Imagine what it would be like to have a family full of brothers and sisters.  Babies wrapped in blankets, no clothes underneath, their families couldn't afford them.  Imagine all your other siblings in ragged hand-me-downs, and old scraps you found on the street.  You're all so depressed, because Dad lost his job.  You have to wait in line, all of you, every morning, really early, babies are still asleep, all for a microscopic crumb or crust of bread.  This was the 1930's: The Great Depression was bearing down on all; the Hindenburg air ship burned;  Charles Lindbergh's baby was kidnapped and later found dead. Follow us as we sail through the headlines of the New York Times and the articles.  Imagine, just imagine. 
 

 
Headline Events
     The 1930's was a time of depression, the Great Depression.  The Great Depression lasted from the late 1920's all through the 30's. During this period, many people were unemployed, and many families didn't have much food.  In this time, many other events occurred in our world, some being the following.  One was known as the Dust Bowl.  During the year of 1930 most farmers would get quite an amount of rain, and healthy crops. But, once the year changed so did the weather. The mud dried up and turned into dust, and that was the start of The Dust Bowl. Although the dust was bad there still was some good to come out of this period; the farmers heard that in California there was gold, so most of the farmers tried to go  there. The Dust Bowl lasted until 1936. 

      In 1931  the "Star Spangled Banner" became our national anthem.  Another main event  that happened in 1931 that was:  Believe it or not, scientists had begun experimenting with the idea of transmitting images over long distances.  In 1931, the television was in its infancy. At the time, people didn't realize that in 50 years televions would be the main toy and entertainment of the century.  Another big hit in the 1930's was for the whole family to gather around the radio.  It was their main way to hear the news, except for going into town, which was a place they didn't go every day. 
 

On May 1st 1931, the world's tallest building, the Empire State Building, was opened by President Hoover in New York.  It was and still is 380 meters high and 102 stories with a solid steel frame.  To this day it still stands, used and improved.       Daily life in the thirties was hard and stressful. What if you came home and your wife yelled at you because you had no job or your husband threw a fit because there was no bread? This was how most people were in the thirties, miserable. The lines for bread were long and they lasted long too. The jobs were very hard to get especially in 1933. Imagine if you had to live in the thirties.

     In 1932 President Roosevelt was elected, and again re-elected in 1936.  Roosevelt built our country's economy and is known to be one of many people's favorite president. 

     In 1937 the German Hindenburg air ship burned to the ground in less than two minutes by a spark the size of an ant, leaving 33 people killed, 12 people injured, and only 64 people got away not badly hurt. 

     The development of new types of fibers in the early 30's was finally bearing fruit. In 1937 the Du Pont company in the USA was able to make nylon stockings for the first time, although they were not yet available in stores to the general public. 

     The major painting of 1937 was titled "Guernica" by Pablo Picasso.  It was nearly 8 meters long.  This painting reveals a bombing, while a soldier lays dead on the floor and a women is screaming wildly. 

     The famous American women pilot, Amelia Earhart, disappeared on a flight around the world in July of 1938. She was two thirds of the way around when her plane was believed to crash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. 

Fashion

    The fashion of the 1930's was very different than the fashion today.  Hats for both men and women were popular for both day and evening wear. Dresses were often cut of the bias to allow a smoother drape of the fabric. Women wore long halter topped dresses, lace frocks, negligees, and corsets. Men wore suits with a matching top hat and over coats.  

Entertainment

During the 1930's their were many choices for entertainment,  whether it was Snow White or some super hero. Most children liked to listen to the radio with "Little Orphan Annie", the brave detective child with a wild imagination, and Sandy, her pet dog, while trying to solve the mystery. All the fans of Annie's would buy pins, books, watches, and other top secret detective things. 

The adults liked the movie, Gone With the Wind, a Civil War romance story, with "The  King of Hollywood," Clark Gable! Also there was Shirley Temple,  known for her blonde ringlets and her ability to sing and tap dance Shirley Temple became a favorite celebrity in 1934 when she first stared in the following: Now and Forever, Little Miss Marker, and Bright Eyes. By the end of the year she  received an Academy Award, and was declared a  favorite for the whole family!  By the end of the decade, one of the first color motion pictures was released. The Wizard of Oz made it's screen debut in 1939.

Wars and Military Conflicts

    Adolph Hitler had been persecuting the Jews for almost 15 years. This time was very scary, and a time that the Jews and some other minorities had to stay tucked away.  This time was miserable, for everyone!  Anne Frank and many of  the other Jews were forced to endure Hitler's Concentration Camps.  After they were in the Concentration Camps the Nazis tattooed numbers on the people's arms.  They were no longer known by their name, but by their numbers.  They were worked very hard and got little food.  More than half of the people turned ill, died, or were killed by the Nazis in the Concentration Camps. 

Science And Medicine

There have been many advances in science and medicine since the 30's.  Pluto was discovered in  1930.  And is now the smallest planet in this galaxy.  In 1931 there was the  first clinical use of Penicillin.  In 1937 there was insulin used to control diabetes.  This quote was spoken by Albert Einstein in 1930: 

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."

     So, now can you imagine what it would be like to live in the 1930's?  Sometimes stressful, sometimes worrying, sometimes miserable, But always full of hope for a better time. 
 
 
 
 
 

Bibliography

Adams, Simon. Visual Timeline of The 20th Century. Dorling Kindersley Limited London,1996 

Freeman, Charles, Portrait of A Decade , Batsford LTD London 1990 

Hard Times 1930-1940 , Time Life books, Alexandra, Virginia 
1991

Hills, Ken. Take Ten Years. Raintree Steck-Vaughn Co. 1992 

Our Glorious Century, Readers Digest,  1994