The post-World War I Years in America: 1918 to 1932
"Jazz for the Bears," 1920; Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
THE WAR TO END ALL WARS TO THE CLOSE OF THE JAZZ AGE
Following the carnage of World War I, Americans yearned for peace and a restorative dose of isolation from the rest of the world. As articulated by President Warren Harding in 1920, the country needed a "return to normalcy" and a focus upon its internal problems; its refusal to join the League of Nations served as the sounding bell for these efforts. Accordingly, the United States proclaimed its desire to build the domestic economy by supporting business growth, encouraging industrial development, imposing import tariffs, and limiting immigration. During the 1920s, the United States far exceeded this desire through industrial and technological innovation, unabashed consumerism, private investment and speculation, and business-friendly legislation. Radio, movies, and newspapers extolled the virtues and availability of American goods and commodities, including the stars of the day ranging from Babe Ruth to Red Grange to Bill Tilden to Charles Lindbergh to Harry Houdini to Louis Armstrong to Clara Bow, and yes, Al Capone. Prohibition and the Jazz Age provided an electric undercurrent to the times.
"Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis After Landing In Paris," 1927
Records of the U.S. Information Agency; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Democratic Leaders Are Said to Be Making Moves to Learn Henry Ford's Political Policies," 07-20-1923
Berryman Political Cartoon Collection, Records of the U.S. Senate; National Archives & Records Administration
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C. W. Turner, Photographer, "A Flapper Girl," ca. 1922
Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress
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"Babe Ruth Sliding into Third Base," undated
Records of the U.S. Information Agency; National Archives & Records Administration
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THE STOCK MARKET CRASH and THE EARLY YEARS OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION: 1929 - 1932
On October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, Wall Street investors traded 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange, losing more than $14 billion in a single day. In the coming weeks and months, the United States and the rest of the world plunged into the Great Depression. From 1929 to 1932, nearly 12 million Americans--22.9% of the population--were unemployed. In 1933, the nation's Gross Domestic Product fell to its lowest recorded level of $57 billion. Banks started to fail; farmers lost their homes and fields; many families split up and lived a migratory existence, often settling in Hoovervilles, shantytowns built from construction scraps, packing crates, and abandoned automobiles.
As Americans struggled for income and employment, President Herbert Hoover focused on indirect relief from individual states and the private sector as well as volunteerism. As the Great Depression worsened, President Hoover received calls for increased federal intervention and assistance. He resisted such efforts, believing that placing workers on "the dole" would erode public morale. Enter Franklin Delano Roosevelt. During the Presidential election of 1932, the Democratic nominee, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, offered a different and reassuring message to the "common man," advocating hands-on assistance from the federal government. Upon accepting the Democratic nomination in 1932, Roosevelt pledged, if elected, "A New Deal for the American people." On November 8, 1932, President Roosevelt won the presidential election, beating incumbent Republican President Hoover.
The photo gallery and primary documents that follow provide firsthand accounts of American life from the Stock Market crash to the early years of the Great Depression.
"Wall Street in Panic Due to Heavy Trading," October 1929
Records of the U.S. Information Agency; National Archives & Records Administration
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"More Stranded Girls Than Ever," Omaha World Herald, 11-24-1929
Records of the National Commission on Law Observance & Enforcement; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Letter from Senator Hastings to President Hoover," 12-13-1930
Hoover Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Women Working in a Sunkist Packing House," ca. 1931
Records of the Work Projects Administration; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Crowd Gathering in Front of the Doors of the Bank of the United States on Freeman Street in New York City," April 1931
Records of the U.S. Information Agency; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Proportion of Population Given Relief in May 1929, 1930, and 1931," 1931
Herbert Hoover Presidential LIbrary & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Breadlines, Long Line of People Waiting to Be Fed, New York City," ca. 1932
FDR Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Photograph of Bonus Marchers," 1932
Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Farm Inundated with Sand from Soil Erosion," ca. 1933
Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Farm Foreclosure Sale in Iowa," ca. 1933
FDR Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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"Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho, Boise National Forest," ca. 1933
FDR Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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"One of South Dakota's Black Blizzards," 1934
FDR Presidential Library & Museum; National Archives & Records Administration
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