The Great Depression

2. How did the self-identity of Americans change from the 1920s to the 1930s? . Based on your reading and these audio clips, describe—in your own words—how Americans experienced the Great Depression?

During the time span from the 1920’s to the 1930’s America went from thriving financially with an abundance of jobs to the depression hitting and a shortage of jobs. American families could not make ends meet. Men who were trained in skilled labor had to try to find menial tasks for little pay to make ends meet and feed their families. There were not nearly enough jobs to go around. It got to the point where a man had to have a college degree to work at the gas station.

Young men like the one in the first audio clip headed across the country looking for work. The further east they headed the worse it got to try to find work. Even in cities like Los Angeles odd jobs paid little and were hard to come by. In 1931 there were no relief programs available to Americans. Men got up at 5:00 in the morning to go and fight for work. Out of 1000 men 4 were lucky to get work for the day. Men marched to city hall and protested for work. Governor Rossi was not able to offer any help with such huge demand for housing and groceries the men became panicked and riots broke out. Police became involved and men were shot leaving them killed or wounded.

The majority of these men were fathers who had held good jobs; they were not looking for trouble they just wanted to provide for their families. As the depression progressed there were more and more men unemployed and the jobs became fewer and far between. While the depression was a huge shock to men who had held jobs and lived the American dream at one time to a young man just leaving home it was just the norm to be out of work because that was all they had known growing up.

2. How did the self-identity of Americans change from the 1920s to the 1930s?

The self-identity of American families changed greatly because they lost their pride and sense of hope. According to Larry Van Dussen in his audio clip, families had feeling of their fathers failing them and it always seemed that other families had it better. There was a sense of unease and tension that hung over American families like a dark cloud. Fathers were easily angered and irritated at having to settle for work that they were over qualified and paid little for. Children left home earlier as a result of doubts that their fathers could provide for them in hopes of making their own way somehow.

Was There A Sexual Revoloution in the 1920's?

The sexual culture in America in the 1920’s was being reinvented in many ways. Attitudes became more liberal and society as a whole more open-minded.

While some American’s were becoming much more open in their sexual expression and attitudes others abhorred the sexual emancipation that was occurring. Sexual overtones and situation became the norm in the papers, magazines and the theatre. Sexual expression became common on college campuses as women began the ritual of “dating” going out alone with a man instead of as a group a shocking social breakthrough at that time. Flappers became common and clothing became more revealing. Women began to experiment with sexual freedoms and the privileges that men freely enjoyed such as drinking, smoking and frequenting bars and nightclubs.

The changes that occurred sexually in women’s lives also spilled into other areas as women were becoming more independent economically and politically, gaining voting rights and employment opportunities. There were 30 million women working in offices by 1930. The combination of these factors brought about much greater independence for women and granted them freedoms in all areas of their lives including areas of sex, politics and economy that had not been possible up to this point in history.

Do you feel there is enough evidence to prove that there was indeed a Sexual Revolution in the 1920’s? Why or why not? Please give insight to support your argument. 

Do you view women gaining sexual, political and economical rights at that time as a negative or positive event? What were the pro’s and cons of the so called “Sexual Revolution