American History of the 1930's

Running a background check on the 1930s in America is a sad thing. The Great Depression left many without jobs and around 25% of the entire country was unemployed. Considering that the country had nearly 123 million people, that was a significant amount of people without jobs. The average salary dropped as well, with some earning as little as $20 a month and others earning around $40 a month. Food prices were fairly low, but most couldn’t afford even the basics. A dozen eggs cost 18 cents, soap was 6 cents and a loaf of bread was just 8 cents. The following resources cover even more topics relating to America in the 1930s.

Art & Architecture

• Art and Entertainment in the 1930s and 1940s : focuses on art created after the Great Depression.
• Art in the 1930s : offers information on modern art from this era.
• American Art of the 1930s and 1940s : focuses on the European influence found in early American art.
• Mumford on Modern Art in the 1930s : book that discusses the themes in early modern art.
• New Deal Cultural Programs : discusses the art programs as part of the New Deal.
• New Deal Art During the Great Depression : provides insight into the artists working as part of the New Deal program.
• History of the New Deal Art Projects : describes the different types of projects created in the program.
• 1930s on Display : offers examples of 1930s artwork.

Books & Literature

• 1930s Bestsellers : lists the top selling books for each year.
• Newberry Books 1930s : discusses the Newberry Award winning books from each year in the 1930s.
• Popular Books : focuses on the books that were popular with readers during this era.
• Exoticism in the Literature of the 1930s : looks at this theme used in early books.
• 1930’s Literature : provides details on books from this time period.
• The 1930s : discusses common themes used by authors.
• Literature of the 1930s : focuses on popular authors as well as other topics like comic books.
• Dr. Seuss : provides details on Dr. Seuss and the books published in the 1930s.
• Newberry Winners from the 1930s : offers details on all of these award winners.

Fashion and Fads

• 1930s Fashion History : provides resources on understanding fashion history.
• 1930-1945 in Fashion : looks at both men’s and women’s clothing and fads.
• Men’s Fashions of the 1930s : looks at popular clothing worn by men.
• Fads of the 1930’s : focuses on popular trends and fads from this decade.
• Fads of the 20s-40s : offers different fads that swept the nation after the Great Depression.
• Fads and Fashions of the 1930s : gives pictures and information about popular fashions and fads.
• The History of Fashion and Dress : focuses on women’s clothing.
• The Costumer’s Manifesto : offers drawings and photographs of common clothing.
• 20th Century Fashions : focuses on popular female fashions from the 1930s.
• Fashion in the 1930s : details the popular fashions from the era for both women and men.

People & Personalities

• Marlene Dietrich : one of the most popular actresses working in the 1930s.
• Gary Cooper : information on the popular actor.
• FDR : biography of the revered 1930s president.
• George & Ira Gershwin : focuses on the popular composer.
• Duke Ellington : a popular musician from this era.
• Top 10 Actors 1930 : lists the most popular actors working during the decade.
• Superstars of the 1930s : gives information on popular actors, musicians and artists from the 1930s.
• Paul Robeson : details the actor’s life.
• Carl Sandurg : popular poet who started in the 1930s.
• The Noel Coward Society : devoted to providing information about the popular 1930s personality.

Events

• World Events of the 1930s : lists a number of events that occurred in the United States.
• America in the 1930s : provides different events that influenced people in the country.
• The People History : compares modern day prices with prices from the 1930s.
• Important Events in the 1930s : discusses major events such as the Great Depression.
• Empire State Building : offers a look at the construction and opening of the building.
• Amelia Earhart : provides information on her flights during the 1930s.
• Great Depression and the New Deal : focuses on how the US struggled to escape the Great Depression.
• Lindbergh Kidnapping : covers the hottest topic at the time.

Music

• American Popular Music in the 1930s : covers the different artists and their popular songs.
• Music in the United States in the 1930s : focuses on folk music and the artists working in that genre.
• Some Music from the 1930s : gives lyrics to popular songs.
• 1930 in Music : lists the major events from 1930 in the music industry.
• The Evolution of Jazz Music in the 1930s : focuses on how jazz music changed during this era.
• Music During the 1920s-1930s : shows how music changed and evolved.
• The Swing Era : discusses how swing music grew.
• Jazz & Blues : provides information on popular musicians working in blues and jazz music during the 1930s.
• A Brief History of Blues Music : looks at how blues music grew during the 1930s.

Education

• Art Education Timeline : shows how art history programs started during this era.
• Education in the 1930s : gives a brief history of school during the 1930s.
• Going to School : discusses the hardships of early schooling.
• Ideas and Realities : shows what school was actually like during this era.
• Maury County Tennessee School Records & History : provides a history of schools in this area prior to 1940.
• The Prosperous Twenties : gives a history of one school during the early years.
• Krannert School of Management : offers a timeline of the school from the 1930s.
• Cumberland County High School : provides a look at the history of one high school in this era.

Radio

• 1930s TV and Radio : focuses on soap operas airing over the radio.
• Radio’s Forgotten Years : discusses how radio changed during this era.
• Soap Opera : focuses on the early days of radio serials.
• Old Time Commercials : offers audio clips of old radio commercials.
• The Golden Age of Radio : discusses popular shows and programs.
• A Night to Remember : focuses on the infamous War of the Worlds program.
• Radio Days : mentions older radio programs.
• War of the Worlds Radio Broadcast : looks at the panic that the broadcast caused.

Living in America during the 1930s was a difficult time. Employee background checks didn’t exist because those who could afford hiring new workers hired those who needed help. The country managed to have some fun and exciting times, but it wasn’t until World War II that things really improved.