1. The era of the Great Depression

2.  The novel Moon Over Manifest takes place in the 1930’s.  This time period is known as the Great Depression.  The Great Depression is when there was a worldwide economic downfall.

3.  The Great depression was the aftermath of the Great War which is also known as World War 1.  In the book, the characters gives us many clues on the time period.  Hattie Mae gives us a hint by saying “ And thanks to the Depression, I've also been promoted to copy editor, typesetter, and coffee maker extraordinaire”. ( page 15, paragraph 4)  Abilene in the novel also says, “ I knew that times were hard, so I didn’t complain but my stomach couldn’t help its moaning and groaning.” (page 75 and paragraph 4 )  During the Depression, wealthy people had to move also.  Many kids went to work.

4.  Certain types of beverages are still seen today that were also used in the 1930’s.  Some examples would be Pepsi cola and Orange crush.  In the book,Mrs. Hattie Mae tells Abilene : “We’ve got Coca-Cola and Orange Crush. Take your pick.” (page 14 and paragraph 8)  During the 1930’s, many factories and construction workers were out of business.  In some states, like Virginia, soda making companies were liquidated.  The Was Cot Corporation (a company that produces soda) was liquidated in 1928.

5.  In the novel they mention that they still have the use of a typewriter.  “ He studied the splayed out typewriter in front of him.” (page 25 and paragraph 4)  This proves that typewriters were the latest technology, during that time period.  The music typewriter was invented in 1714 and ever since then, they have been making advancements to the typewriter.  From my research, typewriters hadn’t become popular till the mid 1880’s, when they were first used in offices.  By the 1930’s, the typewriter had become popular,but was going through many advancements.

6.  In the 1930’s, blackboards were more common than white boards.  The blackboard was invented in 1801 by the headmaster James Pillian.  James Pillian was a headmaster at a high school in Scotland.  The whiteboards didn’t come in until the 1950’s and weren’t even popular till the mid 1990’s.  The evidence for the use of blackboard in the novel was : “ The blackboard was just that: black. No math problems. No spelling words.”( page 27 and paragraph 1)

7.  The author mentions the use of potbelly stoves in the 1900’s.  “…..even the grate off a potbelly stove – right into the grate.” (page 156 and paragraph 2)  This information is accurate because gas stoves were invented in the 1900’s.  There could have been a chance that they had gas stoves,but since it wasn’t popular the invention the gas stoves might have not spread.  Gas stoves didn’t become common till the 1920’s.  Electric stoves replaced gas stoves in the late 1920’s to the 1930’s.

8.  In the book the price for daily objects was very low than it would be now.  “ He ended up with seven dollars and fifty cents and bought us a tandem bicycle”. ( page 74 and paragraph 2)  The authors information is accurate because my research shows that Tandem bicycles were at the cost of $7.00 during the 1930’s.  Bicycles now cost up to 300 dollars!!  Tandem bicycles now cost around 200 to 400 dollars!

9.  Some of the language used in the novel is not what we use today.  These are some types of sayings that the author uses that is accurate:  “I didn’t know if bootleggers would take buttons for payment along with nickels.” ( page 75 and paragraph 3)  The term “bootlegger” means the illegal transport of alcohol ( in the 1930’s alcohol was illegal).  “Thunderation, I yelped.” ( page 110 and paragraph 3)  Thunderation is a statement used to describe surprise.

10.  “She opened the pack and pulled out three lovely sandwiches wrapped in wax paper, three apples, and, my goodness, three ice cold Coca colas.” ( page 38 and paragraph 7)  The cost for a coca cola in the 1930’s was around 75 cents to a dollar.  Today the cost for coca cola in the store is approximately $2.00.  The cost for bread in the ‘30’s was 8 cents per loaf of white bread.  Today the cost of bread is $1.99.

11.  In the book, the use of trains was big!  “ The movement of the train rocked me like a lullaby.” ( page 1 and paragraph 1) The most popular way to travel in the ‘30’s was by trains and trams.  Today we use cars, buses, and trains for transportation.  The U.S,in 2011, had the largest car population in the world.  The number of cars that we have is 239.8 million.  In the 1930’s the automobile was around,but it wasn’t popular because of the Great Depression.

12.  The author includes the style of hair for Hattie Mae ( the newspaper publisher):  “ A large woman came out of the back room, her hair in a frazzled bun.” (page 14 and paragraph 6)  In the ’30’s, women kept the length of their hair short. Even though their hair was short, it was longer than the length of hair in the 1920’s.  Pin curls and finger waves were the main fashion of hair.  Most girls parted their hair in the middle or on the side.  People during that time loved being neat with their hair.  The author describes Hattie Mae’s her as worn out which doesn’t relate with the time period because,during that time period people had great care for their hair.

13.  The book mentions that alcohol is illegal during the 1930’s.  The evidence for this is : “Alcohol was against the law then as much as it was in 1917, but folks could usually get a bottle of the stiff here and there.” (page 75 and paragraph 3)  My research shows that people knew that alcohol was illegal but they could still find ways to get alcohol.  These evidences tell us that officers back then weren’t as tough( as law wise) as they are today.

14. Copyright © NoodleTools Inc. | PrivaPriva  Works Cited  Brain Pop. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013..  EHow Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2013..  http://ask.reference.com/related/When+Was+the+Whiteboard+Invented??o=100048 &qsrc=121&l=dir. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013..  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bootlegger?s=t. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013..  http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/thunderation. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013..  http://inventors.about.com/od/ofamousinventions/a/oven.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2013..  http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4287. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013..  http://rf1930s.weebly.com/fashion.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2013..  http://rf1930s.weebly.com/index.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2013..  http://slodive.com/inspiration/1930s-hairstyles/. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2013..

15.  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/jazz/jb_jazz_ww1_1.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2013..  http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/wwii/jb_wwii_subj.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013..  http://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/speeches#videos. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2013..  http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013..  http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/kkk_and_racial_problems.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Mar. 2013..  http://www.officemuseum.com/typewriters.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013..  http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/time_period.php?rec=6. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013..  http://www.paper-dragon.com/1939/priceguide.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2013..  http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/30sfood.html. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013..  http://www.whenwasitinvented.org/when-was-the-blackboard-invented/. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2013..  http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar234080&st=the+great+depression. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2013.

16. .  Wise Geek. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2013..  World war 1. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Mar. 2013..