The Great Depression was a very difficult period in American history. The Great Depression was the longest and most severe depression the Western world had experienced. The movie Riding the Rails is a good example of this period of depression. The film presents the story of ten men and women in their youth, who recounted leaving their homes in search of a better life. I think Riding the Rails gives a very clear and accurate view of the lives of young teenagers during this historical era. During the 1930s, a time of despair and hardship, people were affected by economic conditions beyond their control. These conditions caused hunger, loss of homes and lack of jobs. At the height of the Great Depression, more than 250,000 teenagers lived on the roads in America (Uys., Lovell., 2005). Riding the Rails vividly shares the lives and experiences of young people of the era who rode the rails or trains as teenagers. Some left home to escape poverty or struggling families, while others left because it seemed like a great adventure. Teenagers just starting out had high hopes for where their journey would take them. The film describes these teenagers in search of a better life and their secrets of survival. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word “tramp” as “someone who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or means of support.” (Haughton Miffin Company). Historically, many people have been forced to become vagrants or travelers due to the scarcity of jobs. They had no choice but to travel from place to place in search of work to survive. Tramps are often associated with train hopping because that's what many did during the Great Depression. Most of the vagrants hid among the railroad tracks outside the yard. Then they would run along the train, hold on and jump into the open boxcars. Once on the boxcar, many teenagers headed to the cities in search of work and a new life. What they would find was freedom, companionship, misery and solitude. On the outskirts of the city, these teenagers encountered tramp camps or jungles..