What was life like during ?
1920’s Culture The flapper Short hair for women Hats for men and women Dancing Silent movies “The Jazz Age was wicked and monstrous and silly. Unfortunately, I had a good time.” Heywood Broun
THE FLAPPER by Dorothy Parker The Playful flapper here we see, The fairest of the fair. She's not what Grandma used to be, -- You might say, au contraire. Her girlish ways may make a stir, Her manners cause a scene, But there is no more harm in her Than in a submarine. She nightly knocks for many a goal The usual dancing men. Her speed is great, but her control Is something else again. All spotlights focus on her pranks. All tongues her prowess herald. For which she well may render thanks To God and Scott Fitzgerald. Her golden rule is plain enough - Just get them young and treat them rough.
What was life like in the 1930’s?
What was the Great Depression? The worst economic crisis of the century Over 13 million people unemployed “Dust bowl” as a result of drought Farmers lost crops Many lost their homes
What caused the Great Depression? Unequal distribution of wealth Stock market crash of 1929
Unequal Distribution of Wealth No middle class Supply not equal to demand Credit cards created false demand
Stock Market Crash Many stocks purchased Stock prices fell Huge sums of money lost Thursday, October 24, 1929
The Results Bank Failure
Unemployment
Loss of homes “Hoovervilles” Here were all these people living in old rusted-out car bodies. ... One family ... [was] living in a piano box. This wasn't just a little section, this was maybe 10 miles wide and 10 miles long. People living in whatever they could junk together. ..."
Dustbowls A traveler noticed a nice new hat by the side of the road, and he stopped to pick it up. Under the hat was a man, buried up to his neck in the dust! As he dug the poor fellow out, the traveler asked if he wanted a ride into town. "No, I'll get there myself," the man replied, "I'm on a horse." (Excerpt from THE DUST BOWL by Tricia Andryszewski, p. 33.)
Depression
Did everyone suffer during the depression?
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” Franklin D. Roosevelt “Our greatest primary task is to put people to work”
FDR’s New Deal Relief for the needy Jobs provided Business and government reformed
So What?
A Long Way From Chicago By Richard Peck