1930-1939
Humanities B
Facts about this decade
 Population: 123,188,000 in 48 states
Life Expectancy: Male, 58.1; Female, 61.6
Average salary: $1,368
Unemployment rises to 25%
Car Sales: 2,787,400
Food Prices: Milk, 14 cents a qt.; Bread, 9 cents a loaf;
The Great Depression
By the 1930s
money was
scarce because of
the depression,
so people did
what they could
to make their
lives happy.
http://www.yo
utube.com/watc
h?v=TpfY8kh5l
Uw
(Worksheet)
1930-1939
 Movies were hot, parlor
games and board games
were popular. People
gathered around radios to
listen to the Yankees. Young
people danced to the big
bands.
Franklin Roosevelt influenced
Americans with his Fireside chats
http://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=jt9f
-MZX-58
(Worksheet)
1930-1939
 The golden age of the
mystery novel continued as
people escaped into books,
reading writers like Agatha
Christie, Dashielle
Hammett, and Raymond
Chandler.
Historic Events
 In the Great Depression the American dream had become a
nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity was now
the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and
optimism had become the land of despair.
 The American people were questioning all the maxims on
which they had based their lives - democracy, capitalism,
individualism.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-b1dTvNaL0Q
(Worksheet) “The Great Depression: Causes and Effects
Historic Events
 The best hope for a better life was California. Many Dust
Bowl farmers packed their families into cars, tied their few
possessions on the back, and sought work in the agricultural
fields or cities of the West - their role as independent land
owners gone forever.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ehYkr0NhU , Dust
Bowl Refugee by Woody Guthrie
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il849yFmTxw , Dust
Bowl Refugees (Worksheet)
Historic Events
Between 1929 and
1932 the income of
the average
American family was
reduced by 40%,
from $2,300 to
$1,500. Instead of
advancement,
survival became the
keyword.
Institutions,
attitudes, lifestyles
changed in this
decade but
democracy
prevailed.
Historic Events
Democracies such as
Germany and Italy
fell to dictatorships,
but the United
States and its
constitution
survived.
Historic Events
 Economics dominated
politics in the 1930's. The
decade began with shanty
towns called Hoovervilles,
named after a president who
felt that relief should be left
to the private sector, and
ended with an alphabet soup
of federal programs funded
by the national government
and an assortment of
commissions set up to
regulate Wall Street, the
banking industry, and other
business enterprises.
The Presidents of the 1930s were Herbert Hoover and Franklin
Delano Roosevelt
People and Personalities
 Mary McLeod Bethune a
very influential African
American woman educator
and friend of Eleanor
Roosevelt who, as a board
member of the National
Youth Administration, was
able to extend benefits to
African Americans.
People and Personalities
 Richard E. Byrd a famous
explorer of the Antarctic
and Arctic whose 1933-35
expedition to Antartica
conducted many scientific
search projects.
People and Personalities
 Mildred Babe
Didrikson considered by
many to be the finest
woman athlete of all time,
she won medals or
distinction in such varied
sports as baseball,
basketball, track and field,
and golf
People and Personalities
 Amelia Earhart an aviation
pioneer who was the first
woman and second person
to fly solo across the
Atlantic Ocean.
People and Personalities
 Jesse Owens an African
American athlete who won
four gold medals in trackand-field at the 1936
Olympics in Berlin and put
to shame Hitler's Aryan
superiority message
People and Personalities
 Frances Perkins the first
woman cabinet member
who advocated the 8 hour
day, stricter factory safety
laws, and laws for the
protection of women and
children in the labor force.
People and Personalities
 Will Rogers a homespun
philosopher who began his
career as an Oklahoma
cowboy. Well loved and
respected radio
commentator, film actor,
and author
People and Personalities
 Walter Winchell a 'gossip'
columnist and radio
commentator whose
controversial stands and
scoops on celebrities made
him one of the most
famous twentieth-century
American journalists.
Arts and Architecture
 The arts, like everything else in the 30's, were dominated by
the Great Depression. In the 1930's this discipline was
supported by government programs such as the Public Works
of Art Project and later the Federal Art Project. The artists
employed by these projects (over 5,000 at one period of
time) chose themes based on American culture and history.
Arts and Architecture
 The sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, was able to complete his
Mount Rushmore Memorial with funds supplied by the
WPA.
 Other "starving artists" were able to survive the hard times
by painting murals on the lobby walls of government
buildings.
Arts and Architecture
Jackson Pollock
Willem de Kooning.
Arts and Architecture
This decade
saw the
beginning of
the American
regionalist
style with
Grant Wood's
famous work,
"American
Gothic".
Arts and Architecture
 Artists that adopted this style include
 John Steuart Curry
 Thomas Hart Benton
 Georgia O'Keeffe with her southwestern themes
 Edward Hopper with his realistic scenes from city life.
Arts and Architecture
Many of the nation's
most memorable
skyscrapers (the
Empire State
Building, the
Chrysler Building,
and Rockefeller
Center) were
completed in the
early 30's.
Arts and Architecture
In 1937 the Frank
Lloyd Wright
masterpiece of home
design, "Falling
Water", was built.
Arts and Architecture
In 1932 the word
"mobile" was coined
to describe the
kenetic sculpture
created by
Alexander Calder.
Arts and Architecture
In 1935 Andrew
Mellon gave his $25
million dollar art
collection to the
American people
and contributed $10
million to the
construction of the
National Gallery of
Art in Washington,
D.C.
Education
 The 1930's were a perilous time for public education. With cash
money in short supply parents were unable to provide their
children with the necessary clothes, supplies, and textbooks
(which were not furnished in some states) to attend school. Taxes,
especially in rural areas, went unpaid. With the loss of revenue,
school boards were forced to try numerous strategies to keep their
districts operating. School terms were shortened. Teachers' salaries
were cut. One new teacher was paid $40 a month for a five month
school year - and was very glad for the job! When a rural county in
Arkansas was forced to charge tuition one year in order to keep
the schools open, some children were forced to drop out for that
year. One farmer was able to barter wood to fuel the classrooms'
potbellied stoves for his four children's tuition, thus enabling them
to continue their education.
Education
 The famous Dick and Jane books that taught
millions of children to read were first
published in 1931. These primers
introduced the students to reading with
only one new word per page and a limited
vocabulary per book. All who learned to
read with these books still recall the "Look.
See Dick. See Dick run."
Fads and Fashion
With the reduction
of spendable
income, people had
to look to
inexpensive leisure
pursuits. President
Roosevelt helped
make stamp
collecting a popular
hobby.
Fads and Fashion
Parlor games and
board games became
the rage. In 1935
Parker Brothers
introduced the game
of Monopoly and 20
thousand sets were
sold in one week.
Fads and Fashion
Gambling increased
as people sought any
means to add to
their
income. Between
1930 and 1939
horse racing became
legal in 15 more
states bringing the
total to 21.
Fads and Fashion
Interest in spectator
sports such as
baseball grew. Stars
like Lou Gehrig and
Joe DiMaggio drew
fans into the
stadium, and those
who could not
attend the games
gathered around
their radios to listen
to the play-byplay.The separate
Negro League was
in its golden years.
Fads and Fashion
The 1932 Winter
Olympics, held at
Lake Placid, New
York, renewed
interest in winter
sports.
Fads and Fashion
Paris fashions
became too
expensive for all but
the very rich, and
American designers
came into their
own.
Fads and Fashion
 Hollywood movie stars such as Bette Davis
and Greta Garbo set fashion trends in
dresses designed by Adrian and Muriel King
and hats designed by Lily Dache. Clothes
had to last a long time so styles did not
change every season. The simple print dress
with a waist line and longer hem length
replaced the flapper attire of the 1920's.
Fads and Fashion
The use of the
zipper became wide
spread for the first
time because it was
less expensive than
the buttons and
closures previously
used.
Fads and Fashion
Another innovation of
the 30's was different
hem lengths for
different times of the
day - mid calf for day
wear, long for the
evening. Men's pants
were wide and high
waisted. Vest
sweaters were an
alternative to the
traditional matching
vest of the three piece
suit. Hats were
mandatory for the
well dressed male.
Literature
Many of America's
most distinguished
writers produced
works of fiction
during the thirties.
 The list includes such names as F. Scott
Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and
Thornton Wilder. Some of the novels of
this period explored what was happening in
the country during the Great Depression.
Literature
The Cow
by Ogden Nash
The cow is of the
bovine ilk;
One end is moo, the
other, milk.
 John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath
chronicled the life of a displaced Oklahoma
family who had lost its farm to the drought of
the Dust Bowl.
 James T. Farrell wrote a trilogy of novels about
an Irish-American named Studs Lonigan and his
attempt to rise above his poor beginnings.
 Richard Wright took on the issue of racial
prejudice and the plight of blacks in Native Son.
 Erskine Caldwell's novel Tobacco Road
described the life of poor whites in the rural
South.
Music
"It Don't Mean a
Thing (if it Ain't Got
That Swing)".
The title of this
Duke Ellington song
sums up the "in"
music of the thirties.
 There were popular songs such as "Brother,
Can You Spare a Dime" that spoke to the
hardships of the time, but the young people
flocked to hear and dance to the big bands
of Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Glenn
Miller, and Tommy Dorsey.
Music
In this same era
Broadway produced
some of the most
famous and lasting
American musicals.
 George and Ira Gershwin wrote the hits
Strike Up the Band, Girl Crazy, and Of
Thee I Sing.
 Cole Porter produced such works as
Anything Goes, Jubilee, and Red Hot and
Blue.
 Songwriters and lyricists like Irving Berlin,
Johnny Mercer, and Richard Rodgers
composed melodies still being played and
sung today.
Music
The Federal Music
Project (FMP)
supported the
musical arts and
sponsored
performances of
both
classical and popular
compositions.
 The FMP emphasized American music and
promoted the works of Aaron Copland, Roy
Harris and Virgil Thomson.
Music
 In 1936 the Department of the Interior
hiredWoody Guthrie to travel throughout
the Northwest and perform his folk
songs. During this tour he wrote twentysix songs in twenty-six days. By 1938
Guthrie was making appearances in support
of labor unions and wrote such songs as "I
Ain't Got No Home", inspired by visits to
migrant labor camps.
Music
 It was in 1935 that George Gershwin's
American folk opera Porgy and Bess was
first performed, still played.
 In 1931 Congress designated "The Star
Spangled Banner" as the national anthem.
 In 1938 Kate Smith sang Irving Berlin's
"God Bless America" and made the song
her own.
 There have been many proponents of
making this the national anthem, replacing
the hard to sing "Star Spangled Banner".
Music
 Mary Martin captivated theatergoers with
her rendition of "My Heart Belongs to
Daddy" in Cole Porter's Leave It to Me.
Radio
Radio reached its
zenith of popularity
in this decade.
By 1939 about 80
percent of the
population owned
radio sets.
Radio
Americans loved to
laugh at the antics of
such comedians as
…
 Jack Benny,
 Fred Allen,
 George Burns and Gracie Allen,
 Amos and Andy, and
 Fibber McGee and Molly.
Radio
The soap opera
dominated the
daytime airwaves.
 OurGal Sunday began each episode with
the question, "Can a girl from a little mining
town in the west find happiness as the wife of a
wealthy and titled Englishman?'
 Many a woman's ear was glued to her radio
every day in hopes of learning the answer.
Radio
 The heroics of the Lone Ranger, the Green
Hornet, the Shadow, and Jack Armstrong,
all-american boy, thrilled listeners both
young and old and sold countless boxes of
cereal.
Radio
 News broadcasts by commentators like H.
V. Kaltenborn and Edward R. Murrow kept
the public aware of the increasing crisis in
Europe.
 Franklin Roosevelt used the medium in his
"Fireside Chats" (listen)to influence public
opinion.
Radio
 One of the most dramatic moments in radio
history occurred on May 6, 1937, when the
German airship Hindenburg burst into
flames as it was about to land in Lakehurst,
New Jersey.
 The horror of the incident was conveyed
live by the reporter Herb Morrison. His
reaction to what was happening in front of
him still enthralls today.
Radio
 On October 30, 1938, a twenty-three-year-
old Orson Welles broadcast on his Mercury
Theater of the Air the H.G. Wells story
War of the Worlds.
 Despite the disclaimer at the end of the
program, the tale of a Martian invasion of
Earth panicked a million listeners who
mistook the play for a newscast.
Science and Technology
 The New York's World Fair of 1939 - true to its
theme of "The World of Tomorrow" - gave its
estimated 25.8 million visitors a glimpse of the
future.
 The fairgoers marveled at the flickering images
of a TV set at the RCA Building and were
amazed at the General Motors exhibit of a
seven-lane cross-country highway system.
 Many of the innovations demonstrated did not
become a part of every day life until after World
War II, but there was a peek at the technology
to come.
Science and Technology
 Medical advances in the thirties included a
new and safer way to do blood transfusions.
 An advance that was to save many a soldier's
life in the upcoming war.
 In 1937 Chicago's Cook County Hospital
opened the first blood bank that stored
blood given by live donors.
 This, with improved anesthesia, made the
chances of surviving major surgery on vital
organs much greater.
Science and Technology
Pure scientific
research suffered
from the lack of
funding.
Nevertheless, in physics ground breaking
experiments in atom smashingwere being
conducted at such institutions as Columbia
University and the California Institute of
Technology.
 Albert Einstein immigrated to the United
States in 1933 and became a professor at the
Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton
University. From here in 1939 he wrote his
famous letter to President
Rooseveltrecommending the development of
the atomic bomb.
 In the field of astronomy the ninth major
planet, Pluto, was discovered in 1930.

Theater and Film
The theater
flourished in this
fourth decade of the
twentieth century.
 In addition to musicals, Broadway marques





lit up with play titles like
Green Pastures by Marc Connelly,
The Man Who Came to Dinner by George
S. Kaufman and Moss Hart,
The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman,
Winterset by Maxwell Anderson,
Abe Lincoln in Illinois by Robert
Sherwood, and
Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets.
Theater and Film
Hollywood turned
out movie after
movie to entertain
its Depression
audience and the
30's are often
referred to as
Hollywood's
"Golden Age".
 Movie goers wanted mainly escapist fare
that let them forget their everyday troubles
for a few hours.
 They swooned over such matinee idols
as Clark Gable, Bette Davis, Greta Garbo,
and Errol Flynn.
 They laughed at the likes of W. C. Fields,
Bob Hope, and the Marx Brothers.
Theater and Film
 America fell in love with the little curly
headed moppet Shirley Temple and flocked
to see her tap dance and sing to the song
"The Good Ship Lollipop".
 Busby Berkeley's elaborate dance numbers
delighted many a fan.
Theater and Film
 Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers tapping and
ballroom dancing across the screen
enthralled the audience.
Theater and Film
 Notable writers like William Faulkner and F.
Scott Fitzgerald penned screenplays.
 Not all movies were fantasy and lightness. The
picture version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes
of Wrath brought to film the story of the Joab
family and its migration from the Dust Bowl of
Oklahoma to the agricultural fields of
California.
 One of the top money makers of all time Gone
With the Wind debuted in Atlanta, Georgia in
1939.
 Walt Disney produced the first full-length
animated movie Snow White and the Seven
Dwarfs in 1937