A Look Back on the Great Depression of 1936 The Great Depression was a time of tremendous poverty and depravation. It put many hard-working men and women out of their jobs and sources of income. It left many wholesome, decent, families out on the street, homeless; their pride and dignity stripped of them. Many people would be left to starve, without money to buy food or pay for shelter. Some people even turned against their own friends so that they could support their families. Many became oblivious to the needs of others and thought only of how they themselves could benefit. As the days went by, the number of people with illness and disease i