Zusammenfassung der Ressource
America in the 1930's
- Economy
- Economy was booming...
- 1920's was a boom time for many, low inflation,
low unemployment and low interest rates
- People had a high standard of living
- Cities were rebuilt with skyscrapers and
major road programmes
- Consumer boom, more people
could now afford items
- Went bust in 1929...
- High level of unemployment,
homelessness and poverty
- Led to a massive economic
depression in 1930
- Increasing machinery driving
farmers off the land
- Drought and over farming
reducing fertile land
- Land owners becoming bankrupt, banks
themselves were collapsing
- Travelling Farm Worker
- After stock crash, many farmers couldn't keep
their jobs and so workers lost their jobs too
- In some parts, drought and over-farming had made
the land unable of growing crops (dust bowl)
- Travelling farm workers moved from farm to farm for work
- In return for their work they got a bed,
food and a small wage
- George and Lennie are examples
of travelling farm workers
- Took temporary jobs wherever they could find them and moved on when they were finished
- Often travelled alone
- Hollywood was on the rise in 1920s and 1930
- Film became the biggest form of mass entertainment
- Film stars began to become more well known
- Many ordinary people dreamed of becoming famous
and living a star's glamorous lifestyle
- Curley's Wife
- Racist
- Crook's was treated badly but his experience
was probably typical of black men
- Racist language was very common
- Segregation
- Black people had to use lower quality
public spaces and services
- Horrific racist violence