Dark Ages

"The roaring twenties", an era in which many prospered. Take the Harlem renaissance for example, where numerous African American artists flourished. During this period of time the economy grew rapidly thanks to a number of technological inventions. One was Ford's assembly line which made the automobile more affordable than ever. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end; So in 1929, the Roaring Twenties came to an unexpected end when the stock market crashed. The excitement of the 1920's was now over. Ahead came harsh times, some of the worst U.S. economy had. This so called 'Great Depression" altered the American Social fabric in many ways. Those who were poor during the roaring twenties would now suffer even further, and those whose life prospered in the twenties would overcome a dramatic change.
The great depression, besides causing banks to panic, also caused millions of people to be unemployed. Unemployment came from a varied amount of reasons. One was the use of new technology which at times replaced human labor. Machines without a doubt made a better and faster job than humans could do, however this lead to overproduction, followed by under consumption as a result from the unemployed.
Starting with the living conditions, people no longer lived in nice homes, instead they became part of the Hoovervilles. Named after the President of that time, Herbert Hoover, who during his term was unable to get the United States out of the Great Depression, Hoovervilles were shanty towns for the homeless and unemployed as a result of the depression. People who lived here lived under bad conditions. Those not skilled enough had to built their temporary homes out of cardboard and other simple materials. In the other hand, the skilled built their houses out of stone. Even those who had cars suffered, since gasoline was not affordable anymore. Cars had the engines taken out in order to be pulled by horses.
Some in response decided to get together through charities in order to help the unfortunate. The infamous soup- kitchens were created to provide free food for those who needed it the most. Some minorities such as women and African Americans were also affected. Women were not affected in a very bad way, for they were considered the only hope for some families. Even though they were not paid as much as men, their effort to make a difference was well appreciated. African Americans in the other hand suffered even more during the depression. They were the last on the waiting list for jobs as well as the first to be fired. Nevertheless others outside the United States were affected, for example, in Latin America many fascist movements arose due to the effects of the great depression resulting from the many investments the United States had with many Latin American countries.
The great depression affected many in America mostly in a bad way. The depression was not however only a local issue, but rather a global one that affected millions of people, even foreigners in the U.S. were affected, for example, Mexican-Americans who faced illegal deportation in order to yield jobs for white Americans. In the United States, the depression ended an era of mass consumerism that once prospered in the urban areas.