Chapter 14
Section 2
Hardship and
Suffering During the
Depression
Employment
 Many
people found themselves
out of jobs for years; women,
African American men,
Mexican American men were
discriminated against in the
workplace and became targets
of hostility
Housing
 Many
unemployed people
lost their homes; many
homeless lived in the
streets or in shanty towns;
many farmers lost their
farms.
Farming

Farmland already exhausted through
overproduction was hit with drought
and winds, turning the plains into a
dust bowl; dramatic decrease in
farm prices and income; many
farmers lost ownership of their
farms and were forced to become
tenant farmers or farm laborers.
Race Relations
 Intense
competition for jobs
sparked existing racial resentments
into open hostility and violence; in
1933, 24 African Americans were
lynched, thousands of Mexican
Americans left the U.S. voluntarily
or were deported.
Family Life
 The
Depression strengthened
family ties, but also increased
family tensions; some men
abandoned their families,
discouraged by their inability to
provide for them; women also faced
greater pressures to provide for
themselves and their families.
Physical Health
 Poor
and homeless people
scavenged or begged for food or
turned to soup kitchens and bread
lines; poor diet and lack of health
care increased rates of serious
health problems; malnutrition and
starvation grew more common.
Emotional Health
Many people became demoralized;
suicide and admissions to mental
hospitals increased dramatically;
people were forced to accept
compromises that would affect the rest
of their lives; some people came to
want financial security more than
anything else in life.
