It was in 1929 that the Great Depression started and in almost ten weeks almost fifty percent of the value of the stock exchange was lost and as this continued, the businesses failed and unemployment became common. The banks failed and the life savings of people were gone. With no job and no savings, people lost their homes as well. In such cases many Americans went on hunger marches and caused small riots to protest the depression. They did not understand why depression occurred. In a country full of resources, skilled labors were unemployed and in a country with surplus food people were dying out of hunger.