The Great Depression Though most Americans are aware of the Great Depression of 1929, which may well be "the most serious problem facing our free enterprise economic system", few know of the many Americans who lost their homes, life savings and jobs. This paper briefly states the causes of the depression and summarizes the vast problems Americans faced during the eleven years of its span. This paper primarily focuses on what life was like for farmers …showed first 75 words of 1672 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1672 total…farmers, bankers and stockbrokers. In short, it affected everyone; no one was left untouched. But of all the people hurt, farmers were the worst off. John Steinbeck chose to write about farmers hoping that Americans would recognize their plight and correct the situation. The Great Depression is known to be the worst economic disaster in U. S. history. For this reason, the Depression caused many people to change their ideas about the government and economy.