The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was the most prolonged and severe Depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world, sparking fundamental changes in economic institutions, policy, and economic theory.
My mother was a young girl during this turmoil
She has shared many stories as other children of this age
Surely have. My mother was a kind and caring person. Undoubtedly, events such as the Great Depression set the mold for those qualities to emerge. It was a time of caring, sharing, and helping strangers, a time when you gave
More than you got. Through adversities, we dig deep to find our true character. My mother made the statement
As children, we didn’t know we were supposed to feel sad. It showed on some of the young faces. It was only years later the smiles turned to tears.
Like clusters of shiny grapes hanging on a vine
gathered in the town squares, men standing in bread lines
Hollow eyes from sunken sockets
Hands hanging out of empty pockets
the fever had infected the masses as dollars exchanged
for unseen real estate, foreign currencies, any investment gain
the October 1929 stock market crash pulled the trigger
It became a decade-long poverty and tragedy, giver
A most prolonged, most profound, and most widespread depression
A nation encountered because of lavish spending
and greed, this they hadn’t envisioned
Living life to the full like no tomorrow would ever come
The miss managed banks affected all humankind, not just some
Construction stopped, and prices dropped
Farmers couldn’t sell their crops
On top of that came the Great plains droughts
It sure didn’t help those farmers out
The market crash caused panics and runs on the banks
The bankers pleaded with them to reconsider, but the people said no thanks
Investors went bankrupt, and billions of dollars lost
Trying to sell their stock at any cost
Many Families were ripped apart
Leaving trails of broken hearts
Nations children spoke of it for years
Maybe to save the next generations of tears
Who hasn’t heard the phrase The Great Depression
It remains to be seen if a man learned their lesson