American's Face Hard Times

We are covering the Great Depression this week.

After the notes of statistics and figures of the bank failures and businesses going bankrupt, it is easy to forget the faces behind the numbers.
How easy is it to gloss over 25% unemployment? It's the stories that give us insite into the lives of those millions of people out of work. Its the stories that tell us what it was like to have to leave home, leave your family behind to find work - food.

In 2009, Lisa Ling went into Tent City in Sacramento, California; one of the hardest hit cities during the current recession to interview the occupents. I show this clip to my students every year for a few reasons. One, its a good clip. Two, students are able to emotionally connect with the hardship of thos ewho lost everything when the economy started to fail. Three, they are able to connect the stories of the people in recent years to the lives of those who lost so much in the early 1930's.

(originally aired on Oprah, Feb 18, 2009)

 

 

 

 

The stories of the people we are studying are the bases of history. It is easy to sometimes forget the reality to the condensed versions of what we gloss over in textbooks. Another great resource - interviewing those you know!

Today, I was reminded of the importance of story. I had several students share their family historyin class. They told the stories of their grandparents, and some great grandparents experiences during the Great Depression. They were stories that allowed me, and their classmates to learn a little more about the time period than had we just stuck to the notes.  

 

I won't use names, but I want to be able to share the stories with you - in hopes you will also be able to better understand the lives of those who experienced the Great Depression in the 1930s. These are not direct quotes - but as close as I can remember!

 

 

"My grandma's parents sent her and her siblings to a children's home, because it was the only way she could insure they would get something to eat. The parents would come visit the children. But they lived there throughout the Depression."

"My family lived in Kentucky on a farm at the time. They said it wasn't that big of a deal there. They were able to farm, and live off the land. They never had to really worry about food." 

"My great grandma didn't trust the banks! She hid money all over her house. Once she died, we were finding money stashed away in toilet paper rolls!"
 

Have a conversation with your family to learn your family history. What did your family experience during the Depression?

Do you have stories to share??