The Great Depression

It was the early 1930's, many American families had fallen on hard times. More and more people had lost their jobs. Money became scarce. And without money, people were afraid to spend what little savings they had. Without people spending, many businesses couldn't afford to stay open. They were forced to close their doors. A feeling of hopelessness and despair spread across the country. America had slumped into a deep depression. History calls it, The Great Depression.

Some people left their families in search of work. But there were more people who needed jobs, then there were jobs to go around. Many became wanderers, railhoppers. They'd hop on a boxcar on a moving train, hoping something better waited for them at the next whistle stop. Today, these people would be called homeless. But during the Great Depression, they were known as hobos or tramps. Most hobos were men, but there were women and children hobos, and entire famlies, too.

With thousands of people out of work, the youngest voices of America protested along with their unemployed parents. Their voices were heard across the country. "Why can't you give my dad a job?"

Without jobs, thousands of families for the first time found themselves homeless. To prevent the banks from foreclosing on more homes, "Room for Rent" signs began popping up in neighborhoods everywhere. With no sign of improvement in the economy, American's had resorted to renting rooms to relatives and complete strangers. These renters were called borders. Rooms usually included meals. It was a win-win situation for everyone.

As Americans spiraled deeper into hard times, they lost all confidence in their current leader, President Herbert Hoover. They didn't feel the government was doing enough to bring them out of the country's economic crisis. Americans wanted and were ready for a new leader. And in the 1932 presidential election, they got one. His name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt became the country's 32nd president. He also became America's beacon of hope.  

April 12, 1945. A wave of shock rippled across the country as Americans learned the devastating news. The 32nd president of the United State had died. It was a very sad day. President Roosevelt had led the country out of the depths of the Great Depression. He saw America through the second World War.

As soon as Mrs. Roosevelt heard the news about her husband's sudden death, she wrote a letter to their four sons, who were all serving in the armed forces, that their father had led the country till the very end.

All across the nation, the stars and stripes were lowered at half staff. Americans grieved. They had lost their president. They had lost their best friend.

Just hours after the president's passing, the Vice President, Harry S. Truman, was sworn into office as the 33rd president of the United States of America. And the nation, though grieving their tremendous loss, united and carried on as Roosevelt would have wanted them to do.

President and Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt

President Roosevelt gave promise for a better future. On the day he was inaugurated into office, in March, 1933, he went straight to work for the people. Roosevelt soon came up with an idea called, The New Deal. Men were soon back to work building roads, dams, bridges, planting trees in national parks, and more. But the Great Depression was far from over. Americans didn't seemed to mind scraping just a little longer, because they had something they hadn't had in a long time. Hope. Happier days were just around the corner... then came World War II and America went to war. And once more, the nation looked toward President Roosevelt to lead them through these troubled times. And he did.

America remembers President Roosevelt...

​Butterfly Hollow is available as an eBook for .99 Cents at  ​www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Hollow-Maria-Cisneros-Toth-ebook/dp/B00DPFYSB4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1467860321&sr=1-2#nav-subnav

​Butterfly Hollow is also sold in paperback for $8.99 at    www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Hollow-Maria-Cisneros-Toth/dp/1483925994/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1467860321&sr=1-2