Blaise Uzomah

Hope McNamee

English 102

February 21, 2020

1930’s

The article “​Everyday Life during the Depression” ​talks about how The

Great Depression transformed American social and political institutions. Three

years after the crash , Thirty million Americans lost their source of income,

including a quarter of Washington State. The loss was not equally distributed.

Some businesses were still doing good during 1931 and 1932, and most families

did not lose livelihoods. The impact varied according to industry, class, race,

location and luck. Construction trades and lumber industries suffered a lot.

Workers in other factories lost their jobs but people with advanced skills weren't

going to be hurt as badly. Those lucky enough to work for city, county , state, or

at a military facility would usually hold on to their jobs. Farm families were in a

good position. During the crisis farm prices fell but not so drastically that farmers

had to sell their farm or home.

Washington's small communities of color were especially hit hard. African

Americans and Asian Americans were pushed out of their jobs. Japanese

Americans built a small business sector in Seattle decades before the great

depression, and now most of those hotels and restaurants struggled to get
customers because the depression encouraged a lot of families to leave. With no

unemployment insurance and only one breadwinner, loss of wages immediately

devastated families.

Divorces escalated , young people also quit school and set off on the road.

Marriage rates and birth rates dropped because they were worried that they could

not afford to start a family.

Familysearch.com has an article called “​Life at the Time : 1930’s America

and the 1940 United States Census” t​ hat says that the people listed in 1940 U.S.

census records were greatly affected by what was going on in the 1930s America.

The Great Depression , the Dust Bowl , and the start of World War 2 on the

European front were some of the most impactful historical events of the time . It

affected what our ancestors wore . what they did for work , how they managed a

home, where they would live, what they did for fun, and a lot more.

Women started turning flour and feed sacks into dresses, underwear, dish

towels, curtains, and other items for the home. Some manufacturers noticed the

trend and started copying it.

The average man wore work clothes most of the day because of the hard

times. Work attire usually meant a white button up shirt, slacks, and a tie. A

jacket, cap , trench coats, and waistcoats also became popular.

Many people found a way of getting a radio knowing that it would provide

unlimited entertainment. The whole family could sit together and just enjoy band

music , sporting events ,and comedy programs. People still enjoyed going to the
movies to escape the pressure of life for a little while. Hollywood would have

sweepstakes and drawings for prize money at movie theaters. The wizard of oz

was released at the end of the great depression.

Getrichslowly.org says that since the Great Recession of 2008 and 2009

there have been a lot of news stories about how awful everything is. Americans

are enjoying the best standard of living of anytime in history , yet people still find

something to complain about. They don’t realize how hard life was in the past.

During the Great Depression the average pay per week was about 17 dollars per

week or 900 dollars a year, and a lot of people made less. Most prices were

lowered to make products more affordable. A man's shirt was about 1 dollar.

Many extended families lived together to cut costs. Aunts, uncles, cousins,

and grandparents. In some cases different families would live together to save

money.

For families that could afford it , Saturdays were spent shopping. Even if

they didn’t have much money, they could still go window shopping and look at

things they dream of having .

Since many families struggled to get by , certain luxuries were put to the

side. Many stopped going to the barber and started cutting their hair at home .

Families also stopped going to the dentist and doctor.

Sorry and Monopoly were both released in 1930s , one person says when

he was growing up in the 1970s his parents decided not to have a TV and so did

most of his extended family. Most of his childhood was spent playing board
games and listening to the radio with siblings , cousins, and friends just like his

parents would have done in the 1930s.

The article called “​Culture in the Thirties” ​says that despite the Great

Depressions devastating impact on many Americans, the 1930s witnessed the

emergence of many influential cultural trends. Literature , art, music, and cinema

during the period flourished and established and promoted what would be

presented as truly American traditions and values.

The first short lived new deal program to support cultural projects was the

public works of art that ran from December 1933 to June 1934. PWAP was a

program that created jobs for artists who were hired to paint scenes depicting

contemporary ordinary American life in public buildings and spaces. PWAP was

eventually replaced by the Federal Art Projects.

United States visual arts in the 1930s followed global and regional trends.

Most of the work created under WPA belonged to social realism- an art

movement that depicted the everyday life of an ordinary person. Mostly the poor

and working class. The one characteristic that artists and art works belonging to

movements is realism , or focusing and depicting American life as it was.

The 1930s was the height of Art Deco- and electric style inspired by

industrialization that combines traditional craft motifs with Machine Age imagery

and materials. The 1930s marked the beginning of Hollywood's Golden Age . A

Period that lasted through the 40s with studios having great control over creative
decisions. The most acclaimed works of the period were much more ambitious

and were more expensive films to make with epic stories at the center of it .

Encyclopedia.com states that in the face of the suffering caused by the

Great Depression , family remained a source of strength for most Americans. Bad

times affected all but the very wealthy. Effects of the Depression on family

structures had postponed marriages , fewer babies, youths staying home longer,

and combining households. The strain of economic pressure broke some families

apart.

Americans most affected by the hard times were African Americans, the

elderly, those in areas where factories were shut down, farmers that were caught

in the dust bowl, and those in coal mining areas. All were poor before the

Depression. It left them struggling for survival. From 1935 to 1936 a median

family income was $1,160. An annual wage of $1,000 or more put families in the

middle income range.

 Works Cited

“The Great Depression in Washington State.” ​Everyday Life During the

Depression, ​2020.

“Family Search,” ​Life at the Time, ​2018.

“Get Rich Slowly.” ​Daily life during the Great Depression, 2​ 017.

“Lumen.” ​Culture in the Thirties.” 2019

“​Encyclopedia.” ​Everyday life 1929-1941, 2​ 020