October 29, 1929

The economy has fallen into shambles overnight. We were a decent middle class family, but the beginning of the banking system's collapse has forced the four of us to leave behind our old home and my job as the manager of an luxurious local diner.

Using what we could scavenge, we built the crude shack that you see here in one of the Hoovervilles on the outskirts of the city. We are desperate for any money that we can get our hands on, and food is increasingly difficult to come by anymore.

There's much shame in admitting it, but times have been too tough to stand idly by and starve. Dub Lee Brutal, our youngest son, nearly starved to death. We were forced to steal a chicken to butcher and eat from a neighbor, who barely survived the hardship himself.

As my family struggles to hold together, I've been thinking back on how this debacle unfolded so suddenly. The money in this country was so unbalanced leading up to what everyone is calling "Black Tuesday". Furthermore, thousands of people were using credit to put food on the table and borrowing immense amounts of money to buy company shares in margin. It's like everyone had been setting us up to fail for years without ever stopping to think about the consequences of their actions.

November 9th, 1932

We're now a few years into this crisis. Word around the Hooverville is that Roosevelt claimed victory in last night's presidential election. I heard that a major selling point of his campaign was relief and recovery during this struggle. Time will tell.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.", he said. My family just might make it through this. My oldest son, Trip Lee Brutal, was able to go to work on dams with the creation of a new organization called the TVA. The legislation is allowing workers to find jobs and giving families hope for the future.

1933

With Roosevelt in charge, another organization, the PWA, has taken shape. Under his administration, more yearly federal funding has been partially diverted into infrastructure to allow more opportunities for the creation of new jobs.

September 17th, 1935

It's now been a little over a month since President Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act. People that struggled even more than us, such as my own parents, pictured here, began to see federal financial relief reach them after years of struggle. Before this debacle began, I was losing hope in the government and society a a whole. Everybody was so caught up in the economic boom and high living, failing to see what had happened. With these new acts in place, I pray that it will never come to this again.

Significant Events During the Depression Page 1

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10/29/29

The stock market crashed.

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6/17/30

The Smoot-Hawley Tariff is enacted.

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1391

Six million Americans are unemployed.

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11/8/32

FDR wins the presidential election.

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8/14/35

The Social Security Act is put into place.

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2/5/37

President Roosevelt attempts "court packing" to appoint six new SCOTUS justices.

Significant Events During the Depression Part 2

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1939

Some sense of economic stability is restored as the Great Depression grinds to a halt with WWII just starting.

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1938

The Wage and Hour Division is established.

Citations Page 1

Pearson, Steve. “1920's Homes Including Prices.” What Happened in 2006 Inc. Pop Culture, Prices and Events, www.thepeoplehistory.com/20s-homes.html.

Arbuckle, Alex, and Alex Arbuckle. “Inside the Shantytowns of the Great Depression.” Mashable, Mashable, 17 Sept. 2015, mashable.com/2015/09/17/hoovervilles/#3UChCM.NssqI.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “United States Presidential Election of 1932.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1 Nov. 2018, www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1932.

Editors, History.com. “New Deal.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Oct. 2009, www.history.com/topics/great-depression/new-deal.