It’s hard for us to imagine the impact of the Great Depression on our ancestors’ communities. In Sedalia, Missouri, the Depression caused job losses, which caused housing and food emergencies.

Things were made worse by a multi-year drought that affected farmers and the food supply.

It’s just as hard to imagine the scope of the New Deal relief efforts in those communities. “Relief” wasn’t some abstract concept in faraway cities. It included food, money, and jobs for people in Sedalia and Pettis County.

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Things were still terrible, but there were glimmers of hope in 1933. The inflation rate turned positive at 1%, and GDP growth turned slightly positive by summer. But 2 million Americans were homeless. Industrial production was half of its 1929 high.

Unemployment was at its highest yet – 25%.

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If there was a worse year in the Depression than 1931, it was 1932.

Unemployment rose to 23.6%. 13 million people, almost 1 in 4, were unemployed. Many had lost their savings, and many had lost their homes and farms.

The economy shrank another 13%.

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1931 was arguably one of the worst years of the Great Depression.

2,294 banks failed during 1931. 28,285 businesses failed.

Unemployment rose to 16%. The economy shrank by 8.5%. Prices fell 9.3%.

By 1931, most American had been impacted by the Depression, and realized that it wasn’t going away soon.

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