1930's Reading

1. President Hoover's response made the issue not seem as serious as it really was, saying it would be over in 60 days. People blamed themselves when things began going wrong because the attitude of the 1920's was success, and now a decade later they were in a time of failure. Men blamed themselves because they were not able to provide for their families. This response was invalid because there was very little that the people could do to fix the problem, so they should not have blamed themselves. PBS
2. I would have terrified, thinking that I would be smothered to death, or separated from my family in the dust. I would be wondering how we would ever repair damages after the storm, or how my family could ever mentally recover from being beaten by the dust. PBS
3. The east and the west were affected by the drought. The plains being plowed by the settlers, the high demand for what during WWI exhausted the topsoil, and the overgrazing from the cattle and sheep herds caused this. I someWhat agree with the authors perspective, but I also think he is being too analytical about the situation. I do think that maybe this event was sent from God as a way to wipe away all of the bad, so that the Americans could somewhat "start over" again. PBS
4. The migration of people out of the Dust Bowl was the largest migration in American history. Life was hard for them when they got to California because most of the farms were corporate owned. They had to take up the work of the Mexican migrant workers, getting paid by the amount of fruit and cotton they picked. They got about .75c - $1.25, but had to pay .25c a day to rent a tar-paper shack and buy groceries at high-priced stores. PBS

Speech Feedback

1. I felt the speeches went well because I felt we all better understood the topics of the chapter by presenting it in this way.
2. Ward- because he was able to not be monotone throughout the entire speech, and was able to look up and interact with the audience. He also spoke very loudly also.
3. I learned that public speaking is harder than it looks. I learned that I need to practice my speech several times so I can be as fluent as possible.

1930's Radio Entertainment

During the 1930's, some of the main forms of entertainment on the radio were live musical performances, dramas, comedy acts, or even baseball games. Two of the biggest comedians that became famous through the radio programs were Jack Benny and Fred Allen. The most interesting entertainment program that was on the radio was the dramas. One of the most popular dramas of the time was "Our Gal Sunday". There were different dramas that would be played during the day, and different ones at night. A certain day of the week, listeners could tune in to the station and hear the next segment of the story. These stories were so intriguing to people because the characters and situations were easy to relate to and love. Through these dramas, they often gave people a hint of old American family values and morals to live by.

Family sitting around the radio listening in.

American Radioworks
PBS
Living History Farm

Chapter 24 Speech

The increasingly urban and consumer-oriented culture, and the development of the automobile created a well-developed youth culture that now valued education, and expanded the geographical horizons for millions of people. This changing world led to new social patterns, hobbies, interests and activities. The incoming world struck fear for many Americans trying to hold on to past values and culture. This fear led to extreme anti-movements against the impending future. These anti-movements included the National Origins Act of 1924 to ban immigration from east Asia, and the Klan’s focus shifting to purging American life from immigrants.

These positive cultural expansions caused by the automobile and the consumer-oriented atmosphere created new ways of life for all classes of people, especially youth. The automobile now allowed working and middle-class families to go on vacation, instead of just upper-class, because it made traveling more affordable. It also made it easier for people who lived out in the county to drive into town, or for the people in the city to escape the bustle and take a drive out in the countryside. The automobile led to the development of suburbs because of the new luxury to be able to drive into town every day, but not have to live in the constant congestion of the city. Another development that resulted from the automobile was the new youth culture. The automobile provided a way to escape their parents and develop social skills all of their own. These changes in social skills of youth also led to an increase in high-school and college attendances. Teenagers now had a desire to go to school, which helped them make an identity unique to their time. Adults during this time period became fearsome of the changing social patterns, interests, and hobbies of the new youth cultures, because these ideas were completely foreign to them when they were growing up.

Some of the fears and intimidations of our changing culture from the older generations led to radical movements against the incoming future. The Ku Klux Klan’s primary focus was on blacks, but now their targets had shifted to immigrants, Catholics, and Jews. The Klan’s shift in focus led to an increase of membership, not only in the south, but all across the north and the west. In 1924, the National Origins Act was passed banning immigration from east Asia. Since immigration from China was already illegal, this mainly targeted the Japanese. These radical movements were an attempt by the older generation to keep the United States the way it was in the past. Essentially, they were just intimidated by change, and felt that everyone should believe the same old principles that they did.

The automobile and the increasingly urban and consumer-oriented culture, developed a new youth culture that valued education, and expanded the geographical horizons of Americans. These new, positive cultural changes led to extreme movements against the future. All of these changes, both good and bad, are so important because they most dramatically shaped the culture we live in today.

Review of Hunter McEwen's Mini-Book

Hunter McEwen's newest masterpiece, Joining The Klan, tells the heart wrenching story of a man named Bill living in southern Georgia. Bill decides he wants to stop immigrants from "invading his home", so he becomes a member of the Klan. This short story shows the change in focus from the old Klan (being focused mainly on blacks) to the new motives of the Klan (being focused mostly now on immigrants, Jews, and Catholics). Bill hears a story about a Jewish man who raped and killed a young woman, and just wants to protect his country and his people. Truly heart wrenching.

Review of Ben Justice's Mini-Book

Ben Justice's book, Religious Fundamentalism, tells the short story about a man named John who is on his way to the scopes trial in the 1920's. This compelling story uses accurate representations of the slang used during that era. The preface provides background facts that set up the stage for the story. This book may be difficult for some young kids to comprehend, but is overall a compelling-must read.

My Mini-book

This is a mini-book that I made about an engaged woman in the 1920's who is about to entire the working world. The book includes 13 slang words from the 1920's. She becomes bored of sitting at home, so she goes and gets a job as a sales clerk at Macy's. She takes up the new style and becomes a "flapper".