Daily Life in US 1920-1935

New Era Through World War
January 25, 2014
Response Paper #1
Daily Life in the US 1920-1940

The 1920s is an era remembered as the “Roaring Twenties”. The age of mass marketing had begun. With a model T in every driveway and the stock market soaring, the 1920s made more than a few men millionaires. The 1920s will always be remembered for its speakeasies, Babe Ruth, Amos and Andy, Charles Lindbergh, and the flapper. This must have been a very exciting time to be alive, without the knowledge of what was to come, to only live for today. The image of a cavalier nation with everyone visiting speakeasies and dancing the Charleston gives way to the 1930s. The 1930s was a decade of heart wrenching poverty, the Dust Bowl of the American south west and FDR’s New Deal. The 1920s began with the Eighteenth Amendment taking the possibility of going out for drinks off the table, not that Americans were willing to abide by that law.1 This one plain and simple fact made bootlegging one more thing that the 1920’s would become famous for. Bootlegging was the word used to describe the transportation and sale of illegally obtained liquor in speakeasies across the country. It was a very profitable business and made many men rich and some famous. One of the most well-known was a man named Al Capone. He was the son of Italian immigrants, and he became rich and infamous as a bootlegger and then a mafia kingpin who was sent to prison for evading his taxes.2
Drinking was viewed quite differently in rural areas, where the belief that the consumption of alcohol was a problem that was left to city population. The people in smaller communities across America, where the temperance movement started, would be among those who would abide by the law, including the Volstead Act, which allowed fermented cider and wine –if it did not get people drunk. This law could hardly be enforced.3 The one thing that everyone wanted, besides a stiff drink, was finally made available to all, the automobile. Mass production on the assembly lines in Henry Ford’s factory in Highland Park, Michigan would bring a brand new Model T to consumers at lightning speed. He employed men who were considered undesirable in other areas of the workforce because of race or a criminal record and Ford paid them more, but he also expected them to work harder.4 The love affair between Americans and their cars had begun. When General Motors introduced credit for the buyer of its automobiles, there was a way for almost everyone to own a car. General Motors had a larger selection of automobiles and with the available financing, Americans could afford more car, which could include extras such as electric starters, hydraulic foot operated brakes and enclosed passenger compartments. These new innovations made it possible for women to drive, giving them more freedom than they had known in the past.5 Another major development in motorized vehicles was the pick-up truck. The pick-up truck is a symbol of American ingenuity, and it was first developed by people who needed a way to haul the load that was too big for an automobile and too small for the large commercial trucks. Farmers were modifying their Model Ts to better suit the work on the farm. Many other aspects of farming were changing with the advent of a tractor to suit the needs of the average farmer.6
The tractor was at first a huge machine with such a large turning radius that would not work on the average farm in America. So, when engineers came up with something that was smaller and could plow, plant, and harvest on the smaller average farm in the Midwest, the tractor became a hit. The southern farmer, continued to rely on horses and mules to pull the plough. Lacking the resources and unable to pay for a tractor, sharecroppers and tenant farmers fell further behind their northern counterparts both economically and socially.7 Without the extra profits a tractor could bring it also meant that they did not get electricity at the same time as the rural people in the north. All rural people had to wait longer to have electricity in their homes, by 1930 only ten percent of rural American homes had electricity. Resentment built in the rural people, they were expected to bear the cost of power lines to their homes, which at two thousand dollars a mile, could not easily be financed.8 American ingenuity raised its head again as the farmer built windmills to produce their own electricity while others bought generators. It was a small step in trying to keep up with their urban counterparts and not feel so behind the times. With electricity there was more freedom and less work for the housewife. Electric sweepers, washers, and electric lights helped ease the work load. Without having to rely on gas or coal for heating and lights these women found their houses stayed much cleaner, not having all the soot and dust associated with coal and gas.9 All that time they used before to keep their houses clean would soon be filled with another new technological development that would capture the hearts and imaginations of everyone in the nation, radio. By 1930 most Americans had radios in their homes. Radio impacted American society and helped to “shrink” the world. Previously people had to read the news in the newspapers. People could now listen to the radio for not only the latest news but also for entertainment. There was Amos and Andy, the wildly popular radio program. There were boxing matches, serial stories and baseball games. Along with broadcasting music and children’s programs radio started following politics.10 When Franklin D. Roosevelt came to the White House, he used the radio airwaves to talk to the American public with what were called “Fireside Chats.” These chats were wildly popular and as he explained the state of the nation, which was in the grip of the depression. Americans grew to love Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) and re-elected him an unprecedented four times.11 FDR used radio to tell Americans of his New Deal programs and the people listened. The New Deal that the president presented was that Americans did not want a hand-out, they wanted a job, and he was determined to find a way to give the people what they wanted. The alphabet soup that FDR created encapsulated everything from Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) to the Works Project Administration (WPA). The AAA was a program aimed at helping American farmers obtain decent prices for their crops. All they had to do was not produce as much and they would receive a subsidy from the government.12 There was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which put only young men to work planting trees, the Public Works Administration (PWA) to construct bridges, roads, tunnels and dams. The WPA alone employed up to a third of the people who were unemployed. These government jobs gave people back their lives.13 I think we can learn that it may not be wise to only live for the present day without any planning for tomorrow. The generation that spawned the flapper and the Model T also spawned what is called the Greatest Generation and these two generations shaped more of the America that we know today than any other. The Greatest Generation taught us to think things through and to plan for the future. My grandparent taught me to save my money and work hard for the things that I want. A favorite saying in my house growing up was to “have something to fall back on” if need be. This applied to a savings account, a career choice or just having a plan. The generation that survived the Great Depression and World War Two had lived through the worst life could give and the best, they knew what they were talking about.

Bibliography

Kyvig, David E. Daily Life in the United States, 1920-1940. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2002.