For the most part, banks were unregulated and uninsured. The government offered no insurance or compensation for the unemployed, so when people stopped earning, they stopped spending. The consumer economy ground to a halt, and an ordinary recession became the Great Depression, the defining event of the 1930s.
In this post
What was everyday life like in the 1930s?
Often, people chose to spend time at home. Neighbors got together to play cards, and board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly—both introduced during the 1930s—became popular. The radio also provided a free form of entertainment. By the early 1930s, many middle class families owned a home radio.
How did society change in the 1930s?
After the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, started the Great Depression of the 1930s, Americans cut back their spending on clothes, household items, and cars. Instead of seasonal changes of wardrobe, consumers bought clothes that could be worn for years.
The Great Depression brought a rapid rise in the crime rate as many unemployed workers resorted to petty theft to put food on the table. Suicide rates rose, as did reported cases of malnutrition. Prostitution was on the rise as desperate women sought ways to pay the bills.
What kind of jobs did people have in the 1930s?
The most common jobs for them before the depression were domestic servants, teachers, nurses, and doctors. Men at the time had different job oprotunities. but very little jobs were availible. They worked as labourors, farmers, militaary jobs, firemen, police, and government jobs.
What was family life like in the 1930s?
Having Fun – Family Life during the Great Depression. When they weren’t working, families found time to have fun, with neighbors, friends, relatives and each other. With little money to spend on entertainment, families enjoyed new board games such as “Monopoly” and “Scrabble” which were first sold during the 1930s.
What are the 1930s known for?
The decade was defined by a global economic and political crisis that culminated in the Second World War. It saw the collapse of the international financial system, beginning with the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the largest stock market crash in American history.
What was the 1930s era called?
The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors.
How was the economy in the 1930s?
How did the Great Depression affect the American economy? In the United States, where the Depression was generally worst, industrial production between 1929 and 1933 fell by nearly 47 percent, gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 30 percent, and unemployment reached more than 20 percent.
What major events happened in the 1930s?
- Great Depression. USSR Collectivizes Agriculture.
- Empire State Building. The Star-Spangled Banner Named U.S. National Anthem.
- Franklin Roosevelt Elected President. World War I Veterans Bonus March on Washington.
- New Deal Begins. Prohibition Repealed.
- Dust Bowl.
- Germany Enacts Nuremberg Laws.
- Hoover Dam.
- Hindenberg Explosion.
What was happening in the 1930s?
1930 Major News Stories including first year of the great depression, Prohibition Enforcement is Strengthened, Graf Zeppelin Airship Completes Flight From Germany to Brazil, Mahatma Gandhi begins 200 mile march to the salt beds of Jalalpur to protest British Rule, 1350 banks in the US fail, Smoot-Hawley Tariff bill
How did life change during the Great Depression?
As stocks continued to fall during the early 1930s, businesses failed, and unemployment rose dramatically. By 1932, one of every four workers was unemployed. Banks failed and life savings were lost, leaving many Americans destitute. With no job and no savings, thousands of Americans lost their homes.
How did families survive the Great Depression?
To save money, families neglected medical and dental care. Many families sought to cope by planting gardens, canning food, buying used bread, and using cardboard and cotton for shoe soles. Despite a steep decline in food prices, many families did without milk or meat.
How much did the average person make in 1930?
The average income was $1,368, and the average unemployment rate in the 1930s was 18.26 percent, up from the average of 5.2 percent in the 1920s.
What were women’s rights in the 1930s?
Women had the vote, education and divorce reforms and at least the right to be lawyers and MPs. Skirts got shorter and so did hair. Women smoked cigarettes, danced the jitterbug and – those who could afford it – drove motor cars.
What did adults do for fun in the 1930s?
Many who could not afford books or periodicals spent time reading in libraries. Inexpensive amusements included backyard games, puzzles, card games, and board games such as Monopoly, which was introduced in 1935. Even the national pastime, baseball, changed profoundly during the Great Depression.
What was school like in 1930s?
Children sat in rows at wooden desks and the class teacher wrote on a blackboard using chalk. Children left school at 14 to go to work. There was no school uniform and children wore hand-knitted sweaters. At break time, children played skipping and games with wooden hoops.
How did popular culture change during the 1930s?
When the effects of the Great Depression started to impact lives, number of audiences in theatres appeared less frequently. With new music genres in the 1930’s, new dance forms and styles were created. This was also a big change in American culture because it broke the traditional forms of dances and music.
What was happening politically in the 1930s?
The major international political issue late in the decade was the start of war in Europe. In 1937 there was widespread support for “isolationism” in the United States. An opinion poll found that 64 percent of Americans favored staying out of the growing conflict in Europe.
What was the culture like during the Great Depression?
The emergence of cinema, the film industry and the new form of art, music and literature became the vehicles of presenting and spreading the new American traditions and values. Hopelessness associated with many vices swept American society when the Great Depression reached its height.
Who got rich off the Great Depression?
Business titans such as William Boeing and Walter Chrysler actually grew their fortunes during the Great Depression.