Riding the Rails

   
During the Great Depression, children suffered a lot. They no longer had the joys and freedoms of childhood, and often shared their parents' burdens and issues on money. For Christmas and birthdays, very few children were able to have fancy toy. Some families made gifts themselves, but many others could not afford food at all. For most people, the only way to celebrate holidays with gifts, were to window-shop. Since children lacked food, they often suffered from malnutrition.


        Sometimes, children left home. They either did not want to burden their families,were tired of their boring and poor living, or just wanted an adventure. Some left with their families' blessings, but others escaped from the house overnight. Most of them traveled on boxcars, sections of trains, and helped each other. They shared routes, tips, and information. Children got on boxcars after trains started moving, so it was very possible for them to get injured if they missed their footing. In one case, a northern white boy, who had heard of segeration, but had not experienced it, helped on another, near midnight. They talked through the night of their exciting adventure, and when daybreak came, the boy realized his friend was African-American.

        If a person was caught riding a boxcar, he or she would be taken off it, and depending on state rule, possibly punished. Some states were cruel, sentencing community labor, and others were nicer, letting the person stay overnight with food supply. In between, were states that just escorted the person to  the state border, and telling them to never return again. Girls also were travelers. Some disguised themselves as boys, but some found advantages as being a girl. Some nice people would give girls the food and board they could offer that would not be given to boys.

        Children of the Great Depression suffered heavily physically, with diseases like malnutrition, but even more suffered mentally, knowing that in a split second, within the blink of an eye, their lives might just change.

Get comfortable, have a piece of paper with you so you can jot down some notes and watch this 15 minute video that tells the story of Riding the Rails. 
Write one paragraph summarizing what you learned from this video.