Life During the Depression

As many as a quarter of Americans were out of work during the Depression, and those who had work were often employed only part time or for lower wages than before. People survived the worst of the 1930s in a variety of ways — by helping one another, by making do with less, by moving in search of work, and by accepting charity. And, of course, life in the 1930s wasn’t always dismal. As always, people relied on entertainment and popular culture to distract them or to remind them of better times. You’ll explore some of their stories in this chapter.


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