Date of Award:

5-1965

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

History

Committee Chair(s)

S. George Ellsworth

Committee

S. George Ellsworth

Abstract

During the 7th decade of the twentieth century, a period of prosperity and economic advancement, it is difficult to understand the tragedies of the "Great Depression" that began in the 1920's and lasted until the early 1940's in these United States.

Many of today's fathers and mothers remember their childhood as a period of want hunger because they were "children of the depression." Many grandparents remember the loss of their jobs, empty cupboards, idleness and widespread poverty, because they were the "parents of the depression." In today's society, relief is often taken for granted, and governmental agencies are expected to provide the needs of society both at home and abroad; this is a concept that did not exist thirty years ago.

The Great Depression was a tragic experience for everyone from the banker to the laborer. Many people experienced the pangs of hunger, and everyone saw the horrors of an economy that was at a standstill. Men who had formerly sold bonds found themselves selling apples or shining shoes. The parks of the large cities were filled with men and women who had lost their jobs and did not have the price of a bed for the night, and thus they slept on a bench or on the grass.

Checksum

4f7f093e9fe020fac5b2cc8573567026

Comments

During the 7th decade of the twentieth century, a period of prosperity and economic advancement, it is difficult to understand the tragedies of the "Great Depression" that began in the 1920's and lasted until the early 1940's in these United States.

Many of today's fathers and mothers remember their childhood as a period of want hunger because they were "children of the depression." Many grandparents remember the loss of their jobs, empty cupboards, idleness and widespread poverty, because they were the "parents of the depression." In today's society, relief is often taken for granted, and governmental agencies are expected to provide the needs of society both at home and abroad; this is a concept that did not exist thirty years ago.

The Great Depression was a tragic experience for everyone from the banker to the laborer. Many people experienced the pangs of hunger, and everyone saw the horrors of an economy that was at a standstill. Men who had formerly sold bonds found themselves selling apples or shining shoes. The parks of the large cities were filled with men and women who had lost their jobs and did not have the price of a bed for the night, and thus they slept on a bench or on the grass.

Included in

History Commons

Share

COinS