History

The Impact of the Great Depression and the New Deal on Women and Minorities

The great depression began after the stock market crash in 1929. The crash sent the wall street into panic, and millions of investors were wiped out. Over the next years, consumer spending dropped, and so did investing, and this caused a decline in industrial output. This meant that there was no employment, and thus, employees were being laid off. The great depression had a domino effect on employment and mostly affected minorities (Braik, 2018). The minorities such as African Americans and Hispanics who were employed in positions such as servants and maids in the houses of the white people lost their jobs. Most black men also lost their jobs leaving many African –Americans without work. The white women had to start working to support their families, leading to black women losing their jobs to their white counterparts. As a result of the great depression, President Roosevelt instituted a series of programs and projects to return Americans’ prosperity.

The great depression and the new deal meant different things for different groups of people in the US. The great depression affected the existing family conventions where men were the breadwinners. With so many losing their jobs due to the great depression, many women had to move from their position of staying at home and working outside their home to sustain the family. For the first time, during the depression, 25% of the workforce was made up of women. To get through the depression, women had to get creative ways of getting through by doing things such as sewing their own clothes, canning and preserving food, keeping gardens, and working outside their homes (Rotondi, 2019). The shift in roles was not all positive. The shift in roles with women working and men being left home to look after the children led t high rates of alcoholism and increased domestic violence.

After  President Roosevelt got to power and started enforcing his new deal programs, women’s place in society shifted again. The gendered assumption about family was reinforced. According to the Economy Act of 1933, government agencies were required first to establish their employees had spouses before reducing their workforce. Although the law did not mention gender, it was understood that married women were to be let go to create positions for the men as they were breadwinners (Rotondi, 2019). This set women back as they were back to being the domestic keepers, and their jobs were taken to make a position for the men. Most Americans believed it was fair for married women to be laid off to create jobs for the male breadwinners.

Before the great depression, African-Americans worked in unskilled jobs. After the stock market crash, the unemployment rates of black people doubled or tripled that of whites. This is due to the disappearance of low-paying entry-level jobs (Braik, 2018). They either disappeared or were occupied by while people. The African-Americans did not have a financial cushion, which increased their poverty levels. The new deal was supposed to help Americans regain their prosperity. However, the programs were made such that African Americans did not have equal access to the new deal. Legislations such as the Wagner Act and the labor unions act excluded black Americans by putting clauses that excluded the farm workers and home workers, which made it impossible for black people to access them. Black people were also not allowed to access loans and own homes. When white people were being given a chance to ensure their old age get good jobs and acquire economic security, the back Americans were kef tot using subtle clauses. Welfare programs such as social security and programs to help the poor were done by local governments, and this led to the exclusion of African Americans due to the Jim Crow effect.

The great depression also affected other minorities, including Hispanics, Native Americans, and Asians. They faced employment discrimination and experienced high poverty levels. The new deal was only made in favor of the Caucasian white Americans, which prevented the minorities from benefiting from the reforms made by the new deal (Fethia, 2017). During the great depression, Mexican-American students in south Texas attended segregated schools. The Mexican –American children were taught by predominantly white teachers who spoke little to no Spanish.

The new deal created some reforms that are still in existence and are celebrated today. Some of those reforms include the existence of social security, labor unions, and social welfare programs that are still in place today. There are still some discriminations that are in existence in these programs today, but most are helpful to most Americans and help them get through. Social welfare programs help low-income families to have a head start. Lunch programs are also helpful in ensuring that children from low-income homes have access to food. These are some of the most celebrated outcomes of the new deal. Labor unions are one the most significant success of the second new deal.

References

Braik, F. (2018). New Deal for Minorities During the Great Depression. Journal of Political Science and International Relations, 1(1), 20-24.

Fethia, B. R. A. I. K. (2017). New Deal for Minorities.

Rotondi, P.J. (2019). Underpaid, But employed: How the great depression affected working women. https://www.history.com/news/working-women-great-depression