The first story I read was about Ed Paulsen, a man who lived in South Dakota. Paulsen did not have a good enough education to find a job, therefore, he did not have any money. In order to make money, he believed in traveling to different states to find job opportunities, and because he was never satifsied living in South Dakota. Paulsen tried to find a job during the stock market crash of '29 because he did not lose a job, or any money because he never had any money to begin with, therefore, the crash did not affect him. Ed Paulsen, along with many other uneployed and not well educated people would travel to different states on freight trains. Along the way, he found a few jobs, but was not satisfied, so he kept searching for a job that he would enjoy because he had high expectations. One day while he was on a freight train with his brother, he arrived in Nebraska, where he was taken to a Transient Camp. He really enjoyed the camp because he and many other people just like him were given shelter, food, and other things to help them stay alive. Ed Paulsen was assigned a job with the National Youth Administration in South Dakota. In order to make a living, the members of the National Youth Administration would travel on freight trains, and steal from stores and residencies. They became criminals in order to make a living. "It wasn't a big thing, but it created a cayote mentality. You were a predator. You had to be... I grew up where they were hated 'cause they'd kill sheep...They're mean. But how else does a cayote stay alive? He's not as powerful as a wolf...A cayote is nature's victim as well as man's. We were cayotes in the thirties. Jobless. (98) Ed Paulsen, along with many other jobless people believed that the only way for them to survive was by committing crimes, such as stealing, to stay alive because they would never be able to find a job. Ed Paulsen's story connects the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which provided money, food, and clothes for unemployed people. The Transient Camp that Ed Paulsen was sent to, also provided for jobless people. Today, people who are jobless and homeless may recieve public aid. Public aid provides food, money, clothes, and shelter for people in need. Although some people faced problems with making money and finding shelter, others did not have to worry about those problems.
The second story I read was about a man named Arthur A Robertson, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange. My first thoughts on Robertson were that he was an incredibly wealthy man who knew exactly how to handle his money. Before becoming the chairman of the New York Stock Exchange Board, he served in the army. He was greatly appreciated by many people including: President Johnson, Hubert Humphry, and Dwight Eisenhower. Many people viewed him as a hero because he served in the war, and because of his great success with his business. Robertson became very successful at a young age because he became the chair member of his own company that he had bought. "I thought seriously about retiring in 1928 when I was thirty. I had seven figures by the time I was twenty four." (99) Robertson had been successful for a very long time, and although he had thoughts about retiring, he decided to still run his business because he had done it so well in the past years. While he was running his business, the stock market crashed. During that time, things were pretty hectic because people were losing their jobs, all their money, and many people were feeling extremely depressed. Robertson faced the tragedy of a few of his friends deaths due to suicide because they has been put in such a bad place from the crash. Everyone was aware that Roberston was incredibly successful, and a few of his friends asked him for loans. Being the generous man that he is, he gave them the money because he had so much money saved up, and the crash did not affect him. In addition to lending friends money, he opened up restaraunts and sold food for only a few cents each meal in order to help people who needed food but could not afford it. Robertson showed that he was smart with his money because he took all of his saved money out of the bank, knowing that it may be lost if he hadn't done it. Robertson was unlike most people living in his era because majority of the people were greatly affected by the stock crash, but he was not because he already had money saved up.Arthur A. Robertson's story releates the government's attempts to deal with the depression. Robertson and the government had the same intention: to help people in need with money problems, shelter, clothes, food, and all other things that were essential for survival. Today, homeless shelters and soup kitchens are available for people who cannot afford food or a place to live. These programs relate to Robertson because he created restaraunts for poeple who could not afford regualr meals.
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