The Sacrifices and Struggles That America Endured during the Great Depression

The Great Depression, a ten year economical crisis lasting from 1929 to 1939 brought down on the society of the United States. Throughout the depression, Americans endured the most extreme hardships. A third of the nation was ill, crops were dying, and Americans became sick themselves. The United States was overall a depressed mass itself. Nothing was fun, nothing good-natured, just a sad and slow time. The Great Depression had many effects on the people who lived through it. To survive through such a time, you would’ve had to been sacrificial, resourceful, and even a bit hopeful as well to keep striving on.

Many people during the Great Depression had to quickly grasp on how to become sacrificial and surrender most of their belongings. According to the article, “Digging In”, by Robert J. Hastings, “we sold our four-door Model T touring car with the snap-on side curtains and isinglass.” Robert and his family had to sacrifice their family car to stay financially stable Hastings points out that “we did without soft drinks, snacks, and bakery goods.

” Him and his family had to lose even simple delicacies such as light snacks and items from the bakery. They had to offer up little commodities to even their large family car in order to live decently. Being sacrificial in certain times decided whether you’d be financially stable or not during the depression. Not just Hasting’s family, but many others sacrificed belongings so they wouldn’t struggle any longer. The effects of the Depression on everyone was a large one at that.

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To withstand the conflicts of the Great Depression, you must have had to learn how to be resourceful. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the “Second Inaugural Address” declares that, “I see a great nation, upon a great continent, blessed with a great wealth of natural resources.” Roosevelt during this time, saw a land with much potential. He knew that these natural resources must be conserved: just like how materials in households should be conserved and reused again as much as possible. According to the article, “Digging In”, “every cotton cloth was used over as a dish cloth, wash cloth, dust cloth, shoe-shining cloth.” Even tiny households must be somewhat resourceful in order to have some sort of stability. The purchase of a new cloth could decide whether you’d live in a house or on the streets.

Being hopeful in a crisis like this demonstrates how sturdy a person truly was. Without hopefulness, striving was sure to be difficult. In Karen Hesse’s poem, “Debts”, “I can turn the fields over, start again. It’s sure to rain soon. Wheat’s sure to grow.” Daddy in the poem shows a large amount of hope when his crops are already dead. This is a definite sign of how he won’t give up to the Great Depression. Hesse writes, “Daddy puts the hat back on. Course it’ll rain he says.” Showing a positive attitude when others show a not so positive attitude is being hopeful that something good will happen to you. Lastly, hopefulness was a major outcome people received from this economic crisis. It showed how firm Americans were and how together, the effects of the Depression weren’t as strong.

For the general public of the United States, the Great Depression had numerous effects on them. Sacrifice, resourcefulness and hopefulness were all keys to live. The most important key out of the three was sacrifice. Homes, cars, specific foods, and the clothes on their backs were taken away just to live inside a household. Nearly as important as sacrifice, resourcefulness kept you from using important money on less items as possible. Instead you’d make out alright with everything you had. Hope is always a large feeling to keep a hold of; not to mention it’s always useful in crises like this. Good things can come to those who have a large amount of it. After all Americans suffered over throughout the ten years of misery back then, it’s surprising how far they’ve come. Strong and united they all are today.