Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970)

After reading about Arthur A. Robertson, I realized that not everyone in the U.S. was in poverty at the time of the Great Depression.  Before reading this interview, the only stories that I heard about in class were about people in the U.S. that were hurt by the depression. Robertson on the other hand, was able to maintain his wealth. When it came to stocks, Robertson was a successful gambler. In my mind, his way of being successful was very smart. He said, “…I was known as a scavenger. I used to buy broken-down businesses that banks took over” (Terkel 100, 101). Robertson would take advantage of failed businesses and buy them and bring the business back up on its feet until he could sell it for a higher price. He had very smart tactics and knew when to stop. Other people did not know when to stop, such as Jesse Livermore. At times, Livermore was worth millions of dollars. However, he would never quit and take the money. He went bankrupt several times and later killed himself to end his misery. Robertson described Livermore’s situation as, “The poor fellow had lost everything he could lay his hands on. He asked for a $5,000 loan, which, of course, I gave him. Three days later, Jesse had gone to eat breakfast in the Sherry-Netherlands, went to the lavatory and shot himself” (Terkel 103). Livermore could have stopped and live a wealthy life, but he was too greedy just like the majority of the people at the time and gambled it all away.

When I read about Ed Paulson and his memories during the depression, I was stunned. I knew that times were rough but some things he said were jaw dropping. When Paulson was talking about trying to find work, I felt very upset. He said, “I’d get up at five in the morning and head for the waterfront. Outside the Spreckles Sugar Refinery, outside the gates, there would be a thousand men. You knew dang well there’s only three or four jobs” (Terkel 92). Out of one thousand men trying to get a job that pays very little, only four men would be given the job. 996 people would have to move on to find another poor job. The worst part was that this was occurring in towns all over the country. Thousands of people would be fighting for limited jobs. After not getting a job, Paulson talked about his mishaps on the freight trains. He said, “We grab the midnight freight and get off at Phoenix… We make an orange freight… Clear to Kansas City…” (Terkel 96). Paulson would go on freights to look for jobs in other towns knowing that the odds of finding a job were very slim. I feel very bad for people unemployed during the time of the Great Depression because it was very hard to support a family, and also very hard to find work.