Life During The Great Depression Essay

What do you think water soup with a few potatoes in it tastes like? Or can you imagine living in a world without toilet paper? Well, this was life during the great depression. It began at the end of the 1920s, the entire nation suffered the most dramatic economic disaster during the period 1929–1933. Unemployment rose from a shocking 5 million in 1930 to an almost unbelievable 13 million by the end of 1932. It would be rural America that would suffer the greatest. Unemployed fathers saw children hired for substandard wages. In 1930, 2.25 million boys and girls ages 10–18 worked in factories, canneries, mines, and on farms. Children left school to support their families. Life for the people through the great depression was devastating and restricting. They faced a

The people could not even afford simple needs such as shelter. For example, a simple economy to save money was that they “practiced was keeping the electric bill to $1 a month and the gas bill to $1 a month”(1) by only using a few appliances and only one lightbulb lighting an entire room. Another example is that when asked about the lives of people who lived through the great depression, there were many things they “did without. A partial list would include toothpaste (we used soda), toilet paper (we used the catalog), newspaper or magazine subscriptions, soft drinks, potato chips and snacks, bakery goods except bread and an occasional dozen of doughnuts, paper clips, rubber bands and restaurant meals.”(1). This evidence demonstrates that people had to cut their budgets a massive amount due to the economic issues. Also they had to give up the few luxuries back in the day, which are now considered normal and taken for granted. Subsequently, life during this time period was very restricting. You would have to give up simple luxuries and even cut needs to ensure