Reading the paper made it seem like a different time and place than it really was. Phrases like ‘Business Depression light’ and the ever popular ‘The darkest hour is just before dawn’ were thrown around by columnists and said, economists alike who seemed to have a very confidant outlook on an economy that seemed to be growing worse and worse by the hour.
Even Henry Ford himself who had prudently closed down a good share of auto factories and laid off thousands of employees insisted that business was on an up trend by the summer of 1930.
Years later, historians would argue that such comments and predictions were made to combat the prevalent attitude of pessimism that some believed was to blame for the continuing downward spiral at the time.
Comparisons were made between the recession of 1920-1921 and the crash of 1929.
There is a reassurance that we seem to gain by reminding ourselves of past struggles during our darkest hours. We suddenly recall the past as though using it as a marker to remind ourselves of what we are capable of enduring.
The past can be a reminder of our fortitude, so long as the present struggle does not surpass the struggles of the past, lest we loose hope in the realization that we have entered new and uncharted waters.
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