The 1920s were a time of change for women in America. Views of them have changed, and they were given more rights and freedoms, such as the right to vote. Many women, like Margaret, also gained more confidence, and became flappers. By doing this, they broke stereotypes and began to make new names for themselves. Everyone wanted to thrive and have wealth and popularity. These dreams could be considered Margaret’s “American Dream”, which is something that every US citizen should have a chance to get through hard work and determination.

The 1920s were also a time of new opportunities and chance. During this time, the stock market became popular. The stock market is where people would invest in a part of a company by buying shares. As the stock market rises, the people who invested in that company can gain money, but they can also lose money if the stock market drops. Margaret and her family decided that they wanted to try the stock market, and they invested in multiple shares. They did this for the opportunity to get more money, and to help achieve their “American Dream”.

Everything was going great for them, until Tuesday, October 29, 1929, when the stock market crashed. This happened because investors got scared, and a lot of them uninvested in the market all at one time. This led to Margaret and her family losing all of their savings because of their debt to the company's stock and their bank going under. She then had to sell her house and furniture, and bought a small cabin for her and her family to live in. Everything was different; they had no new clothes, and a lack of food and furniture. 

The next year, in 1930, the dust bowl started. The dust bowl was a time where dust filled the air, resulting in people not being able to see or breath. It started because of poor weather conditions, dry land, a lack of rain, overused the land, and windstorms, that picked up the dust and carried it throughout the USA. Because of this, dust filled Margaret’s family's home, so she had to spend most of her time cleaning up her house, in an effort to get rid of some of the dust, and taking care of her child, who became sick after inhaling too much dirt and dust.

In order to help families affected by the dust bowl, government started to provide aide in the form of agencies, such as the SSA, WPA, PWA, etc, to help citizens recover. Also, they provided food handouts to families in need. Margaret's family received these handouts for her and her family to eat. Although this prevented them from starving, and gave them a wider variety for meals, not a lot changed.