin Roosevelt then constituted and implemented the New Deal policy for the betterment of
the Nation and its people ("Great Myths Of The Great Depression"). However, the policy was
criticized from all ends and some thought it would fail. During the Great Depression divorces
occurred less. Men failed to find work for themselves as a result women had to step out of the
house. The bread winners of the families were unemployed and could not make ends meet.
A survey conducted in 1940 revealed that about 1.5 million women were abandoned by
their husbands just because they were financially crippled. As women were left with no choice
but to fend for themselves and their children. Women started stepping out of their homes and
worked as domestic helps, clerks, textile workers and as other workers. The fact that women
could not look after the family and take care of themselves lead to a new sense of freedom for
them ("History Matters Search"). They now had a voice and their opinions mattered. However, in
the desperate need to pass the New Deal legislation the entire program targeted the White males.

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IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The blacks, Hispanic and Native Americans were shut out completely. As jobs shortages grew
higher, the blacks and Native Americans were sacked from their jobs. Most of them had to settle
with lower wages just to keep their jobs. The Southwest faced a severe shortage that led to the
deportation of about forty lakhs Mexican-Americans to make jobs available for the Whites. The
minorities were struck by financial panics ("Harry Hopkins And Work Relief During The Great
Depression - Social Welfare History Project"). The depression deepened and the government
realized that it was time to take quick action. It is then that Roosevelt launched the New Deal
that was designed by Harry Hopkins. It was an emergency plan to overcome the Great
Depression. The major programs undertaken by the policy of New Deal includes Civilian
Conservation Corps, The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1993, The Civil Works
Administration, the Farm Security Administration and the Social Security Administration. These
relief programs were integrated in such a way as to provide support to the unemployed section,
youth, farmers and women. The New Deal policy of Roosevelt did much more than it had set out
to do ("Gilder Lehrman Institute Of American History"). However, the anti-Roosevelt sentiments
back fired on him and as a result he could not enact new programs. The answer to the Great
Depression was to increase the purchasing power of the common man and redistribution of
wealth. The Depression was a result of contraction of the currency.
One must remember that the New Deal never ended the Great Depression. The Second
World War is what caused the ending of the great Depression. The World War injected more
money to the economy. The Great Depression is one of the most turbulent times in the history of
America which had shaken the economic condition of the country very badly. Since, America
was at that point of time the one to decide about the economic affairs of the world hence, any
impact on the American economy have had its cascading effect on the entire world as well.

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IMPACTS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION
References :
"Gilder Lehrman Institute Of American History". Wgilderlehrman.Org, 2018,
http://www.wwww.gilderlehrman.org/. Accessed 14 Dec 2018.
"Great Myths Of The Great Depression". Mackinac.Org, 2018,
https://www.mackinac.org/SP1998-01. Accessed 14 Dec 2018.
"Harry Hopkins And Work Relief During The Great Depression - Social Welfare History
Project". Social Welfare History Project, 2018, https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/eras/great-
depression/harry-hopkins-and-work-relief-during-the-great-depression/. Accessed 14 Dec 2018.
"History Matters Search". Historymatters.Gmu.Edu, 2018,
http://historymatters.gmu.edu/search.php?function=find. Accessed 14 Dec 2018.
Elder, Glen H. Children of the great depression. Routledge, 2018.
The Great Depression". Eyewitnesstohistory.Com, 2018,
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/snprelief1.htm. Accessed 14 Dec 2018.