Man+who+lost+everything...Amelia+and+Mary


 * Before I was an average man who worked at a bank and had money saved there and in stocks. The economy was spiraling upward so everything seemed to be going great.

The Depression- The banks and stocks collapsed so I lost everything, even my job.**

[|Source]

"The bank was closed and a notice to that effect on the door. We stood there just looking at each other until finally one said, 'Well, boys, guess we had better go on the inside and see if we can find out what it's all about. I guess there goes our jobs.' [|Source]

"Not only my job was in the balance but my savings were gone, at least for the present.

"No one knows, unless they have experienced it, what it means to work in a place under such conditions. Of course, there were promises that the bank would soon open up and resume business and begin paying off. That gave the depositor something to hope for at least. The sad part was, this was the strongest bank in this town. In fact there had already been several failures, so this was almost the only bank open for business. It was a national bank too, so everybody thought their money was safe. We worked on awhile. To be frank, I didn't worry so much about my losses. I was so concerned about the other fellows. People were losing their homes and some their savings of a lifetime. The saddest part of it was to see widows who probably had been left a little insurance and had put it all in the bank. People have a feeling that all connected with a bank, from the directors, president, on down to the lowest employee, are responsible for a bank failure and that makes you feel bad.

". . . I haven't told you yet how the depression affected me personally. We worked on at the bank trying to get things in shape, with no hopes deep down in our hearts of ever opening up again. Of course, we couldn't tell people on the outside that. We tried to appear hopeful. One by one they began laying off employees and I knew, sooner or later, my time would come. I didn't worry very much right then because I was young and, with my experience and standing in the town, I just knew I would not have any trouble getting work. I soon found out, though, I was mistaken in that." [|source]
 * Hoover's Reaction- He tried to prime the pump by supporting industry and hoping the wealth would trickle down.

All I saw were soup lines and unemployment.** [|Source]

"Traditional roles within the family changed during the 1930s. Men finding themselves out of work now had to rely on their wives and children in some cases to help make ends meet. Many did not take this loss of power as the primary decision maker and breadwinner very well. Many stopped looking for work, paralyzed by their bleak chances and lack of self-respect. Some became so frustrated that they just walked out on their families completely. A 1940 survey revealed that 1.5 million married women had been abandoned by their husbands." [|Source]

How can a poor man stand such times and live? By: Blind Alfred Reed

"There once was a time when everything was cheap, But now prices nearly puts a man to sleep. When we pay our grocery bill, We just feel like making our will -- I remember when dry goods were cheap as dirt, We could take two bits and buy a dandy shirt. Now we pay three bucks or more, Maybe get a shirt that another man wore -- Tell me how can a poor man stand such times and live?" [|Source]

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 * Roosevelt's New Policies- Roosevelt beat Hoover in a landslide and quickly made many changes to help relive, recover, and reform.

What do you want FDR and New Deal to do for you?** As an unemployed person, I would like to see Franklin Roosevelt make the businesses more fair so that I can get a more stable job, and have a guaranteed minimum wage. That way I will be able to support my family so that I don't have to send my children and wife to work. The New Deal already helped me a lot by creating minimum wage and supplying more jobs.

The great depression put our nation through a lot of difficulty, but in the end, Roosevelt's progressive reforms were necessary and beneficial to future workers everywhere.