1930-1940

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1930-1940 The 1930s brought a very turbulent time to the United States. As a result of the Stock Market Crash of 1929, the nation was experiencing a severe depression. There were hard class divisions dividing the nation. People were either extremely rich or extremely poor. The middle class simply did not exist (Bondi 97). On March 4, 1933 Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office with the promise of hope and relief for struggling Americans. Roosevelt followed up his promise for help with the New Deal, his plan to combat the depression. The New Deal involved the three R’s: relief, recovery and reform. It included measures concerning banking, securities, industry, and agriculture (Bondi 97). Roosevelt won reelection in 1936 and the economy was on an upswing thanks to the New Deal. However, in 1937-1938, the economy began to waver again. At the end of the decade, employment rates went up thanks to federal jobs. These federal jobs included workers building roads, bridges, and public buildings (Bondi 97). In addition, the rise of unemployment and the lack of job security brought on the rise of organized labor. When the Great Depression struck, only five percent of the workforce was unionized. However, when the decade ended that number nearly tripled and over ten million workers in the United States belonged to a labor union (Brittanica). During the 1930s the world experienced many hardships just as the United States. The Great Depression was not only a problem in the United States, but it was a global problem. In nineteen thirty-two, six million people were unemployed in Germany and three million in Britain (Freeman 3). These depressions may have led to the increase in dictatorships. Both Hitler and Stalin came into power in the 1... ... middle of paper ... ...measures to ensure that women and men sat on opposite sides of the classroom while attending class together. Again, the mingling of men and women was a great concern to the University (Schweikart 9-10). Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever shows the perception of women in the 1930s. Women had just gained the right to vote, but in society the role of the woman had not changed much since the late eighteen hundreds. Women were still expected to be proper and remain pure and innocent. Roman Fever portrays these feminine qualities. Roman Fever has many of the same qualities as Henry James’ short story, "Daisy Miller." Both are written about women who ignore the rules that society has placed on them. It seems Edith Wharton was commenting on women who sinned and the consequences that they will face. In the nineteen thirties, women were to be proper and stay away from such dangers.

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