Victor Hugo, a french poet, once stated, “Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.” For example, in the 1930s, perseverance exploded as America went through many hardships such as diseases and economic recession. In addition, they persevered with medicine and continued to stay strong. The diseases, medicine, and economy were disasters that could have brought down many people during this decade. Although there was this major decline, the 1930s still flourished.
First, diseases in the 1930s were mainly from drugs and improper sanitation. Back then, there was no running water in homes, which meant that it was harder to wash dishes, and there was an increased risk of bacteria growing in old water. Furthermore, there were not many bathing places, so people were dirtier. According to the Nation Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, the leading three causes of death in the 1930s were cardiovascular and renal diseases, influenza and pneumonia, and cancer (Jose A. Tapia Granados 10). During the Dust Bowl, many people died from “dust pneumonia”, which was when dust was inhaled into their lungs. Cancer was mainly caused from cigarettes, because they were not known to be unsafe. In fact, many cigarette companies in the 1930s advertised that doctors recommended them. Later on in the next decade or so, they realized that cigarettes were killing thousands of people. To sum up, there were hard times back then, and people were not prioritizing sanitation.
Additionally, there were many medical inventions in the 1930s, but many people could not get the needed medicine. Due to the great depression, it was harder to afford insurance or medical care. Nevertheless, new anesthetics were invented to make surgery less painful. They used to use chloroform, but there was too much of a risk of harming the patient. There were also new discoveries such as the common cold, and vaccines for poliomyelitis, a crippling disease that that affects cells in the spinal cord (UXL American Decades 1). The 1930s was when doctors became much more skilled, and many advancements in their technology were made.
To tell the truth, the economy took a huge blow from a stock market crash, causing the 1930s to be one of America’s toughest times. The crash happened on October 24, 1929, and the stock market lost 14 billion dollars that day (VCU Libraries 2). Many people in America were furious, because they couldn’t take their money out of the bank. The Great Depression only worsened later in the 1930s because of the Dust Bowl, causing diseases and many destroyed homes. As a result from all of this, about 15 million Americans became unemployed, which was over 20% of the U.S. population in the 1930s (History.com 1). The 1930s was not a good time for the American economy.
In conclusion, America still managed to thrive during the tough times of the 1930s. Three important factors during the Great Depression were disease, medicine, and economy. There was an economical crash, and people couldn’t afford medicine, which led to diseases. There was also a crisis in the midwest during this time called the Dust Bowl. We all know that the Great Depression was a devastating time, so is it possible that something like this may happen again, or will safety measures be taken?
Picture of the Dust Bowl in the 1930s
Chloroform and Ether was used as an anesthetic before they discovered the harmful effects from the use of them.
On October 24, 1929, the Wall Street Crash had people panicking for their money.