Desperation was a common reaction to the Great Depression. Desperation was breaking into an empty building to find a place to sleep. Desperation was rummaging through garbage, hoping to find spoiled vegetables that could be eaten. Desperation was staying in bed to keep warm and inactive and thus conserve calories and resources. Desperation was, in short, living as if you were largely dead. The Great Depression marked a time of human suffering on a scale not seen in America before. During this time men and women sought aid through letters to President Roosevelt and the First Lady, but distinct differences were evident depending on the sex of the writer. Letters written by men often confirmed the socialized idea that viewed men as breadwinners.
