Positive And Negative Effects Of The Great Depression

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The Great Depression was one of the most impactful events in American history. It all started during 1929 and lasted until 1939 (A. Kimberly “When the Great Depression”). It caused mass panic and in some instances high levels of stress. The Great Depression made discrimination against minorities more prominent, had a negative effect on the lives of everyday families, and made the lives of farmers and investors extremely difficult. The Great Depression brought mass suffering to all races in the country. The Depression was difficult for the whites in America, but was even more so on racial minorities, including Black Americans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, and Asian Americans. Minority workers were normally the first to lose jobs at…show more content…
They were deemed untrustworthy and forced into internment camps. The camps were bordered by barbed wire and had armed guards stationed on the outside. “ The camps occupied around 120,000 Asian Americans” (Marev John). Along with that, the government would not allow Asian Americans to gain citizenship. Passing the “Tydings-McDuffie Act, which only allowed 50 Asians into the country per year during the Great Depression” ( Legal History “The Tydings-McDuffie” ). Another way in which the Great Depression made people suffer was the negative effect it had on the lives of everyday families. As many men lost their jobs they left their family to look for work. As little were successful, the men became depressed and refused to return home out of humiliation and shame. Some children left, some people become hobos, and some separated from their families. Children suffered tremendously during the Great Depression. Sometimes children even left their homes. They either did not want to burden their families, were tired of their boring lives and poor living conditions, or just wanted an adventure. Most of them traveled on boxcars. They traveled in search for food, shelter, and…show more content…
The farmers plowed the prairie grasses and planted dry land wheat. As the demand for wheat products grew, cattle grazing was reduced, and millions of acres were plowed and planted. The drought caused the overfarmed and overgrazed soil to blow away. Winds whipped across the plains, raising clouds of dust. With all farmers having little to no money due to the drought and Dust Bowl, it was difficult for people to make a living and sustaining a comfortable lifestyle. In “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Scout, a farmer, once said “He (walter) had never seen three quarters together at the same time”(Lee 27). With no chance of making a living, farm families abandoned their homes and land, fleeing westward. Hundreds upon thousands had no jobs, were starving and were looking for any type of work. (PBS “ The Facts About the Great

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