...The Great Depression started in 1929, with the stock market crash of October 24. This crash and the crash 16 days later, lead to millions of shares being worthless and investors being wiped out. The stock market crash lead to an incline in spending and investment, which in turn led to factories reducing down their production and firing employees. American who had bought on credit fell into debt and the foreclosures and evictions rose. During the Great Depression, many men were saddled with unemployment or a reduction in wages. This meant that a nuclear family could not depend entirely on a husband pay check, as they have done is the past. This lead to a large number of women joining or trying to join the workforce. Unfortunately for women during this time, many people viewed married...
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...during the Great Depression The Great Depression was one of the hardest times for Americans in history, their lives were not going to be the same after this. One change was men losing their jobs, but not only was it men, it was women as well. Families started to separate throughout the Great Depression because of different views about work. Also, African Americans were affected by the depression worse than Americans. These are only some of the struggles during the depression; some struggles are men and women trying to find jobs, families and how they were never the same, and African American lives. The first major detail about the Great Depression is women jobs compared to men’s jobs and how different they were. The depression gave women more of a chance to get involved in the work. Women had an easier time keeping their jobs as teachers, nurses, secretaries, etc. than men kept their jobs. Although women had an advantage of finding jobs they didn’t get paid as much as what a man got paid....
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...How the Great Depression Affected Women The Great Depression was one of the most devastating hits to the economy of the United States of America. When the stock market crashed, a huge portion of the USA was at risk of unemployment. Families lost their homes, workers lost their income, and it seemed as if the dream of living in the land of the free was not so rewarding after all. Very few companies were able to pull through the entire period of the Great Depression, as companies shut down workers lost jobs left and right. However most people do not realize that this economic blow affected women differently. During the Great Depression, the average woman’s life became very difficult, while some inspiring woman rose up to make their mark on the...
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...1930s-1940s the great depression had a negative impact on the United States’ economy and affected everyone no matter their race or sex. At this time, it was America’s number one priority to try to pick the country back up from this unfortunate event. But, at the same time the women of this nation were continuing to struggle with daily life and the depression only made it worse for them. As president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, along with his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt, set out to discuss and positively change major issues in America. They did what they could to try to correct both women’s equality and the effects of the depression on the country. This paper will show different perspectives on how women struggled and set out to make...
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...The Great Depression During the great depression, the lives of most every American was disrupted. The effects of the depression sent waves throughout the world from women having to work with the economy being crippled. The life of many families was shattered which separated children from their families. Many banks were shut down due to the drop in the stock market. The thought of living the American dream was no a blur for people could not buy nor own deteriorating their lives. The Great Depression had an immense impact on the lives of families. The average family income was nearly fifty percent lower previous to the depression began. Millions of families were evicted from their home due to losing their savings. “Children of impoverished families, recalling memories of family life during the 1930s, often remembered their fathers as emotionally distant and indifferent”. Teens rode on freight trains or hiked on mountains and roads to look for work. Families with small children often did not have food so the children were...
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...Running head: PROGRESSIVE ERA THROUGH THE GREAT 1 Progressive Era Through the Great Depression Zarick L. Robinson Contemporary U.S. History – II Professor Patrick Peacock Strayer University August 1, 2013 PROGRESSIVE ERA THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION 2 The progressive era in America describes a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century. In the decades following the Civil War, rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed; agriculture was mechanized; the factory system spread; and cities grew rapidly in size and number. The progressive movement arose as a response to the vast changes brought about by industrialization. Two major turning points during this period was reform at the state level and of course the national level. At the state level, reformers turned to state politics, where progressivism reached its fullest expression. A model of progressive reform was Robert La Follette’s term as governor of Wisconsin. He won from the legislature an anti-lobbying law directed at large corporations, a state banking control measure, and a direct primary law. Taxes on corporations were raised, a railroad commission was created to set rates, and a conservative commission was set-up. In state after state, progressives advocated a wide range of political, economic, and social reforms. They...
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...Progressive Era Through The Great Depression Kaishonta Arnold Professor John Swann History 105 February 9, 2013 The Progressive Era was a period of social activism and political reform in the United States. From the Progressive Era through the Great Depression there were many significant turning points within this period. The Women’s Suffrage Movement was one major historical turning point of the Progressive Era. Another turning point in this period was the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Although “women were basically the main players in the Progressive Era reforms, there right to vote were still denied” (Schultz, 2012). Many pushed for the franchise for all women and through their efforts in the Nineteenth Amendment to the constitution provided full women suffrage. There were two groups that pushed and furthered the cause of women’s suffrage. These two groups were formally called “The National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA), as well as The National Women’s Party (NWP)” (Schultz, 2012). The National American Women’s Suffrage Associations strategy was basically a way to push for suffrage at the state level, hoping that the federal government would pass the amendment. The National Women’s Party’s goal was of eliminating all discrimination against women. As stated by Brown, “In 1923 The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), was announced and launched what would be a life-long campaign to win full equality for women,” (2010). Even with...
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...Starvation, homelessness, and unemployment were just some of the devastating components of life that many people across the globe suffered through as a result of the longest lasting economic downturn in history. This was also known as the Great Depression. The Great Depression caused worldwide panic to every country and continent in the world, hitting the United States and Germany the hardest. Overproduction, the stock market crash, and the weak banking systems led to a crisis that immensely impacted the way people had to live their everyday lives. Many factors played a role in triggering the start to the Great Depression, which can be considered one of the darkest times in American history. One of the most influencing factors was the vast amount of economical resources being made that weren’t being sold at the rate they were being produced. Both farmers and factories were producing much more goods than the people were able to afford. This was known as overproduction. By 1929, worker input increased by 32 percent allowing manufacturing companies to soar. ("Causes of the Great Depression." Great Depression and the New Deal Reference Library. Ed. Allison McNeill, Richard C. Hanes, and Sharon M. Hanes.) During this time, more suburban families had access to electricity and automobiles causing the demand to rise immensely. In turn, farmers produced more goods to meet the demand. With the overabundance of new consumer products and farm goods such as wheat and meat, prices began...
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...learned something about the great depression and the effects it had on the United States. There are a list of issues the created the great depression, but have we actually thought about it, and tried to understand it before? In the 1920’s the American economy was going strong, for the most part, and the vast majority of Americans had witnessed economic growth, however, stock prices fell, more and more issues arose, and then came the great depression which created uneven distribution of wealth and an irrational behavior from the stock market. In the film, Matewan, it brought up how things were tough in response to effort by the miners to organize labor union, and they were receiving huge cuts in their pay, and some of the coal mine workers were being replaced, which I would assume were being paid substantially less than the original coal miners were. The new workers were African American from Alabama, but they did not make it far because the coal miners were on the attack. I would imagine this was not the only issue America was facing before or during the great depression. The crash of the stock market not only affected the poor, it affected the rich as well, but like I stated before, one of the biggest issues was the gap between the rich working class people and how it was enlarged. Also, production costs fell quickly and wages rose slowly and prices remained steady. Obviously, like most problems in America, the government contributed to the depression as well. The federal income...
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...his presidential terms, FDR had to deal with tough times that have impacted history, such as, the Great Depression and World War II (WWII), but, however, he also has allowed blacks and women to have more responsibilities. During the Great Depression, FDR was a hard worker to have America finish it, and during WWII, he was encouraging people to not lose hope, and when he allowed blacks and women to be at a closer level as white men, he was tolerated of it. As a result, because of FDR’s steps, America is how it is today....
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...The 1920s were a decade characterized by great change. Even though it was the decade after world war 1, it was almost 10 years of improvement for many Americans. Industries were still thriving in America and they were actually richer and more powerful than before World War I. So what event made the 1930’s so different? The Great Depression quickly turned those carefree years into ones of turmoil and despair. The decade after the first world war ever saw tremendous change. Progressivism was a leading factor of World War 1 and in the 1920’s the evidence can be seen. Industries were making their products at an increasing rate. Products that were not popular before World War I were now used by millions of Americans. Cars were only used by about 9 million Americans and by the end of the roaring 20’s that number had reached over thirty million. Also many new inventions were created making life for Americans much easier. Radios, vacuum cleaners, irons, washing machines, and refrigerators were the new electronics that everyone had to have. Refrigerators allowed for better production and transportation of food products. This allowed you to keep food cold and fresh making exporting food a valuable part of the economy. These new inventions were making home life easier for men and women. Not only were American families buying these new items but they also started purchasing stock in companies at an increased rate. Buying stocks was available before the war but was not really done. Soon...
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...| “The Progressive Era through the Great Depression” | | | History 105 Professor | 11/11/2012 | In this essay, I will review the major turning points in our nation’s history during the period of “The Progressive Era through the Great Depression”. I will talk about how women in the West earned the right to vote in the frontier states before the eastern and southern states. We will analyze the impact of two major historical turning points on America’s society, economy, politics, and culture. Next we will look at the legislation in the Roosevelt–Taft–Wilson progressive era years, and show how that has influenced the business of today since the time of its inception. We will review how the Spanish American war laid the foundation for which America would develop its empire. Lastly, we will discuss some ways the Boom and Bust of the Roaring Twenties followed by The Great Depression affected the federal government’s involvement with the national economy. | During the reformist movement, urbanization brought people to the cities for work opposed to the traditional farming communities or villages’ people lived and worked in prior to the Progressive Era. With this change occurring in society, there came much needed changes in the way we came together as a community to provide the necessities, which would allow our new families, and communities to prosper. With America’s expansion to the west under the Homestead Act, “any man or woman twenty-one...
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...Women on the Breadlines Meridel Lesueur was born on February 22, 1900 as Meridel Wharton in Hudson, Wisconsin. Her mother married her second husband, Arthur Lesueur and Meridel assumed his last name. Lesueur moved around as a child and lived in Iowa, Kansas, Texas, and Minnesota. She also spent some time living with her grandmother in Perry, Oklahoma. Meridel was born into a family of social and political activists. Her mother made a living traveling and speaking as a feminist socialist, speaking about issues important to women such as education and birth control. The influence of political and social activists in her family most likely led her to write about and speak up for people without a voice. “She said she learned early to write down what they were saying, hiding behind water troughs in the streets, under tables at home—listening. Listening to the tales of the lives of the people, her writings were grounded in these grassroots, salt-of-the-earth stories and experiences of working people, of the poor, the disenfranchised, the dispossessed.” (meridellesueur.org/biography). She had a brief acting career as a stunt actress and graced films such as The Perils of Pauline and Last of the Mohicans as an extra. After leaving her acting career behind she focused solely on her writings. She published her works throughout the 1920's until the end of the Second World War, when blacklisting of those who were involved in the socialist movement began. It was a hard time for Lesueur...
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...Running head: PROGRESSIVE ERA THROUGH THE GREAT 1 Progressive Era Through the Great Depression Zarick L. Robinson Contemporary U.S. History – II Professor Patrick Peacock Strayer University August 1, 2013 PROGRESSIVE ERA THROUGH THE GREAT DEPRESSION 2 The progressive era in America describes a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century. In the decades following the Civil War, rapid industrialization transformed the United States. A national rail system was completed; agriculture was mechanized; the factory system spread; and cities grew rapidly in size and number. The progressive movement arose as a response to the vast changes brought about by industrialization. Two major turning points during this period was reform at the state level and of course the national level. At the state level, reformers turned to state politics, where progressivism reached its fullest expression. A model of progressive reform was Robert La Follette’s term as governor of Wisconsin. He won from the legislature an anti-lobbying law directed at large corporations, a state banking control measure, and a direct primary law. Taxes on corporations were raised, a railroad commission was created to set rates, and a conservative commission was set-up. In state after state, progressives advocated a wide range of political, economic, and social reforms. They...
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...Progressive Era through the Great Depression Jennifer Castellano HIS-105 Contemporary US History Professor Collins November 10, 2012 The Spanish American War began in February of 1895. This war was brought on by the Cubans struggle for independence from Spain. The US got involved when US newspapers brought the brutality home. The US intervened and in the end they gained Guam and Puerto Rico. The US also gained power and with that power they would gain a place in international politics. (Spanish American War, 2012) The Great Depression followed a period that was called the roaring twenties. The roaring twenties was a time when people had more money to spend and spend they did. American’s bought new clothes and new electric appliances. Also American’s spent money on a new car called the Model T and if you couldn’t afford to pay cash for the car you could pay for it on credit given out by banks. But with the new spending and new freedoms some freedoms were taken away for instance alcoholic beverages became prohibited when the 18th Amendment of the Constitution was passed. (The Roaring Twenties, 2012) Alcohol was controlled by bootleggers and organized crime figures that ran things underground out of the watchful eye of the government. With the new underground speakeasies brought a rise in gambling that was organized by mob bosses. The roaring twenties also brought out the “New Woman” (The Roaring Twenties, 2012). The new woman was a young woman who had short hair...
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