Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2017/Fall/Section 26/Frank Goldie Moore

Overview
Frank Goldie Moore, a North Carolina native from Rocky Mount, was interviewed by Robert King on August 15, 1939, as part of the Federal Writers' Project. Throughout his life, Moore struggled with maintaining a job due to the Great Depression as he traveled along the East coast, keeping various shoemaking and laboring jobs.

Birth and Childhood
Frank Goldie Moore was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina on September 7th, 1879 to William, a shoemaker, and Mary Ella Moore. He had three siblings, all brothers. The family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina when Moore was eight years old. He went to school for approximately six or seven years, but quit once he reached third grade since he did not enjoy it. Instead he worked for his father in his shoemaking shop.

Adolescence
In his adolescence, Moore earned the reputation of “tough.” His frequent drinking often got him into fights in Raleigh’s many barrooms. However, having this reputation caused him to have become the prime suspect for a first degree murder case. Although the police were brutal in their questioning, he was not in Raleigh at the time of the crime and refused to confess. At the trial, police only had circumstantial evidence, and the jury acquitted him. Moore then moved to Norfolk, Virginia and many other places along the East coast.

Adulthood
At the start of World War I, Moore returned to Raleigh and worked in his brother's shop until 1917 when he returned to Norfolk. There he got a job as a labor agent for the government, finding laborers for the railroads. He later worked in such places as shoe shops and tobacco manufacturing plants. In Goldsboro, North Carolina he met Ethel Ruth Kornegay. Moore described it as “a case of love at first sight” and Kornegay would become his wife 8 months later on October 12th, 1928. He had a sufficient job, but was out of work once the depression hit and business declined. Upon returning to Raleigh yet again, Kornegay began an affair. Once Moore discovered the infidelity, he confronted Kornegay. According to Moore, Kornegay then wrongly accused him of attempting to cut her throat. This resulted in his conviction and their eventual divorce.

Death
At the time of the interview, Moore was almost sixty years old and living on South Person Street in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is unknown as to when he died.

American Public Education in the Late 1800s and Early 1900s
Education for children during the late 1800s and early 1900s, was highly determined by the class and income level of the parents. Although education was increasing and improving, especially since the Reconstruction Era following the Civil War, it was the children from richer families that tended to attend private schools and actually remain there, while poorer children would possibly go to public school, but may not complete their schooling. Southern states during the 1600s and early 1700s, when public schools were not at all common and education was primarily received through private tutors who were paid high rates. Many parents removed their children from school so that they could aid the family business, whether it be farm work or running a small shop. In the North, children may have also not attended school as to provide for their family by working in factories. In the South, many children didn’t attend school so that they could manage the farmland or family business. It was only by 1918 that compulsory school attendance existed in all of the United States of America, which required that all students complete elementary school.

Alcoholism During the Great Depression
In the 1920s, the 18th Amendment, or Prohibition Amendment, was adopted to the United States Constitution, declaring the production, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol illegal. However, alcoholism was still quite rampant around this time, especially due to stress regarding the economy, as well as low liquor prices. “The National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health consistently finds that rates of substance misuse and addiction in unemployed people are nearly twice as high as in those who have jobs.” During the Great Depression, unemployment increased greatly, and since this is “linked with increased odds of relapse for people with addictions,” alcoholism relapses may occur. A study from the Journal of Addictive Diseases concluded that feelings of “powerlessness and psychological distress,” are correlated with economic induced stressors surrounding not only work, but also “personal aspects of people’s lives,” and these stressors may cause alcohol use and abuse as a way to cope, explaining the rise in cases of alcoholism during the Great Depression.

Social Security Act of 1935
In response to The Great Depression, President Roosevelt instituted the New Deal, which included various programs to mend the financial state of the country. A main aspect was the Social Security Act of 1935, which was an attempt to lessen the economic struggles “of a certain class of workers and their families by creating a 'universal contributory social insurance'.” The main principles of the act revolve around benefits related to earnings, however not means-tested as to receive benefits, and mandated participation. Though, “until 1950, Social Security covered only employees in manufacturing and commerce.” Federal poor relief programs were also implemented via the act. Overall, the Social Security Act of 1935 was able to function through cooperation between federal and state governments, where “matching funding formulas” were used as to provide enough money for the program. Once introduced, this act faced much opposition, with many conservatives arguing that there was too much involvement, simulating socialism.