... the period. Much of the attitude of the day was concern over the moral consequences of the new patterns of consumption (Kubik, 1996). Kubik (1996, PG) observes: "The notion that thrift lay at the very heart of economic prosperity dominated public discourse during the interwar years. "Saving and foresight," a widely used Principles text instructed, were simply "indispensable in the capitalistic era ... which we live and work" [Ely et al. 1930, 137]. Accepted as the source of both individual and national economic well-being, saving received widespread moral sanction. The notion that thrif...

• Word Count: 2281
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography

... the President do not share Mrs. Thompson's gratitude. Michael Cornwall, from Garfield, New Jersey, wrote, "The needy must be fed. But, I do not think that the saver and the thrift should suffer, because of the errors of others who squandered their money."10 Anxiety over the redistribution of wealth was a common fear in the response letters to "On ... ...

• Word Count: 1305
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography

... Steinbeck lived through other tragedies too. He lived through the Hindenburg helium ship exploding and erupting in flames, and he lived through the horrific San Francisco earthquake (Hinds 66). Steinbeck lived in the time in which the German Nazi party gained huge popularity in parliament and Hitler was extremely ... he had a popular style of literature (Green). Steinbeck wrote three clear "classics" during his lifetime. Of Mice and Men is one. The book is about two laborers during the depression who have a dream of saving money to start up a rabbit farm. He tells the story of their liv...

• Word Count: 1462
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... of Dusseldorf. During summers he worked as a hired hand on nearby ranches, "nourishing" his impression of the California countryside and its people (Lisca 32). He made occasional exciting trips to San Francisco with his family and more frequent trips to the Monterey peninsula (Fontenrose 2). In 1918, he became ill with pneumonia and almost died, but he was able to recover. After ... returned to California in 1926 (Fontenrose 3). For the next three years, periods of temporary employment alternated with periods devoted entirely to writing; and he moved from place to place, to San Francisc...

• Word Count: 2015
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... booming business profits which in turn raised the standard of living for most Americans. Large businesses were expanding. In 1920, for example, Woolworth had 1,111 stores. In 1929 they expanded to 1,825. J.C. Penney expanded from 312 stores to 1,395, (Time-Life 102). Small business entrepreneurs took advantage of the good times as they began popping up all over the United States. Americans ... the military force of the government. The rebellion failed and Hitler was imprisoned and sentenced to five years although he only served one. Hitler explained his political views in his book Mein ...

• Word Count: 2446
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... is the most rigid and unrealistic thought process that is part of our lives. The dream of most American's at this time period surrounding the book "Of Mice and Men" was only a large cesspool of dying hopes that were kept alive by wishes and aspirations even without success. They ... the United States, including 300,000 new agricultural workers--the people of John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath. These newcomers worked in the fields and stores for fifteen cents an hour while Hollywood made movies about their lot, Woody Guthrie sang songs about them, and union organizers tried hard to make ......

• Word Count: 1378
• Approx Pages: 6

... peak of the depression, the stock market was down three quarters (75%). People were losing a boatload of money, and people had rushed into banks like a bat out of hell. In downtown New York it was reported that a clerk from a hotel asked people for a room for sleeping, or for jumping. Since the people were smart and knew the way of life would ... ...

• Word Count: 1284
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... is a proud but lonely African-American who also works on the ranch. All of these stock characters are flat. This story was written in the 1930's, taking place south of San Francisco. It opens with the two traveling ranch hands, George and Lennie, on their way to a new job at a California ranch. It is while they are traveling that the reader ... want to do, you have to do what's best for you and those you love. A cultural reflection that is just as true now as when it was written in this book is the feeling that these ranch workers have working for the owner. They do not feel like they a...

• Word Count: 1252
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... act of independence of her life. She announced that she intended to travel the world, paying her way as a photographer. # Dorothea Lange started out as an independent portrait photographer in San Francisco. Bored with studio work, she turned her lens to the breadlines and waterfront strikes on the city's streets as the Great Depression took hold in the 1930s. Shocked by ... . Dorothea Lange's 1932 White Angel Breadline is one of the great photographs in this world. In the midst of the Depression, 14 million people were unemployed. Near Lange's studio in San Francisco was a breadline set ...

• Word Count: 1362
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... prosperity that they had experienced in the early 1920's as the United States fell into the worst depression in it's history. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, while campaigning for the presidency in San Francisco, gave a speech before the Commonwealth Club where he strongly stated, "The government should assume the function of economic regulation only as a last resort, to be tried only when private ... , leaving many people's portfolios empty and many others jobless. The difference between today and the 1929 stock market crash was simply what Roosevelt told the people in his speech at San Fran...

• Word Count: 1726
• Approx Pages: 7

... to find a new life during this difficult era. The entire nation was in ruins and felt the impact. This novel was inspired by a series of articles he wrote for the San Francisco News. The 30's was a period of Depression. The stock market crash destroyed the economy, affecting all Americans. Many businesses were forced to shut down and banks closed down with ... because of an incident that caused them to get fired at their last job. He often kills mice from not realizing that he is petting them too hard. In the book he kills a puppy given to him. One day while sitting in the barn, Curley'...

• Word Count: 1667
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... Great Depression had the highest, worst and longest period of high unemployment ever recorded to date. During an economic depression, all labored institution reduced its labor force to the minimum, stores close, and small businesses and farms fall into ruin. The United States has experienced short periods of depression followed by periods of prosperity, but the Great depression of the 1930 ... money in the stock market or through bank failures could not pay their workers and were forced to dismiss them. The laid off workers could not afford to shop in stores, so store owners ordered few...

• Word Count: 1704
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... in New York City and actually took a class taught by Clarence White, another famous photographer. After being an apprentice for several studios in New York City, she moved out to San Francisco in 1918 and started her own successful portrait studio. There she met her first husband, famous painter Maynard Dixon and had two sons named Daniel and John. When the ... ...

• Word Count: 1422
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... were negatively affected as individuals had to sell their homes (Luhby, 2012). There was a decrease in the demand for homebuilders, along with a decreased need for real estate and home supply stores. People could not afford their homes, let alone the luxury items that generally accompanied them. The housing bubbles are believed to occur periodically however; there are ways that this particular ... ...

• Word Count: 1363
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... belt were forced to buy overpriced products from their employers. The laborer states that the company he works for "sells from 50 percent to 60 percent higher than the stores in town" (In Foner ["Letter to Secretary" 159]). Along with that, the wages were even lower than that of China's wages, as they run from "90 cents ... ...

• Word Count: 1533
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... buying American products because of the high tariffs imposed by the US government to keep foreign products out of our markets. As a result of all these factors, jobs were lost, stores closed, more banks went under, and more factories closed. The Great Depression had begun....

• Word Count: 1658
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... first three years after the stock market crash. (Turner) When all of these workers lost their jobs, they could hardly afford to buy food or clothing, therefore, many of the stores were not making enough money to survive either. This caused more people to be fired and more businesses to shut down. It was a continuous cycle that caused the economy to ... ...

• Word Count: 2049
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the Works Progress Administration (WPA). At first, WPA was ridiculed, but soon developed a good reputation by helping rebuild the country. Some of these things include: a zoo in Washington D.C., fairgrounds in San Francisco, Boulder Dam in Colorado, Lincoln Tunnel in New York, 250,000 miles of street repairs, and 150,000 sanitary outhouses. In times of emergency they were called into action ... ...

• Word Count: 1587
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... how the money was being spent by business. People openly broke the law, judges were and police became corrupt because they took bribes from people. Other changes were many chain stores grew, women began wearing short dresses and smoking cigarettes in public, sports became popular and people enjoyed silly entertainment. In the late 1920's problems began to show. American companies were ... ...

• Word Count: 1618
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... sent to a hospital in Paris, France. He was sent home from Europe after twenty months due to the shrapnel and mental depression. He was sent to an army hospital in San Antonio to recover. My grandma and two uncles lived there while my grandpa was recovering. My grandpa's two brothers, Benny and Buford, were also in the war. Benny was a pilot ... ...

• Word Count: 1260
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... were deposited. By the end of the week about half the nations banks were back in business, prices were rising on reopened stock exchanges and cash customers were returning to stores" (136 Edsforth). After successfully succeeding with the banking bill, Franklin Roosevelt proceeded to pass more bills. On March 22, he signed the beer bill. This bill legalized the selling of ... ...

• Word Count: 1612
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... our simple request of having a racial equality clause included in the League of Nations Covenant. In 1905, California passed anti-Japanese legislation. In the following year, the school board in San Francisco even ordered Japanese and other Asian children to attend segregated schools. In 1924, America passed the Japanese Exclusion Act to shut off Japanese immigration into the US. With this ... ...

• Word Count: 2040
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... John's farm. Steinbeck describes how the dust bowl developed and pushed the farmers out of the western plains states in the first few chapters of the book. The Joad family decided to move to California because of an advertisement Ma Joad received advertising jobs picking crops. Before the dust bowl, the roles of ... looking forward to being away from prison and enjoying his life and it turns out so badly. Grandpa Joad was the "law- in the beginning of the book. That power passed over Pa Joad when Grandpa died. It seemed that adversity does not always make a person stronger. The power pas...

• Word Count: 1294
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... empathy for Lennie but if drawn between two emotions towards George. These conflictions create intrigue and keep the reader pondering the ---------- of the book. This particular parable allows the audience to make personal connections, combined with the drawn empathy keeps the prospect of the theme strong in their ... Steinbeck molds the readers" perception, showing them not everyone, especially in times of old, comprehends people's differences. The last sentence of the book deals directly with this aspect. It leaves the reader in deep thought about the differences in peoples culturing ...

• Word Count: 1311
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... 1930's (John)" Steinbeck worked on many different projects before he finally had his first book, cup of Gold (Parini 43). Steinbeck had Cup of Gold published in 1929, but the book did not get a good review (John 1). Steinbeck thought he approached the book with the wrong view. Steinbecks next book, To a God unknown, had a laid back, dream world view to it (Parini 145). "To ... he won many awards. Steinbecks first award he won was the California common wealth clubs gold medal for best novel by a California author (John 1). Steinbeck won this award with the book Tortilla flat. Steinbeck b...

• Word Count: 1765
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School