CHANGES IN AMERICAN VALUES

AND CULTURE

Brenna Riley

AMERICAN VALUES

Crime rates shot up because many unemployed

people resorted to theft to put food on the table.

Health care was not a priority.

“Poor Man’s Divorce” Men would simply run away

from their marriage.

AMERICAN VALUES

Mass migrations throughout the 30’s.

New England and Upstate New York lost citizens seeking

opportunity elsewhere.

Great plains lost population to California and Arizona

Many migrants were adolescents seeking opportunity away

from family.

600,000 people caught hitching rides on trains during the

Great Depression.

AMERICAN VALUES

American Dream

American Nightmar

e

Land of Opportun

ity

Land of Desperati

on

Independent Land Owners

Searching for

work in Californi

a

CULTURE

Higher education remained out of reach for most Americans.

The male population in high schools increased because the

chances of getting jobs were so low many decided to stay in

school longer.

Marriages were delayed because males wanted to wait until

they could provide for a family before getting married.

Birthrates fell sharply to avoid extra expenses.

Cigarette smoking and alcoholism increased.

ECONOMIC PERCEPTIONS (PRE -DEPRESSION)

Laissez-faire was preferred.

Laissez-faire – Opposes government interference or regulation

of commerce beyond the minimum necessary.

It was believed that to alleviate, instead of aggravate, an

economy the only valid course of action is to leave it alone.

Gold standard: Having a stable and reliable source of currency

is when the economy functions the best. (Classical viewpoint)

Roaring twenties

IMPACT ON ECONOMIC PERCEPTIONS

Call for an expanded role of government.

Significant loss in self-esteem, men blamed themselves.

People were quickly losing hope and there seemed to be no jobs.

Prostitution rose at a desperate attempt to obtain currency.

Income of the average American was reduced by 40% from $2,300 to $1,500.

Life Expectancy: Male, 58.1; Female, 61.6

Average salary: $1,368

Unemployment rises to 25%

Food Prices: Milk, 14 cents a qt.; Bread, 9 cents a loaf; Round Steak, 42

cents a pound

UNEMPLOYMENT

in 1929: 3.2%

in 1930: 8.9%

in 1931: 16.3%

in 1932: 24.1%

in 1933: 24.9%

in 1934: 21.7%

in 1935: 20.1%

in 1936: 16.9%

in 1937: 14.3%

in 1938: 19.0%

in 1939: 17.2%

RISE OF GOVERNMENT DEPENDENCE

FDR is elected in 1932 and begins implementing new laws.

FDR began to institute programs to help the poor,

unemployed and elderly.

New Deal: Providing for suffering American's, improve the

economy, passing new laws so there was not as many poor

people

15 bills in his first 100 days of presidency.

http://youtu.be/PXY7TkrPPzI

PRIMARY SOURCE

Origin: FDR Recovery Plan Fireside Chat 10/23/1933

Purpose: To relay to the nation in clear terms what steps the government

will take to speed up the recovery, including the introduction of new

government programs.

Value: FDR kept stating that he was not satisfied and would do anything

he could to improve living conditions in the USA. This would have certainly

boosted the spirits of the American people.

Limitation: Although this method was effective, not all Americans could

afford radios at this time and would have needed a way to get the

information he was presenting,

RISE GOVERNMENT DEPENDENCE

A national bank holiday: The day after his inauguration, FDR declared a "bank holiday," closing all banks in

the country to prevent a collapse of the banking system. With the banks closed, Roosevelt took measures to

restore the public's confidence in the financial systems; when the banks reopened a week later, the panic was

over.22

Ending the gold standard: To avoid deflation, FDR quickly suspended the gold standard.23 This meant that

U.S. dollars no longer had to be backed up by gold reserves, which also meant that the government could

print—and spend—more money to "prime the pump" of the economy.

Glass-Steagall Act: The Glass-Steagall Act imposed regulations on the banking industry that guided it for

over fifty years, until it was repealed in 1999.24 The law separated commercial from investment banking,

forced banks to get out of the business of financial investment, banned the use of bank deposits in

speculation.25 It also created the FDIC[link to "FDIC" passage below]. The effect of the law was to give

greater stability to the banking system.

FDIC: The Federal Deposit Insurance Commission backed all bank deposits up to $2500, meaning that most

bank customers no longer had to worry that a bank failure would wipe out their life savings.26 The agency

continues to insure American deposits today.

GOVERNMENT DEPENDENCE

Federal Securities Act: This act regulated the stock markets and preceded the creation of the Securities and

Exchange Commission in 1934, which continues to regulate U.S. stock markets to this day.

Agricultural Adjustment Act: The AAA provided relief to farmers by paying them to reduce production; this also

helped to reduce crop surpluses and increase prices for crops.27

Civilian Conservation Corps: To reduce unemployment, put 250,000 young men to work in rural conservation

projects, mostly in national parks and forests.28

Tennessee Valley Authority: The TVA provided electrification and other basic improvements the impoverished

interior of the South.

National Industrial Recovery Act: One of FDR's more controversial measures, it created new agencies and

regulations that tightened the relationship between government and business. It was declared unconstitutional by

the Supreme Court in 1935.

Public Works Administration: Funded the construction of public works projects across the country, including

schools, hospitals, airports, dams, and ports, as well as ships for the Navy and airports for the Army Air Corps.29

Federal Emergency Relief Act: Provided direct relief, training and work for unemployed Americans. It was

abolished in 1935 and its programs folded into other agencies

THE RED DECADE

Term coined by Eugene Lyon

Popularization of radical ideologies, including the

Communist Party.

Radical lefts, American intellectuals and even some

government officials.

Liberal press in America was enamored with

Stalin.

RED DECADE

Gitlow vs. New York:

“Gitlow, a socialist, was arrested for distributing copies of a "left-wing

manifesto" that called for the establishment of socialism through strikes

and class action of any form. Gitlow was convicted under a state criminal

anarchy law, which punished advocating the overthrow of the

government by force. At his trial, Gitlow argued that since there was no

resulting action flowing from the manifesto's publication, the statute

penalized utterences without propensity to incitement of concrete

action. The New York courts had decided that anyone who advocated the

doctrine of violent revolution violated the law.”

POP CULTUREThe motto, “Art as a social weapon.”

was embraced.

Writers/artists/intellectuals joined

forces to make socially conscious art.

Popularization of the radio change

how accessible culture was.

New Deal federal dollars enabled a lot

of art to be created.

Dancing and music lifted spirits during

the great depression.

POP CULTURE

Symphonies and live bands in clubs

struggled because of the

popularization of radios.

With the end of prohibition in 1933,

going to clubs became very popular.

Swing, Jazz and Folk music was

very popular.

Victoria Spivey, Bill Cox, Rudy

Vallee, Ted Lewis, Louis Armstrong,

Hal Kemp, Artie Shaw, Ella

POP CULTURE

Best selling books of the 1930’s:

1. Now In November (1934): A fictional account of a

family’s experience on the land and their trials

and tribulations during the Dust Bowl.

2. The Big Money(1936): Telling the story of

America’s march toward the crash.

POP CULTURE

3. Appointment in Samarra (1934): A novel about a young man

who rapidly declines after the crash and before the New Deal.

4. The Good Earth (1931): A book about two Oriental farmers

who do their best to survive in a world of famine, war, and

plague

5. The Day of the Locust (1939): An artist who comes to the West

Coast to pint the bored and lonely men and woman who

migrated to California in pursuit of dreams.

POP CULTURE

Hollywood played a valuable psychological role,

providing reassurance and hope.

Americans attended movies each week, which

helped sustain national morale.

Many complaints and boycotts from the churches.

POP CULTURE

Radio was a very important form of mass media.

Connected people to world events.

Comedians like Jack Benny, Fred Allen, George Burns,

Amos and Andy, Gracie Allen.

Daytime soap operas

Lone Ranger, Little Orphan Annie, and Green Hornet.

Listened to baseball games and horseraces..

WORK CITED"98.04.04: The Great Depression and New Deal." Yale University. N.p., n.d. Web.

4 Feb. 2014. <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1998/4/98.04.04.x.html>.

"American Cultural History - 1930-1939." LSC-Kingwood Library. N.p., n.d. Web.

4 Feb. 2014. <http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade30.html>.

"Books From the Great Depression - WSJ.com." The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News,

Business, Financial and Economic News, World News & Video - Wall Street Journal. N.p.,

n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB123759467277400941>.

"Entertainment During the Great Depression." Fayetteville-Manlius Schools. N.p., n.d. Web.

4 Feb. 2014. <http://www.fmschools.org/webpages/2websites/index.cfm?subpage=24687>.

"Gitlow v. New York | The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law." The Oyez

Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law | A Multimedia Archive of the Supreme Court of

the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1901-

1939/1922/1922_19>.

WORK CITED"Having Fun – Radio During the Depression." Wessels Living

History Farm, Inc. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

<http://www.livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_15.html>.

"The Left Front: Radical Art in the "Red Decade," 1929-1940

opens at the Block Museum." The First Art Newspaper on the Net.

N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014. <http://artdaily.com/news/67545/The-

Left-Front--Radical-Art-in-the--Red-Decade---1929-1940-opens-at-

the-Block-Museum>.

"Social and Cultural Effects of the Depression [ushistory.org]."

US History. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

<http://www.ushistory.org/us/48e.asp>.

"Social Security Act of 1935." N.p., Web. 4 Feb. 2014.

<http://www.dsusd.k12.ca.us/users/scottsh/Social%20Security

%20Act%20of%201935.htm>.