Youth during the Great Depression - Essay Example

al. 670-671). There is little doubt that experiences of the rail riding youths of the Depression were impacted and influenced but those experiences in a number of different ways; some positive and some negative. On October 29, 1929 the Stock market crashed. This day is often called “Black Tuesday.” This crash did not just affect the United States, but multiple countries and economics all over the world. Herbert Hoover held the office of United States President when the Depression began and despite his dedication to optimism, conditions were only getting worse.

Many Americans blamed Hoover for the Depression as a whole. Of course, this historical event cannot be blamed on any one person, but a number of economic variables, financial aspects, and other contributions. Because unemployment was so extreme in so many parts of the country that many people became almost entirely migrant; walking, hitchhiking, or riding train cars. As can be seen above, people were essential living like refugees all over the nation. Whenever news of jobs was heard, sometimes, hundreds of people would arrive to apply.

The Human traffic moving from one place to another was immense. Approximately 250, 000 teenagers, mostly male, hit the road and rode the rails The 2009 film “Riding the Rails” interviews, discusses, and delves into the experiences of the teens during the Depression through the stories of the men and women who lived it. These stories have the ability to make you think at the time, the culture, and hardships experienced by the generations before us and how very different the cultural mentality is today.

Again there were many reasons that the youths of the Depression left home and found themselves riding the rails. Clarence Lee’s father approached him and explained that this there simply was not enough to feed him anymore; he left home the next day. Peggy DeHart and her traveling companion, Rene Champion, hitchhiked across the country and occasionally road