Life in the Great Depression

The years after the Stock Market Crash of 1929 were full of poverty, bitterness and just harsh times. There were massive cut in wages and employment; the rich were poorer, the poorer were barely hanging, many have lost it all and the country was waiting for the government for solutions but none were permanent.

In contrast there was uplift in the arts.

•           The Works Progress Administration, where unemployed artist were hired to paint murals on federal buildings.
•           The Farm Security Administration, where unemployed photographers where hired to document the lives of homeless families, unemployed workers, and southern tenant farmers.
•           Some of these great camera artists were: Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and Ansel Adams.

The arts revealed the human suffering in the clearest way calling for reform.

Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal were programs created in response to the Great Depression.

•    The "First New Deal" (1933–34) dealt with diverse groups, from banking and railroads to industry and farming, all of which demanded help for economic survival.
•     The "Second New Deal" in 1935–38 included the Wagner Act to promote labor unions, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) relief program (which made the federal government by far the largest single employer in the nation), the Social Security Act, and new programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers.

Wikipedia

For these week’s movies you surely know Annie, this one is the 1999 version.

There are as well documentaries of video and people's experiences about living during the 1930'3, reflecting different parts of what was going on during the time.

Rioting Across America - The Great Depression

Stories of the Great Depression: The Family Table

Raymond and Anna Marie McIntyre

For a complete video about the great depression and why it was caused I would suggest this video 1929: The Great Crash. It is the complete history of the two decades, 1920’s and 1930’s, filled with videos from the time and historians words; a really interesting and completely informative documentary.

The roaring 20’s: Flappers and Joe Louis

Time Line

¯        In 1920 women get the right to vote.

¯        From 1921 to 1929 was the Roaring 20’s.

¯        On October 29, 1929 the Stock Market Crash.

¯        The Great Depression was from the crash of ‘29 to mid-1943.

The 1920’s

o   The 1920’s was a good decade if you had the money. If not you could still buy stuff on credit in the stores.

o   Some of the bad things were that there was less taxes. That meant less money for schools and to hire police men and all those other services provided by government.

People’s unavailability to pay their debts contributed to the crash of ’29.

Flappers

Flappers were the modern women of the time. They were very controversial: they would cut their hair shorter, though not all of them; they would wear shorter dresses, which back then showing any skin was very scandalous due to the Victorian style of the past; they would hang out with the boys, smoked in public and drink too, though drinking was still illegal.

It was a very materialistic society, kind of like it is today. Though back then it led to the Stock Market Crash.

Check out these videos: It’s a bunch of films from the 20’s involving mostly the fabulous life of flappers and you might notice some similarities between then and today’s society.

·         Flappers - The Roaring Twenties – check out minute 4:22, does it seem familiar with teen's clothing problems and their parents.

·         To live in the 1920’s – check out minute 1:20 for the foldable car.

The other video that is as well very remarkable is Joe Louis - America's Hero Betrayed. It’s an inspiring documentary about an African American boxer at the time that held the World Heavyweight Champion from 1937 to 1949. He created an uproar of the African American community and the American society, despite the color of his skin.

Monument to Joe Louis at Detroit

The Other Side of WWI

On 1914  Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated which lead to the start of WWI.

The US remained neutral.

In 1915 the Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine, killing over 120 Americans which lead to the US entering the war on 1917.

US joined the Allies in 1917. The Allies were: England, France, Russia and China. Russia leaves in 1917 because of its Communist Revolution or Civil War.

The Central powers were: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Turks and Japan.

WWI ended on 1918 with the signing of an armistice.

The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 1919 were Britain, France and Italy charged Germany with severe economic penalties.

Germany is:

·         Blamed for starting the war.

·         Demilitarized.

·         Must pay fines to France, reparations.

USA:

·         Is seen as the great power.

·         Britain wanted President Wilson to be governor of the world in the League of Nations, which is like the early UN.

o   Wilson wanted the US to join the League of Nations but the Senate refused.

In the film Johnny Got His Gun (1971) we see Johnny who joins the Army but he is severely injured and he lies in a hospital bed narrating his thoughts and remembering his life.

This film was not popular because it was highly controversial at the time. The film became popular when parts of it were used for the Metallica One music video.

Another movie related to WWI were Legends of the fall which takes tome from before WWI to the 1930’s.

The Progressive Era/ The Now Era

 From 1890 to 1920, the era of reforms and advances, thanks to that time we have now:

o   F. D. A.

o   National Parks

o   Libraries/ Library System

o   City Pluming

o   Law Enforcement

o   Prohibition

o   Transportation

o   Work Laws

o   Labor Unions

o   Women Voting

o   Public Schooling

Some of these upcoming reforms and organizations were only found in the states that could afford them like New York and as the economy grew they expanded to the other states. Now it’s just common to find these organizations throughout, except prohibition of curse.

This new organizations cost money so then Income Tax was also created.

The most outstanding issues of the time were the meat factories and women’s rights.

The Meat Factories

With the publication of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle which exposed the dirtiness of the factories and with that their unsanitary handling of the meat was exposed. Many reforms were made for the meat packing industry and from there expanded to what is now the F. D. A.

In the meat factories issue the movie of today is called Fast Food Nation. YouTube trailer.

Though this movie is recent, just as in the reforming era it deals with immigration. Most of the low-payment jobs back in the Progressive era as well as now were given to immigrants and mistreatment and abuse were common.

As progressive we are today we still take advantage of workers. We do have improved but we still have some points against us and that shows us how much we have NOT change.

American Expansion and the Beginning of The War of 1898

Also known as the Spanish-American War of 1898, it was probably one of the most important in the American history. It gave to the expansion of America as well as the rice in the economy after the Civil War.

It all started with the colonization of places like Puerto Rico, Philippines, Cuba and others, all belonging to Spain. But it all exploded when the USS Maine literally exploded in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898 and the ‘yellow press’ blew things out of proportion blaming Spain without an actual prove that it had been involved. In result the U. S. declared war to Spain.
This video in YouTube shows real footage and pictures taken on battle.

But why was the Spanish-American war important?

  o   American expansion.

  o   Makes American very popular and powerful.

  o   There are many American bases throughout the globe.

     Racialist thinking was common at the time and many cartoons portrayed the other countries’ people as savages and as the American duty to educate them.

  

But expansion was not only in the mind of America, but other powerful countries as well, example: Germany, Britain, France, and Japan; all of them colonizing frontier countries for mostly their resources. This is why in many parts of Africa French is spoken.

This created a sort of competition among this countries and the US for their expansions and exploitation of other countries’ resources and from that- profit, the wealthier the more power they had.

The US was interested, again, in assimilating the natives to the American way, as if it were their responsibility, (sounds familiar to the Native Americans? Yes!) Many, just like the Native Americans, were not happy with the American men entering and taking over their land and trying to change their cultures. Though, this time it wasn’t as harsh, leaving some part of their cultures intact.

How Families Survived in the Industrial Revolution

Though throughout most of my searching I found the industrial revolution been mostly portrayed as a great improvement in manufacturing of goods with the assembly line and machines that could do the work of 50 or more men; what I was really looking for was to know more about the people, workers, families and from that –children.

Living was harsh in those times:

·         Poor and dirty working conditions, long hours, low payments

·         Families crowded into one single apartment, one toilet room for the whole three to four story building!

  

         ·         Kids had to work as early as five years of age.

Most of the families had an income lower than their expenses. Their expenses might just be bread coffee and meat, sometimes vegetables and other food or miscellanies and everyone ate the same thing even through all three meals.

Children worked the same as adults, many suffered from injuries and none had any kind of protection gear. Regulations had not yet been established, not for workers nor for food production and packaging.

Unfortunately this time there wasn’t any time left to watch a movie in class, so IOU; but I did find some good movies about the industrial revolution:

Oliver Twist (2005) IMDb, YouTube.This movie is on Netflix as well.

Modern Times (1936) IMDb, YouTube

Indian Assimilation or Extermination?

Even nowadays this question still races controversy in respect of what the American government did to or for the Native Americans. It all comes down to one’s point of view.

This week I watched an HBO film “Burying My Heart at Wounded Knee.”

The heart breaking story that may tribes had to face as the American people expanded to the west.

This film focuses on the Sioux tribe and the territory given to them including the sacred Black Hills.

Go to HBO- for the trailer, making of and more. If you have an HBO subscription you can watch the movie, or.

YouTube for trailers and segments but I’m not saying to go find the movie there, rent it!

There is:

·        Assimilation to society. To save them from being killed by the troops or starvation the U.S. government set up reservation territories where Native American tribes where:

o    converted to Christianity

o     given land to farm and

o    given education to their children.

But would you give up your truth; that is your believes, your way of society and start a new living in a way that someone else dictated?

Or did they face:

·         Extermination, purposefully; some Americans did want them out of specific lands, for example gold-rich lands like the Black Hills in South Dakota.

o   In mid-1800’s gold was discovered and the government tried to make adjustments to the Fort Laramie Treaty to make the Black Hills and a stretch of land connecting them to outside of the reservation.

The treaty stated that the Black Hills were part of the Sioux reservation in Dakota.

o   Many battles continued until in 1877 the government confiscated the land.

To this day the Black Hill’s ownership is matter of legal argument between U.S. government and the Sioux.

The Sioux tribes were faced with the decisions of conforming or starve -because they depended on the government for food and supplies; or don’t agree with what the government offered them and go to war. Chiefs had to think for their people and that forced them to accept anything the government wanted.

Sioux Indian Chiefs/leaders Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Red Horse, and Spotted Eagle.