Was San Francisco affected by the Great Depression?

When the Great Depression hit the US, life in many cities took a sharp turn for the worse — employment rates plummeted, soup kitchens became a necessity and ramshackle makeshift towns were soon the norm. As a previously booming city, San Francisco was hit particularly hard.

What was life like during the Great Depression in California?

California was hit hard by the economic collapse of the 1930s. Businesses failed, workers lost their jobs, and families fell into poverty. While the political response to the depression often was confused and ineffective, social messiahs offered alluring panaceas promising relief and recovery.

What was the daily life like during the Great Depression?

The average American family lived by the Depression-era motto: “Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.” Many tried to keep up appearances and carry on with life as close to normal as possible while they adapted to new economic circumstances. Households embraced a new level of frugality in daily life.

What was the city like during the Great Depression?

Life in the big city was very difficult for many people during the Great Depression. Food was scarce and jobs were difficult to come by. Once a person lost their job, they were often evicted from their home or apartment.

How did California deal with the Great Depression?

Millions went hungry. In California, farm income in 1932 sank to less than half of its 1929 level. By 1933, building permits had plummeted to one-ninth of their peak in 1925. By 1934, more than 1.25 million Californians were on public relief-about one-fifth of the state’s population.

What type of work was available in California during the Great Depression?

Even though the Great Depression hit California hard in the early 1930s, agriculture was one of the areas that expanded in the state. Growers in the San Joaquin Valley quadrupled their acreage in the mid-1930s. With that, the demand for workers rose.

What was it like to be a kid during the Great Depression?

The life of a child in the 1930s was very different than a child’s life today. With the Great Depression, children and their families were greatly impacted—millions lived in poverty and had very little to eat, let alone money to spare for entertainment.

Why did farmers move to California during the Great Depression?

Migration Out of the Plains during the Depression. During the Dust Bowl years, the weather destroyed nearly all the crops farmers tried to grow on the Great Plains. Many once-proud farmers packed up their families and moved to California hoping to find work as day laborers on huge farms.

How were Okies treated in California?

Predominantly upland southerners, the half-million Okies met new hardships in California, where they were unwelcome aliens, forced to live in squatter camps and to compete for scarce jobs as agricultural migrant laborers.