Dear Brtother,

I am very happy to be able to contact you to give you a brief summary of everything
that has been happening over the years and the difficulties we have experienced in
these difficult 1930s.

Life over the years has been hard for all of us. We are suffering from the Great
Depression, which is a serious global economic problem. It is the longest, most
devastating and widespread depression for almost 100 years. It is affecting us greatly
because personal income, tax revenues, profits and prices fell, while international trade
sank by more than 50%. Unemployment in the U. S. increased to 25% (My cousin, who
lives in New Jersey was forced to leave his job in a bank) and in some countries it was
as high as 33%. The causes of this big problem are that the banks have borrowed too
much money from individuals who were not able to pay it back, this has made the
banks stop making loans so many small entrepreneurs have been forced to go out of
business as they found themselves without financial support. Another cause of this
crisis is the great risk that many people have taken by making risky investments that
have put them in debt and ruined them, also creating a bad environment full of mistrust
from lenders. Therefore, my husband and I have suffered from not being able to
receive the monthly subsidy from our bakery, having to reduce production, lay off 2
workers and consequently make less profit.

Moreover, President Hoover reacted too late, and did little to help this problem not get
worse. This depression has had a very big impact on our lives, and the effects have
been devastating for us and for the country itself. Unemployment reached 25% of the
US population, total US production USA ( GNP) has been reduced from 105 billion to
55 billion, the income in our pockets has almost halved, about 5,500 banks have
closed, we have been forced to move with other families to a more humble home, the
malnutrition rate has increased, Hoovervilles have had to be built, and the birth rate
has been reduced by 20%. When the stock market crash occurred, life became harder
than before. People were forced to sell their businesses and collect their life savings.
That's because the brokers called in their loans when the stock market started to fall.
People struggled to find enough money to pay their margins. Luckily for me and my
family, we didn't have too much trouble as we had enough savings to survive until now.

Fortunately, when Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, he proposed a plan called

“The New Deal". In the short term, the New Deal programs helped improve the lives
of people suffering from the events of depression. In the long run, the New Deal
programs set a precedent for the federal government to play a key role in the
nation's economic and social affairs. This affected my family, but in a good way,
because the country's economy has began to prosper. I hope everything is all right
over there and can't wait to read your answer

XOXO,

Pedro.