Social Affects and Culture

Women provided 11.7% of the workforce in 1930 Women begin to have more influence during the

Great Depression◦ Eleanor Roosevelt helps drive this

Frances Perkins becomes Secretary of Labor◦ First Female Cabinet Member

The vast majority of women generally disagreed with women in the workplace◦ 82% thought a wife shouldn’t work if the husband does

Women make up 15.6% of the workforce in 1940◦ They will become an even larger percentage in a just a

short time

Women and the Depression

Eleanor Roosevelt

Frances Perkins

The Civil Rights Movement really gets going during the depression

A. Phillip Randolph starts the first all-black trade union Mary McLeod Bethune worked for/with young African-

Americans◦ Job Training◦ Educational Opportunities

Over 100 African-Americans were appointed to the government positions

Eleanor Roosevelt played a key role in rights/opportunities for minorities

FDR was not fully committed to civil rights◦ No anti-lynching law◦ No abolition of the poll tax◦ Some programs did not provide jobs for African-Americans

African-Americans and the Depression

A. Phillip Randolph

Mary McLeod Bethune

Mexican-Americans immigrated to the southwest looking for work◦ Generally, what kind of work did they receive?

They struggled to gain workers rights America’s policy towards Native Americans

moved from assimilation to autonomy◦ Big change in government policy

They were given some key rights◦ Economic – they owned their own lands◦ Cultural – children could go to school on the reservations◦ Political – they had councils to govern their own

territories

Mexican-Americans and Native Americans During the Depression

Mexican-American Farmers

Mexican-American Farmers

John Collier

Created by FDR and supported the Democratic Party◦ Southern whites, labor unions, urban groups

Labor unions grew immensely ◦ 3 million to 10 million

Unions had typically been skilled labor◦ CIO is established to support unskilled or semi-skilled

workers (auto industry, steel workers) Labor strikes were common

◦ Some were violent◦ Memorial Day Massacre in Chicago in 1937

10 unarmed strikers are shot and killed FDR is reelected in 1936

The New Deal Coalition

Memorial Day Massacre - 1937

Memorial Day Massacre - 1937

Memorial Day Massacre - 1937

People sought an escape from the harsh realities of the Depression◦ Over 65% of people went to the movies once a week◦ Over 90% of households owned a radio

Some films depicted life during the depression while others avoided the topic

Gone With the Wind is the classic example of Great Depression Cinema

Radio was widely varied in topic◦ Dramas such as “The War of the Worlds” captivated

listeners◦ “Soap operas” get their start on the radio

Movies and Radio

Adapted from a novel

Tells the story of the Civil War and Reconstruction

Highest grossing movie of all time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ5ICXMC4xY

Gone With the Wind - 1939

Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, Gummo

Allowed an escape from the everyday and laughter

Duck Soup and Monkey Business

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKTT-sy0aLg

Marx Brothers

The Wizard of Oz - 1939

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 1937

Written by H.G. Wells in 1898

Read and adapted for the radio by Orson Welles

Captivated the American public

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egudvdwtDIg

War of the Worlds - 1938

Art tended to be more serious in nature Was a social commentary on the tough and

democratic nature of Americans Painters and artists were out of work too

◦ The Federal Art Project sought to give them work through murals, education, and other projects

The Federal Writer’s Project helped to fund some of the great literature of the time◦ John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath (1939)

They tried to praise the virtues of America while illustrating the difficulties and hard times

Art and Literature of the Depression

Industries of California – Ralph Stackpole

American Gothic – Grant Wood

WPA (FAP) Posters

WPA (FAP) Murals