(erroluys.com)
CHANCE OF A LIFETIME:
The Civilian Conservation Corps
PROBLEM
("Sign for Jobless Men to Keep Going" concordcarlisle.org)
("Sign for Jobless Men to Keep Going" concordcarlisle.org)
Being a young man in the 1930s was hard. The country was in what many believe was the worst economic crisis in US history - the Great Depression. The Great Depression officially began August, 1929 and ended with WWII’s start.
The Great Depression’s affect on the country was overwhelming. Traditional family roles no longer applied. With unemployment rising, men who had been breadwinners couldn't provide for their families. Poverty, homelessness, hunger, and trying to keep families together left men helpless. Many fathers deserted their families. By 1940, 1.5 million married couples were living apart. Over 200,000 children were homeless. Three million weren’t in school. Suicide rates rose to 22.1 percent, an all-time high.
(erroluys.com)
("Men Sleeping on Sidewalk" americansuburbx.com)
The country’s condition and its affect on families was terrifying to young boys who were expected to become men. Many were sent out to find jobs to help their families. Thousands became hobos traveling hopping trains and searching for work. But with 12 million Americans unemployed, and 12,000 more unemployed daily, the outlook was bleak.
("Boys Hop Freight Train - Great Depression" pixels.com)
("Young Boy Moving Away from His Family Farm" picryl.com)
"As is the case during any economic downturn, those hit the hardest were young men just getting started in the world. Without any work experience, they were unable to compete for jobs with older men, many of them twice their ages and with decades of experience. Even worse, these young men were the most likely of all members of society to get into trouble with the law." (Charles Rivers 2)