“ Why worry? If you’ve done the very best you can worrying won’t make it any better. ” a famous quote said by Walt Disney, a man filled with joy and hope that the world can become anything we want. The 1930’s were tough considering that the Great Depression occurred along with the Dust Bowl, both events that ruined many people’s lives during the 1930’s. Walt Disney and Franklin D. roosevelt were two amazing people in the 1930’s whose dreams were to help get the people of the time back in order and and to help them forget about their worries.
The photocopier and the trampoline were two inventions that served a huge purpose because they gave people faster ways to duplicate items and also gave a fun way for children to play and also became a fun sport. Finally Fashion gave people a fun way to show their ingenuity and express themselves, along with fashion the radio gave people a way to calm down listening to programs. The 1930’s were full of many tragic events such as the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. From 1931 to 1935, the Dust Bowl, a series of large wind storms that carried tons of sand and dirt along with it, devastated many states in the midwest.
The Dust Bowl caused many farmers to relocate because the dirt and sand buried and killed all of their crops. In some cases, all the dirt and sand injured the farmers’ cattle, which forced them to purchase new cattle before they relocating. Along with causing farmers many hardships, the Dust Bowl also largely affected the economy because farmers had fewer crops to sell. Along with the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression affected many Americans, but this time it didn’t only affect the people of the midwest, it affected the entire nation.
The Great Depression lasted from 1929 to the late 30’s. The Great Depression all started when the stock market crashed on October 28,1929. Many Americans suffered when the stock market crashed, because all of the money they had invested in stock and companies simply disappeared overnight. Wall Street in New York was a mess after the crash, since everyone was trying to sell the stock they had invested in, so that at least they would have some of the money they had invested returned to them.
Millions of people were left unemployed after the crash; no one had money to go shopping for essential items, so companies were forced to let go of multiple people. Even though this was a devastating time for America, there were still good security elements that happened because of it, such as creation of the New Deal and Social Security. Peggy J. Parks, author of the resource book The Great Depression, writes, “The Depression ushered in the New Deal, which was to promote equality of opportunity, social responsibilities, and general welfare in the United States.
Drastic and terrible events occurred in the 1930’s but without these terrible events our nation wouldn’t be what it is today. The 1930’s were very depressing, but there were many people who tried to make it a better place, such as Walt Disney and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Walt Disney was a man known for creating joy. Disney had many accomplishments in his life, such as creating the first colored cartoon, creating the first 80 minute long colored film Snow White, becoming a studio executive, building his own movie studio, and holding the record for the most Academy Awards won.
History will always remember Disney because he brought joy to millions of people who were going through tough times. Disney was an amazing animator and won several awards for his creations, which include an Academy Award for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, an Academy Award for best short subject cartoon, and also a Honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Dana E. Jaffe author of the book Walt Disney, stated “ By the time the train reached the midwest, Disney had drawn a happy mouse wearing a pair of velvet pants with two huge buttons.
He first named the character “Mortimer” but Lilly suggested “Mickey”. So Mickey Mouse it was. ” While Disney tried to fill others with joy, Franklin D. Roosevelt was extremely reassuring for the people. Roosevelt was elected president in the 30’s after President Hoover. Roosevelt was responsible for getting the country out of the Depression and sending troops into World War II. Roosevelt is also the person behind the government acts known as The New Deal and Social Security. People mostly remember Roosevelt for his charm, rather than for his accomplishments in office.
Roosevelt was also the first president to suffer from polio, a disease that paralyzed both of his legs. Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr,. editor of the book Franklin D. Roosevelt, stated “ As an adult Franklin, like his father, suffered from health problems that he tried to cure at a spa. After his bout with polio, a disease that left him partially paralyzed he loved bathing in the hot waters of Warm Springs, Georgia. ” Roosevelt earned very few awards during his life, but he did win the Raven Award and the Four Freedoms Award.
Walt Disney and Franklin D. Roosevelt had very different achievements in the 30’s, but both of them created amazing ideas that help Americans today. The photocopier and the trampoline were two technological advancements of the 1930’s that changed many aspects of life for hundreds of people. Chester Carlson invented the photocopier in 1937 in New York. Carlson’s invention allowed for Americans to create multiple copies of certain paper items. Many people today, in schools and offices, still use this machine to make paper copies faster and more efficiently.
The public was ecstatic about this invention and were happy to be able to duplicate items quickly. This machine was important for America because it gave people the ability to duplicate items in large quantities instead of hand making every copy. Just as the photocopier revolutionized American offices, the trampoline revolutionized the world of space exploration. Invented by George Nissen and Larry Griswold in 1934 at the University of Iowa, the trampoline was originally supposed to be used for training astronauts.
Today, however, this invention is mostly used for entertainment instead of for astronaut training. Along with entertainment, this invention has also been turned into an Olympic sport. According to the Olympic. org website, trampolines were “Inittially useed to train tumbelers and asturnauts and as a trainig tool to develop and hone acrobatic skills fot other sports such as diving, gymnastics, and freestyle skiing”. At first, not many people knew about this invention other than astronauts, so the public didn’t really know what to think of it when it was first introduced to the public.
It didn’t take long for the public to realize that the trampoline is a fun activity for children of all ages. Today, trampolines can be found in most household backyards. Even though the photocopier seems more important to American society, both of these inventions have played a huge role in American lives. Fashion and fads, like the radio and sportswear, were very important to many people in the 1930’s. In the 30’s there were many popular fashions, such as women’s sportswear.
Back then, many people believed that beauty was linked to health, so if you didn’t play a sport you were considered to be not as beautiful. Women began playing tennis, archery, golf, fishing, mountaineering, shooting, and skating. The new fashion for tennis was created by a new designer who made the first tennis dress with shorts underneath. For golf, women wore jackets with skirts, culottes, or pants. For shooting and fishing, the women would wear bright wool caps. Not only were there many important fashions during this time, there were also many famous fads.
For example, the radio was created in the 30’s and many people used it to get away from the sadness of the Depression. The radio featured programs from comedies to dramas, as well as musical programs. African-Americans roles on the radio in the 30’s were played by Caucasians. Not only did people use the radio for entertainment they used it to get there news. F. D. R used the radio to ease people’s worries about the Great Depression and other world events. His program was called Fireside Chats and reached millions of Americans.
Felicia N. Niven, author of Fabulous Fashion of the 1930’s, wrote, “during the Great Depression, radio was more than entertainment. It was a comfort to people. It gave them a break from the seriousness of the world. ” In summary the 1930’s were very eventful and multiple drastic events occurred such as the Dust Bowl which ruined the great plains and the Great Depression which caused Americans to lose most of their money. Also there were many people who tried to make America a better place such as Walt Disney who created multiple movies and cartoons to cheer people up, and Franklin d. Roosevelt the president of the time.
Technology also tried to make people’s lives easier like photocopiers which helped people make copies of papers faster, and also the trampoline which gave people a fun way to entertain children and it became a new sport. Finally Fashion gave people a way to express themselves when playing sports and allowed them to feel beautiful while doing it, also the radio eased people’s feeling and calmed her nerves during the Depression. The 1930’s were mixed with joy and depression but without the1930’s America wouldn’t be as advanced as it is today.
