The Thwarting Thirties

The Thwarting Thirties By Ethan Staines

The 1930s was a devastating time for the American people. Huge amounts of change happened during this time. Home life, leisure time, the economy, and the role of government changed drastically during the 1930s.

Home Life

On the left is a man laying down in a hoover-vile. This man looks depressed showing that times were hard for people in the 1930s. On the right is a dust storm during the dust bowl about to destroy someone's farm. This shows that it was dangerous to live in the mid west during the 1930s.

Home life changed very much during the 1930s. Some people lived in makeshift homes, because they couldn’t afford to live in actual homes. Families were forced to cut corners and save as much money as possible. Home life for farmers in particular only got harder. They suffered badly in the 1920s and it only got worse. The dust bowl destroyed their homes and farms. Many were forced to move to California and start new homes where they were not treated well, because they were different. Their farms were foreclosed, because of their crop surpluses and not being able to pay off their debts.

Leisure Time

On the left is a family playing monopoly together. This shows how they spent their free time together in their home life. On the right is a poster for The Wizard of Oz movie showing that movies were very popular in the 1930s.

Leisure time in the 1930s was very different than in the 1920s. During leisure time in the home, families would gather around and play board games and listen to the radio. Radio shows became very popular and were broadcasted for free for everyone to listen to. The movie business was booming during the 1930s. People wanted to escape their issues by going to see movies in the theatres. 2 out of every 5 people saw 2 movies a week showing that people show movies very frequently.

Economy

On the left is an auction for a foreclosed farm. This shows that it was hard for people to pay off their debts so they had to auction off their items for money. On the right men are lined up to get free food. These men can't afford to buy food showing that getting a job was hard in the 1930s.

During the 1930s the economy was in terrible shape. The economy made homelife very different. 25% of men were unemployed, and those who were employed faced huge pay cuts. Businesses struggled and many closed down, because they couldn’t support themselves after losing so much money. Banks failed, because people were trying to withdraw money and the banks couldn’t give everyone their money back. Farmers suffered the most during the 1920s and 1930s. The farming industry struggled in the 1920s and went through to the 1930s. Their farms were destroyed by the dust storms during the dust bowl or they were foreclosed by the banks, because they couldn’t pay off their debts.

Government Role

On the left is the WPA which was created to give jobs to unemployed men. This shows that the government now tried to help the American people get jobs and be prosperous. On the right is a social security form. Social security plays a big role in today's life shwoing that it was a very important things in the 1930s.

Government Role

The role of government changed drastically during the 1930s. In the 1920s the government didn’t touch the American people, and they only helped businesses, because they thought business was the solution to all America’s problems. This affected home life very much, because it left the people to take care of themselves when they had nothing. When FDR was elected in the 1930s the role of government changed to help the American people and give them relief when they were in need. FDR programs really help the US get back on track. The WPA program gave jobs to unemployed men in the 1930s. The programs gave relief to families, banks, the working class, and farmers.

The country changed for the better in the 1930s. A wide variety of ways of life and aspects of the government changed during the 1930s leaving it amazing at the end but miserable in the making. Home life, leisure time, the economy, and the role of government changed drastically during the 1930s.

Appreciate

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