Great Depression Facts – 43 Interesting Facts About Great Depression

Facts About the Great Depression

“Feed the hungry, Tax the rich” was the popular chant of the marching protestors.

One such march was the “Bonus Army March” which happened in the summer of 1932, when WW1 veterans marched to Washington demanding the payment of $1000 veteran bonus.

The bill was not passed provoking the protesting veterans too occupy vacant building and makeshift camps.

The veterans were forcibly evicted by the US Army using extreme force and brutality.

Over 20,000 commercial and business enterprises were closed due to bankruptcy. Over 70000 factories were closed by 1933.

The highest layoffs occurred in the construction business and projects fell by more than 80%.

Americans were reduced to starving state and many were forced to join bread lines for free handouts of food. The lines became longer with each passing day and stretched over several blocks.

Others lined up at ‘Soup Kitchens’ which was established by charities to feed the hungry.

A new word Hobos was coined for men who left their homes and wandered around the country on open boxcars or in freight trains to each new destination in search of employment.

Slums sprung up along railroad stations inhabited by Hobos.