Caring for Specific Populations (10)

Public and private agencies alike provided a myriad of services throughout the 1800s and into the 1900s. Following World War I, the nation entered a period of significant social change and prosperity. The economy improved, and the nation was euphoric. This mood ended abruptly in 1929 with the economic downturn that led to the Great Depression. In short order, conditions
became grave. Businesses that had been considered stable ceased production, banks declared bankruptcy, and millions of workers lost their jobs. Savings were depleted as banks collapsed and businesses failed, and a large portion of the American population was left penniless, homeless, and without resources as unemployment increased.