6 Things I Learned From the Book "Since Yesterday: The 1930s in America"

I read the book Since Yesterday: The 1930s in America. It's a fantastic read by historian Fredrick Lewis Allen about life in America during the Great Depression.

Here are six things I learned from the book.

1. The Great Depression began in 1929. But even in 1930, most economists were oblivious to how bad things were:

2. Ordinary people were pretty calm during the crash and the first few years after. Then, they panicked:

3. Once people realized how bad things were, they took the law into their own hands:

4. People came together to make the system work in their favor:

5. Just like 2008, the government had to balance protecting the financial system while helping everyday people:

6. As poverty became the norm, people took desperate measures to make a buck:

Go buy the book here. It's great.

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The article 6 Things I Learned From the Book "Since Yesterday: The 1930s in America" originally appeared on Fool.com.

Contact Morgan Housel at mhousel@fool.com. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.