As a result of a lack of jobs as well as misfortune for farmers struggling to support their familes after years of drought and then the dust bowl , millions of men and thousands of women with left their families and traveled west in the search for jobs they heard were available. At the same time the number of married women in the workforce was increasing but was still only seen as a temporary thing by both the adults and thier kids having grown and known gender specific roles.There were variouse ways to get to the west but the most known and widely used method of transportation was to travel by train by hitching a ride when it was going slow enough to climb on. For the people who owned cars they traveled following the road to their promised destination with all their belongings including chicken cages tied to the sides.
The people who headed west on train faced many dangers with the main danger coming from "the bulls", or hired guards who were most often brutal in their attempts to make sure that the trains were only carrying paying customers and no one else. Once they managed to not get harmed the hoboes still had the risk of encountering the bulls yet again at the stops and so would have to get off before and then hitch back one again or risk getting arrested or beaten. Then they also faced the danger of getting into freak accidents and ran the risk of losing their limbs. Boarding the trains could result in a person missing and falling down causing them to get killed or lose limbs. In all there were an estimated 6,500 deaths every year caused by both predicaments to the hoboes in search for jobs
This was a fast and easy read that helped me understand the concept of hoboes during the depression. Hitching a ride on the train was very dangerous but also important for them to get to the available jobs. It was the most common and cheapest mode of transportation. It also helped me understand the fact that dangerous risk of jumping onto a running train and of being seen by the guards didn't stop the people from doing it because the conditions were so bad that they had no choice.
ReplyDeleteThis was good because if you just think about it, it doesn't seem to dangerous if the train is going slow but you always will run the risk and freak accidents happen. It was a good point in adding in how many people had died in order to solidify your claim.
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