Beliefs Of American Workers During The 1920's

The traditional American work ethic was a belief that the only way for a member in society to be successful is to be employed. The traditional belief of work also tied in with the belief of Social Darwinism, during the gilded age, which was the belief that if one worked hard then they would be rich. This belief greatly affected the behavior and decisions of the American citizens especially during the Great Depression time period. The Great depression was a time of mass layoffs due to the stock market and economic crash. Joblessness was often tied to crime, as one man in the document described how he felt like a murderer without a job. Often times when men were laid off, they believed that they would rather kill themselves then go on to relief and have the lack of a job. This
During the 1920s machines were more equipped to mass produce, and consumers were more ready to have an increase in their spending.This led to many citizens over buying stocks with promise of great fortune in return. Common families would often buy products promised to make their lives easier and solve problems that they did not even know they had. With all these goods being produced, more people were needed to buy them. This meant higher wages, but to their dismay, the wages were not increased even though their was an increase in efficiency. Consumers were often persuaded to buy new products, even with the deficiency of money, so many went into credit debt. Millions of commercial travelers and business owners were also trying to make a living by selling products to people who would not pay for it. This caused the era of false prosperity to come to an abrupt end. Many then tried to sell their stock with no one there to buy it, so this sent America into an even a bigger economic conflict.The stock market and the credit from the broke Americans led to the stock market crashing, and the Great