THE GREAT DEPRESSION THAT SHOW OUR CURRENT RECESSION COULD BE SO MUCH WORSE


 24 Photos Of The Great Depression That Show Our Current Recession Could Be So Much Worse

By Erin Kelly | Edited By Savannah Cox

Published March 4, 2016

Updated October 2, 2018

Look back on some of the darkest years in American history with these twenty-four humbling Great Depression photos.

Without a doubt, the Great Depression was one of the darkest, most catastrophic times the United States has endured.


The decade-long depression “officially” began on October 29th, 1929, when the stock market crashed, causing the Gross Domestic Product to drop a whopping 15% worldwide. To put that into perspective, during the recession of the late 2000s, the world’s GDP dropped less than 1%.


It would take World War II and the reform efforts of a new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to pull the world out of a devastating economic hole left by a financial market in crisis — one which remains the largest worldwide financial crisis to date.


83 years ago today, Roosevelt entered the Oval Office as President of the United States. In the first 100 days of FDR’s presidency, Congress passed 15 major pieces of legislation to help implement “New Deal” programs that would stimulate employment and thus the economy.


But as the following Great Depression photos show, the road back to economic health would be long, and nothing short of agonizing:


Great Depression Photos Bank US

After the 1930 failure of New York’s Bank of United States, depositors gather to protest many of the institution's activities.


Great Depression Photos American Union

A large crowd descends upon New York's American Union Bank to withdraw their funds early on in the Great Depression. The bank would be one of nearly half of the nation’s banks that would go out of business during these economically challenged years.


Great Depression Photos Despair

With new construction virtually halted, and crop prices falling by 60%, the effects of the Depression were widespread and debilitating.


Great Depression Photos Down Out

During the depression, unemployment in the US reached a record high of 25%.

Wikimedia Commons

Great Depression Photos Soup Kitchen

In 1931, dozens of unemployed men line up in front of a Chicago soup kitchen, which happened to be opened by notorious gangster, Al Capone.


Great Depression Photos Cotton Pickers

The Great Depression hit everyone hard, and African Americans suffered most. By 1932, half had no work. For those who did have work, life still wasn't easy. In Northern cities, for instance, some whites demanded that employed African Americans be fired to make room for unemployed whites. As the Depression wore on and tensions escalated, lynchings became more common, particularly in the South.

Flickr

Great Depression Photos Tobacco

In the midst of the economic hardship, any family member who could work did — and in any job they could find. Here, a young girl hangs tobacco leaves to dry.

Wikimedia Commons

Great Depression Photos Prohibition

Those who sought refuge in vice were in for a tough time. Prohibition took place in the middle of the Great Depression, criminalizing the sale of alcohol.


Great Depression Photos Roosevelt

Much of the Great Depression took place during the presidency of FDR (1933-1945). The policies and programs Roosevelt implemented defined his time in office and cemented his legacy.

Flickr

great depression photos ccc

Roosevelt's 'New Deal' created stimulus programs including the Civilian Conservation Corps, which gave single men with no families jobs working on infrastructure projects. Above, some corps members appear in action.

Wikipedia

Great Depression Photos Relief Work

Other federal programs included highway construction programs, above.

Wikimedia Commons

Great Depression Photos Poor Farm

Men laying pipe at a county 'poor farm,' where desolate families were given shelter. Able-bodied adults were expected to work the farms in return for their room and board.

Flickr

Great Depression Photos Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl — which describes a series of massive dust storms that wiped out much of the agriculture of the US and Canadian plains during the 1930s — aggravated the effects of the stock market crash.

Flickr

Great Depression Photos Burried Car

The storms' heavy winds pummeled the West, leaving economies and agriculture in utter ruin, as shown by this buried car and wagons in Dallas, South Dakota in 1936.

Wikipedia

Great Depression Photos Boys

Two young boys sit on the porch of an Arkansas rehabilitation clinic in 1935.

Flickr

Great Depression Photos Migrant Mother

The famous photo known as "Migrant Mother" shows Florence Thompson with her children. The Library of Congress caption reads, "Destitute pea pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age thirty-two. Nipomo, California."

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