Denise
Hughes
Professor
Nall
Composition
I
10
October 2014
The Greatest Generation
One catastrophe after another seems
to define the Greatest Generation. This generation had to learn how to rebuild
a new life and provide for their families in a new sense. They suffered from a
tragic crash in the stock market and had to fight in a violent war. They lost
faith in one president and had to give their trust to a new president. In spite
of all these difficulties the Greatest Generation banded together and sought
and found solutions that made America the great country it is today.
People born in the Greatest
Generation were born around 1900 to the early 1920’s. The Greatest Generation
eventually became the parents of The Baby Boomer generation. Some people call
this generation “The GI Generation” due to the people whom served in World War
II. This generation had to rebuild the world after World War II. Sexism and
racism were major issues in the United States during this time. Many people
resorted to crime during this time. This generation made a huge step in
American History and society making it miraculous. The Golden Gate Bridge and
The Empire State building were built during the depression to help people find
jobs. Banks were hit hard during this time as well; around 1,616 banks had
closed due to bankruptcy. On August 14, 1935, another form of social security
came available to the elderly so they could afford to live.
On Tuesday, October 29, 1929 the
stock market crashed losing 14 billion dollars making this day in history a
tragedy. It was called, “Black Tuesday” after the crash. Black Tuesday was the
start of a terrible decline in the world to come. The stock market crash, also
called The Wall Street Crash, caused a lot of people to lose their jobs,
businesses closed and families lost their homes. There was a decrease in the
suicide rate amongst those whom worked in the New York financial district. The
stock market lost a total of 30 billion dollars that week. The Dow Jones market
had an 89% decline. Children lacked medical attention, food and shelter. It is
a week that will never be forgotten by many.
Hoover was out of office and Franklin
Delano Roosevelt became president in November of 1932, he promised the United
States a “New Deal”. The New Deal would bring promise to a better tomorrow.
During Roosevelt’s first few months in office he helped start more jobs by
opening federal organizations that were called, “Alphabet Agencies”. Roosevelt
wanted to do a sweep program that would help bring back businesses, agriculture
and help those who were out of work by starting “The Tennessee Valley
Authority”. Roosevelt had reached some achievement by 1935. He helped build the
spirits of those who were lost from the Depression and through the Wall Street
Crash.
The Greatest Generation is by far
the Greatest because they never complained about going to work and going to
war. They got up every day and did whatever they needed to do to provide for
their families or children worked to help their parents. My grandfather’s dad
owned a grocery store in Hamburg Arkansas. He had to close his doors after the
Great Depression because most of the people in town owned the store money but
couldn’t afford to pay back. My grandfather started working when he was around
7 or 8. He would go out and mow lawns or do whatever he could to earn money for
his family. He also went to World War II and came back without saying one word
about the war then immediately started to work on his career. The more I’ve
read about this generation and talking to my grandpa it makes me question my
generation and realize how lucky some of us are. We’ve had many luxuries that
the Greatest Generation never had and they never complained! The Greatest
Generation dealt with a lot of devastations and also conquered so much more. We
should always be thankful for our blessings.
Works Cited
Feinstein, Stephen. 2006. The 1930s:
From the Great Depression to the Wizard of Oz. Revised Ed. Berkeley Heights,
NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc.
Smiley, Gene. 2002. A new View of its
Causes and Consequences: Rethinking the Great Depression. Chicago, IL: Ivan R.
Dee Publisher.
Halfhill, Tom. “Tom’s Inflation
Calculator.” Accessed: April 11, 2009.
McMahon, Mary and Harris Brownwyn.
WiseGEEK: What is the Greatest Generation? www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-greatest-generation.htm.
Web. 04 September 2014 2013-2014. Conjecture Corporation
“Wall Street Crash of 1929 and its
aftermath”. HistoryLearningsite.co.uk. 2006. Web
Britten, Loretta, and Sarah Brash, Eds.
1998. Our American Century Hard Times:
The 30s. Richmond, VA: TIME-LIFE.
Friedel, Frank and Sidey, Hugh. “The
Presidents of the United States of America,” Copyright 2006 by the White House
Historical Association. The Presidential biographies on WhiteHouse.gov. Web. 10
September 2014
