Images of American Life in the 1920’s- 1930’s





The following slides are a basic timeline of
major event in the United States.
Take notes on the dates.
Keep in mind how much changes occurred in
such a small amount of time.
Some families went from having wealth and
comfort to being homeless.
Most people felt at least some change.
TIMELINE
1917—United
States enters
the Great
War (WWI)
Time of fear
for many
people.
TIMELINE
1918–
November
11, Armistice
signed
World War I
ends.
TIMELINE
Prohibition
1920- Prohibition—
outlawing the selling
and distribution of
alcohol
Became the 18th
Amendment
Repealed in 1933 with
the 21st Amendment
TIMELINE
1920- Woman’s
Suffrage Movement
wins a decisive
victory
19th Amendment to
the Constitution—
Right to Vote
People, women
especially here, felt
a sense of control of
their destinies.
TIMELINE—
ROARING TWENTIES
The “Roaring
Twenties” refers to
the 1920’s
After WWI, people
felt safe again and
since the economy
was healthy there
was more spending
cash available
TIMELINE—
ROARING TWENTIES
Consequently,
there was a surge
of new music, art
and stylistic
changes
People of wealth
had elaborate
parties with music,
champagne, and
dancing.
TIMELINE—
ROARING TWENTIES
Musicians like Louis
Armstrong and Duke
Ellington changed
the way music was
played and,
consequently
received by people.
Since the economy
was plentiful and the
US was no longer at
war, people found
more time for
entertainment.
TIMELINE—
ROARING TWENTIES
“Flappers”—
term for
women in
the 1920’s
who rebelled
against
modern
societal
norms.
TIMELINE—
ROARING TWENTIES
Speakeasies—
establishments
that sold
alcohol during
Prohibition
TIMELINE—
ROARING TWENTIES
Bartender
would tell
patrons to
be quiet,
or to
“speak
easy”
TIMELINEROARING TWENTIES
Author, F. Scott
Fitzgerald and
his wife, Zelda
became national
celebrities
They became
symbols of
extravagant
wealth and
status
TIMELINE--Change
1929– Stock Market
Crash
Life for most Americans
was about to drastically
change
No more decadence,
reckless behavior, or
careless times of the
Jazz Age or the Roaring
20’s
TIMELINE
The Great Depression
America entered a
time known as
The Great
Depression
Since international
trade was affected
in the economic
downturn, other
countries were
also affected.
TIMELINE
The Great Depression
Cities all over the
world were
affected
Those who held
jobs having to do
with farming,
logging and
mining were hit
especially hard
TIMELINE
The Great Depression
Many people
turned to
MIGRANT
FARMING as a
way to make ends
meet.
Since people were
often without
work, they lost
their homes and
therefore had to
travel to find work.
What is a Migrant
Worker?
Migrant workers were
always on the move.
In an attempt to
maintain a steady
income, workers had to
follow the harvest
around the state.
For example, when
potatoes were ready to
be picked, the migrants
needed to be where the
potatoes were.
Migrant Life
The same principle
applied to harvesting
cotton, lemons,
oranges, peas, and
other crops.
The family living here
came to California
January 8, 1940, from
Oklahoma.
Their car is parked out
front of their house
which also happens to
be next to the berry
field.
Migrant Living
Conditions
Farm
worker’s
home.
Rent was
$7 a
month.
Migrant Life
Kern County, California. A couple
from Oklahoma, now resettled in
California.
They came four years ago.
Photo taken in large potato field
where husband is crew foreman
and oldest son operates the
mechanical digger.
They own their home in Shafter.
Not Much of a
Childhood
Pinal County,
Arizona.
Cotton pickers, in
ditch bank at the
edge of grower's
camp.
Boy at left picked 50
pounds of cotton on
the preceding day.
Migrant Life
Young girl
works in cotton
field on
Saturday
morning.
Her father
works on the
same farm.
Migrant Life for
Teenagers
17-year-old boy
agricultural worker
sacking early
potatoes on large
potato ranch.
Kern County
workers planted
27,250 acres in
potatoes
Migrant Life
Truckload of
cotton pickers
just pulled into
town in the late
afternoon.
Fresh from
Arkansas: "We
come over to
help folks pick
their cotton."
Children out front of a farm workers community.
Migrant Images
As you view the following slides,
think about how difficult life was
for the migrant worker.
The photos are mostly from the
famous photographer, Dorothea
Lange. Think about why these
images are so powerful.
Look at their expressions. What
story do they tell without any
words?
Look at the living conditions.
Think about your own life in
comparison.
Rainy Day in camp of
migrant pea pickers
By: Dorothea
Lange
Nipomo,
California
1937
Four families, three of them related, with fifteen children,
from the Dust Bowl in Texas, at impromptu overnight road
camp.
By: Dorothea
Lange
Calipatria,
California
1937
Wife of Tennessee coal miner washing for their family of seven
at home--a tent (their "winter quarters") by the levee.
By: Dorothea
Lange
Sacramento,
California
November,
1936
Better type of wooden housing for migrant
farmers supplied by large cotton grower.
By: Dorothea
Lange
Corcoran,
California
November,
1936
Little girl, daughter of "fruit tramps" (migratory farm
workers) outside tent she shares with her parents and
four siblings.
By Dorothea
Lange
California
November,
1936
Migrant father cradling his baby
outside shanty.
By Dorothea
Lange
Caimperial
Valley, US
1937
Suppertime at camp for Oklahoma family of potato harvesters, who
follow crops from California to Washington during the Depression.
By: Dorothea
Lange
Kern County,
California
June, 1935
Dust bowl drought victims (migratory farm
workers) at ramshackle building, meant to
be permanent home, north of Shafter.
By: Dorothea
Lange
California
February,
1936
Of Mice and Men by
John Steinbeck
Keep these images alive
in your mind as we
study our next novel, Of
Mice and Men by John
Steinbeck.
Steinbeck wrote about
an unlikely friendship
between two characters
who were simply trying
to make it during this
difficult time period in
America.