Answer: c. hard times of downturn and poverty
Explanation: The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across the world; in most countries, it started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s.
U.S. in The 1930s in the United States began with an historic low: more than 15 million Americans–fully one-quarter of all wage-earning workers–were unemployed. ... Though the New Deal alone did not end the Depression, it did provide an unprecedented safety net to millions of suffering Americans.