The two stories I read were quite a powerful combination because they allowed me to look at the Depression from two completely different lenses. Arthur A. Robertson has an extremely unique story as he was a successful broker that was actually able to make a profit from the Depression. Oscar Heline experienced the classic story of a struggling farmer. Robertson described his experience: “In the early thirties, I was known as a scavenger. I used to buy broken-down businesses that banks took over”. Heline talked about how everything was taken away from him: farm, livestock, and even household goods. One was able to almost benefit from the great economical struggle, while the other was with the vast majority of America partaking in the struggle. I associate the Depression with a person like Heline, so Robertson’s story is really a novelty for me. It was a time of desperation, but not everyone was desperate.
Robertson’s interview was not a story of his great personal struggles, but he did give deep insight into the struggles of former hotshot businessmen. He shares that many of broker friends who were once very wealthy now calling him in desperation. Robertson even revealed, “Suicides, left and right, made a terrific impression on me, of course”. For many people death ended up being the sensible response to the suffering. The insight on the story of Jess Livemore, who was trading genius but lost everything and ended up committing suicide, really struck me. I realize that optimism was a killer. Robertson credited his success to becoming frightened. He did suffer some substantial losses, but Heline gives a truer story of struggle.
The Depression was so severe for famers that the price to attempt to sell corn was actually costlier than its value. Heline admitted that destruction was the best hope for renewed success: “People were determined to withhold produce from the market—livestock, cream, butter, eggs, what not. If they would dump the produce, they would force the market to a higher level”. It is hard to imagine people destroying everything they live for. I cannot picture times being so bad that I would have to do something like that. Although all farmers did not have the same experience. The “struggle between the have and the have-nots” gives a perception similar to Robertson’s. Farmers prided themselves on individualism but the desperation forced them to come together. Heline declares, “What I remember most of those times is that poverty, creates desperation, and desperation creates violence.” It was a time of desperation but not for all; these are two completely different stories from two men living through the Great Depression.
We are all American but all of our experiences are very different. Robertson and Heline are living in America at the same time but one has personal success story versus a story of extreme struggle. Looking at American history through its individuals teaches that there is no collective experience. Each person’s American history is unique and they combine to form the true history of America.
Comment on the Heline portion:
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you compared and contrasted the two different stories that we read in this section. Also, what do you mean when you say "Farmers prided themselves on individualism". Do you mean that since they are competitors in the same industry they preferred not to help out fellow farmers? And I like your synthesis of both stories at the end, when you said how each American has a different story which is the true history of America. Good Job!!