FAMILY LIFE AND TEEN LIFE IN THE 1930S

PROS OF TEEN LIFE

• The music and the dance.
• Going to the diners with a small group of friends (typical night out)
• Dresses were covered in furs and sequins which won't be forgotten
• Foods such as cheeseburgers, canned beer, and chocolate chip cookies brought joy to families.
• Baseball and football were a great part of the teenage life.

PROS OF TEEN LIFE (CONT.)

• Friday nights were spent by the radios listening to the Yankees game or boxing matches.

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CONS OF TEEN LIFE

• After high school teens could not find work due to lack of jobs
• They felt so ashamed they left home because they felt like a burden to their families.
• Dating was not a priority because the lack of money
• Young men didn't have enough money, time, or cars to take young women out.
• Men were usually busy with work, so they were gone most of the time

CONS OF TEEN LIFE (CONT.)

• Women were left to care for the home and children
• Most families couldn't afford real meat.
• They worked multiple jobs or begged on the streets.

RIDING THE RAILS

• More than a quarter of a million of teenagers
• 250,000 hoboes were roaming around america
• 85% of white youths said they were searching for a job, Blacks percentage was much higher at 98% and not working for a year or more.
• 1929-1939 24,647 youths were killed and 27,171 were injured on rail road property.

RIDING THE RAILS (CONT.)

• Since you couldn't just jump on the trains, hoboes would hide in the yard and wait for the trains to come
• Some lost their legs because they would sometimes miss the trains

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FAMILY LIFE (HOOVERVILLES)

• Hoovervilles were shack towns and homeless encampments in the 1930s
• Most people that lived in the Hoovervilles were unemployed laborers or timber workers
• Some “homes” were made from scrap materials or abandoned cars
• 29% of the population was non white (black, Native American, Japanese, Filipino, Mexicans)
• A majority of the population was white

FAMILY LIFE (HOOVERVILLES CONT.)

• There were hundreds of Hoovervilles throughout the country

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FAMILY LIFE (IN GENERAL)

• Due to the breakup of families, birth rates declined during the 30s
• Because people couldn't afford legal fees or separate households, divorce rates declined
• Marriage rates declined
• Many men deserted their families in search of work
• More than 200,000 children were abandoned due to the breakup of families

FAMILY LIFE (IN GENERAL CONT.)

• Even though money was scarce, families still found time to have fun by playing new games like "Monopoly" and "Scrabble"

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