In America during the Great Depression of the 1930's, living conditions for most Americans were very poor. At the beginning of the Depression in 1929, the employees of companies were the first to go. This meant that there was less money being spent on goods and services, which meant that more people became unemployed, and at the height of the depression 25% of Americans were unemployed. This cycle ensured that spending fell from $79 billion to $46 billion between 1929 and 1933.
This meant that businesses by the thousands were becoming bankrupt, unemployment was rife, and savings were wiped as banks went bankrupt. This meant that no money was now within the reach of people who needed to repay their mortgage, and therefore were evicted from their homes.
In America there were two main areas where people resided- in farms or in cities. As the Depression worsened farmers had to leave their livelihoods and properties after becoming bankrupt, and this was not helped by American Dust Bowl that was caused by severe drought that destroyed many farmer's crops from 1930 to 1936. Meanwhile in cities there were many 'food lines' which consisted of people lining up for soup or bread, as people did not have enough money to buy necessities. However these lines were usually a place of shame for the people, as it meant that they did not have enough money to care for themselves or their families.
President Hoover supported volunteer groups and charity and many groups heightened morale, but this effort was short lived as it relied on public support, which did not have enough money.
People that still had a place to live were most likely to have to offer their place to a friend or to extended family, and with the usually uncomfortable living conditions that had few furnishings and little hot water they soon became crowded.
For those who were evicted out onto the streets, shanty towns (named Hoovervilles, after President Hoover which was blamed for the Depression) were set up outside major cities that consisted of wood and cardboard boxes. Homeless men slept on park benches with newspapers as blankets, and as a substitute for meat gophers and rabbits were caught and then roasted on a fire.
Hoovervilles were usually constructed with material found in garbage dumps and construction sites, and were built next to rivers. Due to the high turnover in these homes, homes could be sold, and the top market price was usually $50. In some cities land was set aside for these Hoovervilles, but sometimes police and other intolerant groups would come and destroy these shanty towns.
By the year of 1933 many Americans were out of work. This meant a lot of pressure on the breadwinner of the family, and they also felt a lot of pain as he couldn't provide for the family. This would cause men to abandon their families and 'wander' America, looking for food, begging and looking for work- however usually hundreds of men would look for one place of employment, meaning that there was even more pressure.
These bread lines would often form as early as 4am on winter mornings as men prepared to have their soup. In 1931 there were 82 bread lines in New York, serving 85 000 meals daily.
In the bread lines they were served different things, depending on the demand of the food. There was usually stale bread and soup (that was watery, lukewarm, and with the odd vegetable). After a few minutes an authority figure would ask them to leave to make room for the people still waiting, and then the men would go into another food line to wait for another meal.
These poor living and surviving conditions were suffered by the people of America during the Great Depression, until it lifted in the middle of the 1930's.
