The Great Depression

I can’t believe that this is happening. All of David’s, my husband, hard earned money is gone. The banks have lost all their money due to them buying stocks in the stock market. How could they have done this? The banks used people’s life savings just to buy into those stocks. They should not have been able to do that, not without anyone’s consent.

Now we have no money. David went to the bank once he heard of the stock market crashing, he was going to get all the money that we had out of the bank so that we could have it but the banker told him that all the money was gone. We had money saved up for our two kids’, Charles and Lea, school tuition. That money was to pay for their school books, class cost, and to buy them new school clothes. I don’t know what to do now, maybe David was smart enough to stash some money away for when we would really need it.

Well here we are, living on the streets with everyone else. We were kicked out of our home because we couldn’t pay the rent on time like we always did. Thankfully David was able to build us a “house” out of the materials that he found lying around. It is nothing compared to the home that we had, but at least it is a roof over our heads.

Charles and Lea don’t seem to mind the situation that we are in, they play with all the other children living in Hooverville. I am so glad that they don’t have any worries or cares. Just hearing their laughter and seeing them having fun gives me hope that we will get out of this situation.

David has gone to the local factories to ask for work, but so far none of the factories would take them. Many men were laid off from their jobs because the bosses could not afford to pay all the workers. David was one of the guys who got laid off. Ever since then he has been looking for a job so that we can buy food for our kids and buy them the things that they need most. I pray that he will find work soon.

David had no luck finding a job near home, so he and his best friend Larry decided to take a train to the next town to find work. David hated the idea of leaving the kids and me behind, but he promised to write to us once he found work.

Well David kept his promise, he wrote to us once he got a job. He and Larry got a job working at a toy factory and they are making seventeen cents an hour, they both work for only three hours. Every time David writes to us he sends a portion of his earnings to us so we can buy what we need. Charles and Lea miss their father so much, I can’t wait for this Depression to end so we can be together again.

I have also found work to do. I have been testing my sewing skills and have been working as a seamstress. A lot of the richer people have given me their clothes to fix and pay me ten cents per clothing.

By the heaven’s our prayers have been answered. There is a new Presidential candidate who promises to fix all our problems. His name is Franklin D. Roosevelt, I heard one of his public speeches on the radio the other day and he talks about how everything will be alright and he promises to end all poverty. Come time to vote for our new President I am voting for Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

I wrote to David about Roosevelt to see if he believes what he says, David agrees that he will keep his promise and will end our economic troubles.

Roosevelt talks about his big plan called The New Deal. This deal is known as the three “R’s” (Relief, Recovery, and Reform).  The New Deal will provide all Americans help with their basic necessities, will promote growth in the economy, and will ensure that a Great Depression with never happen again. Me personally, am buying into this “New Deal” business. I just hope that Roosevelt won’t let us down the way that Herbert Hoover did.

I am so glad that Franklin Roosevelt won the Presidential Election. He has become very popular with the American people by his Fireside Chats. He does these chats by talking on the radio every Sunday evening and he talks to the American people. No President has ever done this before, no other President has ever showed that they care about us. Roosevelt shows that he cares about us. While doing his Fireside Chats, he talks about his plans to end the depression. He also answers letters that people write to them and he writes back to them or he will discuss their concerns or answer their questions over the radio.

I am glad that Roosevelt cares about all of us, makes me feel even better about how his plans will unfold.