Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Early Depression Impact
Yesterday in class we learned about the Great Depression. Some of the most important points were that the bank failures caused 9 million savings accounts to disappear, forcing people to sell their furniture and belongings to make enough money to survive since a lot of them had also lost their jobs. At the beginning, people blamed themselves because they thought they hadn't worked hard enough, and as a result of this didn't expect the government to do anything about it. But as the Depression dragged on, they started questioning why the government hadn't done something to help the people by then. They started to blame President Hoover for not doing anything to help the country, and started using his name to represent bad things, such as Hoovervilles, which were shantytowns of unemployed people at the edges of cities. To escape their hard times, people went to the theater and where entertained for hours while only paying 15 cents, danced to swing music, which was a form of jazz, and listened to radio dramas, which were becoming very popular at the time.
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As you mention, a lot of people started blaming the government. This was probably what made Roosevelt and his New Deal appealing. The people of America were looking for a change and for a government that would provide more for them than governments in the past.
ReplyDeleteAdding on to what Jamie said, when Roosevelt became president not long after, he brought around a different view of the government. People felt the government was responsible for their economic security as well. The government became more significant in people's lives.
ReplyDeleteThe government undoubtedly became more significant. Do you think that it played too big a part in people's lives?
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