The Great DepressionFamily Life and CommunitiesBy: Abigail Cabral, Hannah Aforismo, Austin Caracciolo, Admir Basha

Have you ever thought about how families functioned during

the Great Depression?

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The Great Depression

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“Free Coffee & Doughnuts for the unemployed”• unemployment was 25% (at its

highest) • families lost homes• 1932: 25,000 families and

200,000 young people wandered

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World Exchange bank closes. • October 29th, 1929 (known as

Black Tuesday) • Stock and share prices fell 80%• a panicked selling of all the

shares• many people lost huge sums of

money• January 1930 - March 1933

9,000 banks closed

During the Great Depression home life and communities

changed drastically.

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Living During the Depression

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• Smaller housings• Thousands lost

homes • Technology (prices

and ownership)

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• Community meals (soup & bread)

• hunger threats• Canned, pickled, and

preserved foods

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• Hoovervilles (group of shacks, President Herbert Hoover)

Typical Families Incomes

• 16 million without jobs• Changed from $2,300 to $1,600 per year

(30% decrease) • Soon made $12000 per year due to

changes

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What did families do for recreational fun?

• Families looked for simple and inexpensive ways to pass time

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Sports could be a way to pass time.• baseball, football, hockey,

and boxing • Prices deterred fans

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Radios were the era's most popular diversion. • 86% occupied daily by

1939• Average of 4.5 hrs daily• Fireside chats (Roosevelt)

Families Jobs & Responsibilities

Women:• Manufacturing• Limited options• Took care of home

Men: • Paid very little• Difficult labor• Only ones who were

paid

Children:• Work in factories• Household work

Racial Discrimination

www.stageandcinema.com • Scottsboro boys- 9 black teenage boys,

arrested for being falsely accused of raping two white women

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• Employers would only hire white workers

• People wanted white communities only

Although, some people do think that the Great Depression brought the

country together much more.

But home and community life was still very affected for the worse.

Such as: • Income • Types of activities• Jobs and responsibilities• Discrimination

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So go out now and learn about the Great Depression, and see

how the US overcame the obstacle and became a

stronger country overall.

Thanks for watching!!

 Works Cited

Ciment, James. "Arts and Culture." The Great Depression and New Deal. Sharpe

Online Reference (2013): N. Pag. Web. 15 Oct 2013.

Holley, Donald. "Great Depression." Great Events from History: The Twentieth

Century, 1901-1940. Ed. Robert F. Gorman. 6 Vols. Salem Press, 2007. Salem

History Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

Lewis, Thomas Tandy. "Unemployment in the United States." The Thirties in

America. Ed.

"Wealth Tax Act (1935)." The Great Depression and New Deal. Sharpe Online

Reference

Thomas Tandy Lewis. 3 Vols. Salem Press, 2011. Salem History Web. 15

Oct. 2013.

Mitchener, Kris James. "Great Depression." World Book Student. World Book,

2013. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.

Moore, Patrick. "African Americans." The Great Depression and New Deal. Sharpe

Online Reference (2013): N. Pag. Web. 10 Oct 2013.

Robertson, O. Nicholas. "Racial Discrimination." The Thirties in America. Ed.

Thomas Tandy Lewis. 3 Vols. Salem Press, 2011. Salem History Web. 10 Oct.

2013.

Sikula, Rae. "Daily Life." The Great Depression and New Deal. Sharpe Online

Reference (2013): N. Pag. Web. 10 Oct 2013.