The Great Depression of 1929 affected the lives of many people. After the stock market crashed, the job market suffered and people were laid off from work resulting in many businesses closing. People took extreme measures to survive as shown in the film, Cinderella Man. Men found themselves competing for jobs for low pay, steady work was hard to come by, and minorities, women included, faced harsh prejudices making their ability to compete almost impossible. Throughout this paper I will discuss the accuracies of the work force as they are depicted in Cinderella Man compared to actual events that took place during The Great Depression.
The stock market crash of 1929 affected the workforce greatly as explained in “Lessons in the 1930’s” by …show more content…
When the stock market crashed most of the jobs that were held by minorities and women were given to white employees. Although they did find jobs during this time but was paid less than white men (Nishi, 2001). “Those who were affected the most were the young, the old and ethnic minorities, whose unemployment rates were relatively higher” (Crafts and Fearon,2010). Married women was removed from the workforce making them entirely reliable on their husbands (Crafts and Fearon,2010). The film shows that most of the women stayed home and took care of the home and children. It also showed that they took on jobs in the home such as sewing to earn a living during this era. African Americans didn’t fare any better. Unlike whites, African-Americans did not have savings because they did not have the same earning opportunities as whites before the crash (Nardo, 2000). They not only faced job discrimination, but also had a hard time finding places to live. Landlords would not rent to minorities or they would raise the price of rent to the point that most could not afford it which forced them to live in unsanitary conditions (Nishi, 2001). African Americans during this time also did not receive their fair share when it came to government relief, they made up 80% of the applicants to receive aid (Nardo,2000). Nardo explains how Negroes did not receive the same opportunities as whites such receiving less pay for
The stock market crash of 1929 affected the workforce greatly as explained in “Lessons in the 1930’s” by …show more content…
When the stock market crashed most of the jobs that were held by minorities and women were given to white employees. Although they did find jobs during this time but was paid less than white men (Nishi, 2001). “Those who were affected the most were the young, the old and ethnic minorities, whose unemployment rates were relatively higher” (Crafts and Fearon,2010). Married women was removed from the workforce making them entirely reliable on their husbands (Crafts and Fearon,2010). The film shows that most of the women stayed home and took care of the home and children. It also showed that they took on jobs in the home such as sewing to earn a living during this era. African Americans didn’t fare any better. Unlike whites, African-Americans did not have savings because they did not have the same earning opportunities as whites before the crash (Nardo, 2000). They not only faced job discrimination, but also had a hard time finding places to live. Landlords would not rent to minorities or they would raise the price of rent to the point that most could not afford it which forced them to live in unsanitary conditions (Nishi, 2001). African Americans during this time also did not receive their fair share when it came to government relief, they made up 80% of the applicants to receive aid (Nardo,2000). Nardo explains how Negroes did not receive the same opportunities as whites such receiving less pay for