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Introduction to the 1929 Wall Street Stock Crash of the U.S
Introduction to the 1929 Wall Street Stock Crash of the U.S
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Jack Hettinger
Mrs. Day
9th Honors Literature and Composition
21 August 2014
Hobos, Riding the Rails, and the Scottsboro Boys
In 1929 the Stock Market crashed and caused many people to lose their jobs and become homeless. The people that lost their jobs due to the stock market crash were called hobos. This era in American history was called the Great Depression. Life was very difficult during the Great Depression and it was a struggle to make money for food and shelter. Obtaining a job was very difficult too. Hobos would have to Ride the Rails to get around and find new opportunities for work. Riding the Rails was the way to get around for most hobos. People would jump on the train after it set off and pile up in the Rail cars. Riding the rails was very illegal to do and many people were beaten and arrested. One famous case from people riding the rails was the Scottsboro Boys. The Scottsboro boys were 9 black teenagers accused of assault and rape on many white teenagers also riding the rails. There was no evidence ever found but the boys were sentenced anyway. Hobos, Riding the Rails and the Scottsboro boys all played a big role during the Great Depression.
Hobos are people who were left homeless after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. People that were hobos were forced to leave their homes because they did not have enough money to live there anymore. Hobos lived in places called “shantytowns” or “hoovervilles”. These places were called “hoovervilles” because hobos believed that President Hoover was the cause of the Great Depression.
The hoovervilles were generally located near water, rail road tracks and large cities. Obtaining food was also very hard to do when the people had no money. Churches and Charities set up soup kitche...
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...e did not believe the defendant did the crime. After a while, the Alabama court sentenced Haywood patterson to 75 years in prison. Further trials resulted in the conviction of the other eight boys.
It is important to know all about our past of economic depression and racism so history does not repeat itself. The Great Depression was the reason that many laws were made to make sure a economic depression like it never happens again. There is a strong connection in To Kill a Mockingbird with the Cunninghams. The Cunninghams were a poor family of farmers due to the Great Depression. They had no money to pay a lawyer but instead paid with products from their farm. In the book, Atticus says “The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them hardest” (p. 23). It is again important to have a good understanding of the life hobos lived during the depression.