Great+Depression

Great Depression (1929-1941) Overview: After the Stock Market Crash, many people hoped for relief and economic recovery. However, by the late 1930s, banks began to fail in alarming numbers. A state of panic ensued as people ran to the banks to retrieve their money. For many, it was too late. Unemployment in industrialized countries skyrocketed until the onset of World War II. Those who previously lived in economic comfort now lived precariously on the edge of existence. Despair, frustration, and escapism became a way of life for many. The grandiose excitement of the 1920s dissipated into the gloomy despair of the 1930s as the depression truly became great. Activity Overview: Students in this **recreation simulation** will act as married couples living at the end of the Roaring Twenties. They will endure the Stock Market Crash and experience the Great Depression. They will be forced to learn how to manage a meager budget during trying times. To survive in their new lives they will be forced to make difficult decisions, such as leaving their homes and giving up their children for adoption.