How Did The Great Depression Affect Families

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Fear, stress, and financial strain were all a large part of people’s lives while living during the Great Depression. The Great Depression was a period of economic downturn during the 1920’s that brought down many Americans financially and some to a point where they could no longer feed their families. The causes of the Depression include, the stock market crash of 1929, many people foreclosing on their homes, and overproduction of goods. Many people suffered losses financially and emotionally. The Depression lasted from 1929 to 1939. The Great Depression immensely impacted the lives of all Americans by affecting the nation’s economy, family relationships, and food supply.
The nation’s economy was greatly affected because of the Great Depression. …show more content…
According to historian Dennis Bryson, the Great Depression brought many difficulties upon families. Stress, worry, and quarelling were common in families during the Depression. The psycholigcal stress was hard to handle and family members split apart because of fights (Bryson). Many families became distant, and relationships weakened because of how difficult the Great Depression was on the physical and mental aspects of life. Bryson points out that, “In order to help provide economic support for their families, married women increasingly came to work outside the home during the 1930s, generally in low-status, low-paying jobs, often in the service and light manufacturing sectors” (Bryson). Women, which served as motherly figures who stayed home and took care of their children, were now forced to work because of the Depression. This was not common during the time period. Even though women had jobs, they were often laborous and low paying. This affected American’s lives because children had to take upon new responsibilites because of their mother’s jobs. During the Great Depression, families could be described as "disorganized" and deprived”. Families endured hardships of being able to provide food and shelter for themselves and their children. (Bryson). Family relationships were affected because of the circumstances they had to withstand. The disorganization and deprivation all …show more content…
The Great Depression ended at the start of World War II. The economy finally began to rise and people became employed for production of military equipment and goods. Some historians say that the War did bring the country out of the Depression and economic failure that America was experiencing during that time. Many lasting effects were left because of the Great Depression. The government put safeholds in place to make sure if anything like the Great Depression were to occur again, they would be prepared. The Depression also changed people's attitudes toward unemployment. People came to view unemployment not as a personal shortcoming but as a condition that can result from circumstances beyond the individual's control (Mitchener). Lastly, the society was affected by the Great Depression with the realization that the government isn’t always the one that is able to fix issues in America. Americans realized is what their responsibility to keep America’s economy strong with financial security. Many things can be done to fix the repercussions of the Great Depression. Safeholds can be put in place in the banking system that will back them up in any sort of financial crisis. Also, the government could enact laws that will help the economy flourish which will make sure the Great Depression will never occur
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