The Roaring 20's: The Age of Flappers

The Roaring Twenties: a time period widely known for it’s extravagant parties, jazz music, and of course flappers.  Flappers were women who pushed the envelope when it came to social norms for females at the time.  They quickly became an icon of the social scene of the 1920’s.  Wearing short and low cut dresses, they shocked the previously modest idea of what a woman should be wearing in public.  Adding to their reckless image, flappers were most often found in speakeasies, restaurants that illegally sold liquor (despite prohibition).   

Flappers were originally known as Gibson Girls, as they were created by graphic designer and photographer, Charles Dana Gibson.  Minnie Clark was the first model that Gibson used to portray his idea of the new and modern woman.  Together they created and developed the idea of a progressive woman who freely expressed herself through her lifestyle and fashion choices.  Although some were skeptical, support and enthusiasm grew for this exciting new image that would swiftly evolve into the flapper.

In a time of much change, women were seeking equality to men not only politically, but also socially.  On August 26, 1920, women officially won the right to vote.  This huge step in the women’s rights movement sparked a surge in women’s desire for equality in other aspects of life as well.  This included being able to go out, smoke, drink, and socialize just as men did.  Additionally, the mass casualties of World War I meant that many soldiers never came home to their wives.  This would have further encouraged recently widowed ladies to explore a new lifestyle. And thus, the 1920’s became the era of flappers.

Recovery emphasized by the New Deal

Recovery was emphasized by the New Deal because of the Hundred Days Congress legislation, as well as many New Deal programs that were created after that. Most of the agencies created had the goal of recovery. Not only were these agencies made to help the public in specific areas, but they also supplied jobs for many people as officials had to be hired for all of the new organizations. 

Since one of the main goals of FDR's administration and the Hundred Day Congress was ending unemployment, many of the New Deal programs greatly assisted this goal by providing jobs not only in government agencies but in also other lines of work. One program that provided jobs for the common man was the WPA, or the Works Progress Administration. Its main goals were conservation and general public services. Workers employed by this administration fixed roads, railroads, and often did work concerning conservation. 8.5 million people were employed by this legislation, thus making it one of the strongest forces of recovery during and after the Great Depression.

Additionally, the New Deal helped the farmers recover from the economic hardship they faced in the mid 1920s and leading into the 1930s. Given the surpluses of food and livestock farmers had, their prices would be very low and they would often make very little money off their products. During this time, farmers would often dump food to diminish their supply so that their prices could be raised, even though people were starving in the city not being able to pay for the food once the prices were raised by the farmers. The AAA, Agricultural Adjustment Act, was legislation passed that was focused on reducing agricultural production. The government would pay farmers to not plant on certain plots of land, kill off livestock, and even bought cows from farmers and gave them cans of meat in return to feed themselves. This recovery greatly helped the field of agriculture attempt to rebalance its economy which would help the overall economy in general.

Family During the Great Depression

While much of the discussion on the Great Depression focuses on a macro-level, often situated on the GDP of the United States and other countries, or the plight of the stock market and the banks that went down with it, any economic recession, especially the Great Depression also had a devastating effect on the individual level, namely families.

In 1933, the average family income had dropped 40% from 1929 levels. On the individual level, this drastically affected the dynamics of a family and their standard of living. In many households people, children specifically, suffered from malnutrition and inadequate clothing.

On a social level, the Great Depression had a profound effect of deconstructing the idea that the male patriarchal figure of the family was supposed to be the breadwinner and the primary provider of income. Because of the Great Depression and the utter lack of employment and income, this ideal familial vision was simply impossible. Increasingly, women, married women even, started to take jobs, mostly in the service or light manufacturing sectors. Labor unions even began to enlist working women in their activities, creating a more family-centered union culture.

Ultimately, the Great Depression, while definitely causing massive economic damage both on the macro and the micro level, also had a profound effect on the social dynamics of the family, acting as a small stepping stone for the inclusion of women in the workforce and in unions.

Source

A New Era of Liberalism: The New Deal

Liberalism is the political philosophy that stresses liberty and equality. These are concepts that can be traced back to the Enlightenment, or more relevantly, the United States Constitution, which guarantees liberal values such as life, liberty, and equality. For much of American history, this liberalism has manifested itself in the idea that governments should be as small as possible, interfere as little as possible, and maintain a policy of laissez-faire, free market.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, however, pushed in a new era of liberalism that undermined classical ideas of free market and small government policies. While President Hoover adhered to a policy of non-interference in response to the Great Depression, Roosevelt instead passed the New Deal, a series of social reforms to try and alleviate the ills of the Great Depression.

Most notably, in his 1944 State of the Union address, President Roosevelt outlined additional more freedoms that every American should have, even calling for a "Second Bill of Rights." This signals a radical shift towards a larger government, a new form of liberalism that seeks to actively guarantee a better standard of living for every individual.

Source:
https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/general/news/2012/04/26/11379/think-again-how-classical-liberalism-morphed-into-new-deal-liberalism/

Literature's significance during the Great Depression

During the Great Depression, people often read books as a way to relieve stress and hardships from the era. Not only did books serve as a source of entertainment, inspiration, and hope for people, but also they helped to explain and make aware to people, then and now, about the significant effects and life of people during the Great Depression.

One of the books written during the Great Depression was The Grapes of Wrath. Written by John Steinbeck, the book describes the journey of a poor family traveling to California from the Dust Bowl region in the hopes of seeking the opportunity of making it rich during the economically difficult times that characterize the Great Depression. In the book, the farmers see advertisements about how there will be the promised opportunity to get jobs working in fruit orchards in California, and as a result, they see this as their solution to improving their lives so they move. However, when the farmers arrive in California, they realize that their idea of what their new life would be is completely the opposite: starvation, hobo camps, little job offerings, and extremely low wages. This emphasizes how because of the Dust Bowl destroying the agriculture industry, this damaged the economy, which then negatively affected people's lives. Although the Great Depression led to a lot of issues in the country, people like farmers started to come together and support each other, and this pattern can be seen through Steinbeck's novel, where he shows the importance of people being able to work together as a way to cope with difficulties. In his book, the farmers come together to stand up for the unfair work policies that they face. For instance, although a trucker's employer did not allow the trucker to transport hitchhikers, the trucker decides to go against the rules, even though he fears of getting caught, because he just wanted to help out others who were also in need. During the actual Great Depression, farmers came together to try to stop their products from being sold at unfair prices, and this effort later became known as the Farm Holiday Association.

Overall, Steinbeck's and other various historical novels helped to reflect the lifestyles and the impact of a historical period, which as a result allowed people during the Depression and today to gain a better understanding of the events and their impacts that happened during the time.

sources used:
 http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/mypath.cfm?ounid=ob_000064
 https://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/immigration/mexican6.html
http://sits.sjsu.edu/curriculum-resources/the-grapes-of-wrath/plot-synopsis/

Attempting to Categorize the New Deal

     After watching the documentaries in class and reading additional resources, I have come to the conclusion that the "First New Deal" (1933-34) was focused more on relief while the "Second New Deal" (1935-37) was focused more on reform and recovery.

The First New Deal
      The First New Deal emphasized short-term relief over long-term solutions, but was not harmful in the long-term. This is characterized by acts such as the Unemployment Relief Act, passed in March of 1933. The Act put young men to work in conservation primarily. While this might seem like a long-term solution, it falls under the category of relief best as it was intended to quickly relieve the economy of unemployment and find a short-term job solution for these men. Another Relief act of the new deal was the famous Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). The practices of the AAA were clearly unsustainable in the long term. Farmers destroyed crops in order to keep overproduction at bay, with government compensation for not farming. This is clearly inefficient in the long term, but provides a short term solution to the problem of overproduction at the start of the depression.

     Another clearly relief based early New Deal program was the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA), passed in May of 1933. The act relieved some unemployment by opening up jobs in local government by granting grants to the state governments. The temporary nature of many of these early New Deal programs was seen in the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. The subsequently founded NRA urged temporary measures to alleviate the depression (i.e. minimum wage, child labor regulations, etc.). While not all New Deal programs during its first few years were focused on relief, the vast majority were, and set a clear trend which would continue evolving int he "Second New Deal".

The Second New Deal
     The Second New Deal, characterized as beginning in 1935, tended to be more recovery and reform focused than its predecessor in the earlier years of FDR's presidency. Perhaps one of the biggest aspects of the new deal was the Social Security Act. This act was in no way a relief act. It took money out of circulation for future saving, and did not necessarily help the unemployed find jobs. However, it was a monumental reform act. The SSA established a governmental responsibility for worker pensions and compensation in the case of an accident or retirement. The act signified the expanding role of the federal (and in this case also the state) governments in regulating the new American economy. Another important act, the National Labor Relations Act (AKA the Wagner Act), accomplished many of the goals of the early 20th century progressives, and allowed workers to organize and protected some of their rights against extortion by their employers.

     Again however, the Second New Deal did have some relief elements. The Emergency Relief Appropriations Act of 1935 was similar to the Unemployment Relief Act passed in 1933, and provided temporary jobs for many Americans (although these were arguably more long-term). This act can also be considered to have some recovery elements through its establishment of public works projects which would reap long-term benefits.

While the New Deal cannot be characterized perfectly into one of the three categories (Relief, Reform, Recovery), we can make an attempt to understand the motivations for each of the acts passed as a part of it. In the end, the New Deal provided a mix of short-term and long-term solutions in appropriate timing, which worked to lift America out of the great depression to some extent.

Sources:
New Deal handout on classroom
Documentaries watched in class
http://content.lib.washington.edu/feraweb/essay.html
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=67
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fdr-signs-emergency-relief-appropriation-act
   

what is the WPA?

In 1933 president, Franklin D. Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) . The WPA was an executive decision signed by Roosevelt during the Great Depression in hopes that it would help relief the life of many Americans.  

Although there were many reforms that were passed during the Great Depression to help Americans, the WPA became one of the most well known reforms. The WPA provided jobless Americans with a paid job in order to help with starvation as well as help people slowly get back on their feet. Before the WPA was created there were about 10 million Americans that were jobless and in need. However,  two years after the WPA was created only 7 million American's remained jobless. 

Of course, there was a price to be paid by Americans for this tremendous financial help from the WPA. In return for receiving finical help people that worked for the WPA would build schools, hospitals, highways, airports, and playgrounds. They would also help  entertainment such as plays and art, rise again in American culture by restoring theaters, finding actors, and writers.

The WPA played a huge role in helping the economy go back to normal. Perhaps without the executive acts of President Roosevelt such as the WPA, the economy may not have gotten better by the 1940s. Although,  the WPA helped bring America back to where it was, it was suspended by congress in 1943.

Sources: History.com