The Social Impact
Although the Great Depression primarily affected the economy of the U.S., a social impact was sure to fall in line. Prior to the Great Depression the U.S. had never before witnessed a time of such mass hunger and poverty. The impact of the Great Depression was so intense that former millionaires had to try to sell apples for 5 cents along street corners. People who lost their homes were forced to live on the outskirts of cities in small communities known as "Hoovervilles". In these Hoovervilles people lived in cheap, small shacks using furnaces as a source of heat to keep warm. At night, inhabitants of Hoovervilles were unable to afford blankets and used old newspapers as an outlet. Along with Hoovervilles cities during the Great Depression also contained "bread lines". The hungry would wait in lines for hours hoping to receive any kind of food. Life during the Great Depression was so intolerable that in the year 1931 over 20,000 people committed suicide.
Throughout the 1930's the U.S. began to see an increase in negative social impacts. Due to the crash of the stock market and fall of the economy several companies and businesses were forced to shutdown, leaving thousands of workers unemployed. These unemployed workers would do whatever they could to provide for their families so many resorted to theft. For many of the workers theft was their only option to help their families and as a result there was a rapid rise in crime rate. Women who were desperate to pay bills turned to prostitution in order to make money. Americans who could not stand the hard times during the Great Depression resorted to alcohol as a temporary escape. Along with the closing of many businesses funds for education declined. Many males who were unable to get a job returned to school, however due to the lack of funds many high schools and universities opened with a small amount of staff members. Some schools who were unable to pay for their staff had to shutdown entirely. This lack of educational funding caused a drop in the number of Americans who received an education. As long as the U.S. was in the Great Depression many of these events continued to happen steadily.