Great Depression Struggles In America

Struggles of The Great Depression When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. When the stock market crashed, the American people were immediately affected. Unemployment rates were at an all time high, and some people did not even know where their next meal would come from. The Great Depression affected Americans everyday life but it especially affected farmers, everyday civilians, and even the President. Some Americans did not have jobs and some even starved, but there are endless ways that the American people were affected by the Great Depression. Farmers play a huge role in the economy. No farmers. No food. The dust bowl, as well as the Great Depression, affected the farmers greatly. According to the article “Dust Bowl”, poor grain
Artist took advantage of the opportunity by writing songs, poems, and taking photographs. Woody Guthrie wrote the song “This Land Is Your Land” in 1940. In the song, Guthrie creates an image of America as the “Land of Opportunity”, but then he asks himself why are my fellow neighbors hungry and unemployed? He ends up wondering if the government really cares (Guthrie). America is known for its freedom and beauty, but sometimes the nation faces some troubled times. Guthrie realised this and it shows in his song. The Great Depression made people feel lost and looking for answers much like Guthrie. Another artist by the name of Lester Hunter wrote “I’d Rather Not Be On Relief”, this poem showed how people lived during the Great Depression. The poem says that people are living in lean-tos with empty stomachs and torn clothing (Hunter). Unemployment rates were at an all time low, and people were just trying to survive on what they could. The government wasn’t much help, so the people were on their own. Hunter states that “Like a swarm of bees we come; the migratory workers.” The people wanted to work, but wages were so low they could not support anyone (Hunter). People during the Great Depression were not lazy, but even working hard was not enough to thrive during that time.
President Herbert Hoover was in office during the Great Depression. When Hoover took office, the unemployment rate was 4.4 percent. When he left office, it was 23.6 percent. Hoover had trouble reacting the the problems caused by the Great Depression (“President Hoover”). Nobody had ever faced troubles quite like Hoover did; however, something had to be in order to help the American people. Hoover failed to do so. Hoover said “nobody is actually starving... the hoboes are better fed than they have ever been” (“President Hoover”). The people needed help, but Hoover wanted to let the government straighten itself out. Franklin Roosevelt, who was next in office, did everything in his power to help the people. In his inaugural address, he told people that the nation needs action and action now (Roosevelt). This was exactly what the American people needed. They needed action immediately before things got worse. Roosevelt promised to put people to work, and he also told the people that they have not failed. The government had failed the people (Roosevelt). The government was not a big enough help to the people but that changed when Franklin Roosevelt took