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The great depression

 

            How Useful is the picture on page 86 and the table on page 85 (weekly earnings) for understanding the affects of the Great Depression?.
             The Picture on page 86 shows the unemployed lining up to get cheap meals in New York in 1932. In 1932 the Great Depression was at its peak and millions of people were unemployed. In the photograph there is a poster saying 20 meals for $1 and "donations invited, help feed the hungry" There is a very long queue for this. This shows how poor people were, the fact that they could only afford $1 meals, even in New York where it is suppose to be the city of industrial prosperity shows that the depression was paramount.
             I think the photograph is very useful in understanding the affects of the Great Depression as the photograph was taken in 1932, during the Great Depression, so it shows more honesty than if it had been taken as a photograph in 1980 showing what the depression was like. Also it is not very likely to be a biased piece of propaganda as I doubt that anyone in America would of wanted the world to know that they were having a Depression, especially as America was known for its prosperity and wealth.
             The table on page 85 shows the average weekly earnings. It tells us that in 1929 the average earnings was $25, yet in 1932 they were $17. This us that in 1929 the depression had begun and wages were starting to fall rapidly and by 1932 they had decreased by an alarming amount.
             I think that the table is quite useful as it shows statistics for what people were earning during the depression, though we do not have anyway of knowing whether theses statistics are correct or not. They could have been made up to make the depression not look as bad or look worse, we also don't know who came up with the statistics or when. Though they do give a overall impression , so the table does hold some use for understanding the affects of the depression.
             Overall I would say that both source hold use for studying the Great Depression but the photograph I would say holds more use as it was taken during the depression and holds more honesty than the table.


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