The Great Depression

The Great Depression was a time of hardship for Americans across the nation.  Loans, debt, overzealous spending, credit, all factors contributing to the Depression with the Stock Market Crash to set it off.  This was a crucial period in American History, an experience that would either make or break you.  This book will include information about the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Bank Failures, the Dust Bowl, and Hoovervilles.

October 2, 1929

I just received another loan from the bank to put into the stock market.  I had done this last year and actually made some money, so what’s the harm of trying again?  Some people are starting to believe the Market is getting a little unsteady but what do they know; with the way things are going I should be able to make triple of what I put in.  I’m just so happy right now I’m grinning like a fool. I’ll finally be able to pay off my house payment and maybe even get a new car!

October 29, 1929

I’m a fool.  I’m a fool for believing the good times wouldn’t end, for not taking the advise of my friends who told me I needed to pull out.  I just laughed at them saying “what could go wrong”.  What a foolish mistake that was.  Earlier today the stocks took a turn for the worst.  Everything was plummeting.  People were running around frantically trying to sell off the last of their stocks and cash out.  I was among them.  But it was too late, by the time anyone knew what was happening it was already over.  All the money, gone.  It took me a good few minutes to realize what had happened.  I was in denial.  This sort of thing just doesn’t happen here.  There had to be a way to get my money back!  Then realization set in.  I was broke and was probably going to lose my house.  What have I done?

October 30, 1929

This is bad, very, very bad.  What are we going to do?  There are a mob of people outside waiting to collect money that we don’t have.  How are we supposed to tell them it’s all gone!  We can’t let them in… we’ll keep them out as long as we can… no we can’t do that.  Maybe we can only let one or two in at a time.  Oh… their will be a riot when they learn all their money was invested in the stocks and due to the crash no one was able to pay back their loans.  Okay… lets face facts this bank is going to fail and we won’t be the only one.  I’ve told the staff to stay calm and to only let in a few people at a time.

The doors opened and a wave of people came flooding in.  There was no holding it back.  People rushed to the counter demanding they get their money.  It was chaotic and so loud I couldn’t hear myself think.  Well, here goes nothin’. I stepped up one of the tables to get everybody’s attention and told them the situation, told them we didn’t have their money, that all their savings were gone and that there was nothing to be done about it.  I was hit with a wave of fury and a chorus of “What do you mean you can’t get my money back!”  I can certainly understand their feelings, people go to banks to keep their money safe, so for you to come to collect and it not be here… It seems I’ll have to close this bank down, there’s nothing left for it anymore.  Maybe one day things will get better and we can reopen, But I doubt anyone will trust a bank again.

The day the black blizzard came you could just tell something was off.  The animals were acting restless and the wind had increased tremendously. And you could just make out this distant black haze near the horizon.  It was unsettling.  I was out bringing the clothes in from the line, the kids were out front playing, and my husband was in the fields trying to get something to grow.  We’ve been experiencing a drought this past year, we prayed it wouldn’t last but who knew we had bigger things to worry about.  It was about three when we noticed that the black haze had snuck up on us.  We hurried all the animals into the barn and then ran back to our house.  We watched from the window as a massive dust cloud crashed down over our house.  It became dark so we shut the curtains and just waited.  Dust was being blown in from under the door and threw the cracks in the roof.  I told the kids to cover their mouths and try not to breath it in.

After a couple hours we the black blizzard was gone and it had left everything covered in dust and dirt.  What little crops we had were now completely destroyed.  I have never seen anything like that before.  I began furiously cleaning the house, thankful it was over.  Little did I know that it was just the beginning.  We went to a town meeting and learned that this wasn’t just happening here it was happening in neighboring states as well.  The newspaper has dubbed this area of black blizzards as the Dust Bowl.  Things only got worse from there.

I never thought I would say this, but I am actually enjoying myself in this so called “Hooverville”.  Ever since the Depression began I’ve decided to look on the bright side of things.  My husband and I have always been go with the flow people, so when the banks lost our money, we just joked about not having to wait in those long lines anymore.  This is the hand we were dealt so we decided to make the best of it. Unfortunately though we also lost our home and my husband was laid off, but on the Brightside he was one of the lucky ones to get his severance pay.  Thus we still had a little money left.  So we decided to join one of these “Hoovervilles.”  We built a modest little “home” out of some stone and leftover metal from the scrap yard.  And set up near the water supply.  Our neighbors are just lovely, although they can be cynical at times but aren’t we all?  Everyday my husband sets out with the rest of the men to look for a job at the nearby factories.  He’s been pretty lucky so far.  I’ve even set out once or twice myself. What money we earn we usually save what we can and spend on food.  We want to at least have something when all this is over.  Some days we help our neighbors and new arrivals fix up their new “homes”.  It keeps us busy when we aren’t looking for a job and I enjoy helping out.  Life is good when you’re living on the Brightside.