Almanac.

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"Attagirl! Almanac" was created by Ms. Taylor Bequette and Ms. Megan Picou for Mr. Ruch's seventh hour CP

American History course. Any text within the document is the property of Taylor Bequette and Megan Picou.

Thank you, and enjoy this blast back to the 1920s and 1930s!

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Walt Disney's characters and cartoons

have been living in the hearts and minds of

America's citizens since the 1920s. His short

animations, including the very popular Mickey

Mouse short "Steamboat Willie", became

extremely successful as a sort of intermission

between feature films at the theatre. The

Disney brand is still as popular as it was then.

Albert Einstein is the father of

modern physics. His theory of relativity

is world-famous. The equation E =mc2 is

one of the most widely recognized

formulas. Einstein won the Nobel Prize

for Physics in 1921.

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Ernest Hemingway called Josephine

Baker "...the most sensational woman you ever

saw." She was a movie star, singer, and

dancer. Born in St. Louis, Baker quickly

became a vaudeville sensation. But her true

fame would be found in France, where she

would be accepted as one of the first African-

American superstar.

Charlie Chaplin was one of the most

famous and popular actors during the 1920s.

His slapstick style of comedy has influenced all

modern comedy, from The Three Stooges to

almost any Jim Carrey film.

John Maynard Keynes was a British

Economist. His economic theories not only

influenced President Franklin Roosevelt,

they are also still practiced by today's

government.

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George Herman Ruth, Jr., better

known as "Babe" Ruth, was one of the

best baseball players of all time.

Ruth originally played for the Boston

Red Sox, but was sold to the New York

Yankees in 1919. The loss of Ruth

was the cause of popular urban

legend "The Curse of Bambino". The

"Curse" was supposedly what caused

the Red Sox to not win a World Series

until 2004. Whether Ruth was the

cause of any curses or not, he is still

considered one of the best American

athletes of all time. He is especially

remembered for his prowess as a

hitter, making a record 60 homeruns

in the 1927 season.

James J. Braddock is the Cinderella

Man. He worked on the docks to

support his family during the Great

Depression, and made several

amazing comebacks in his career as a

boxer. He is best known for being the

heavyweight champion of 1935, when

he, the underdog, defeated Max Baer.

Braddock's amazing story lives on

today in popular culture in movies

like Cinderella Man, starring Russell

Crowe as Braddock. Damon Runyon

is quoted in the movie as saying, "In

all the history of the boxing game you

find no human interest to compare

with the life narrative of James J.

Braddock..."

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Gertrude Ederle was the first woman

to swim the English Channel on April

6,1926. Ederle was 19 years old at

the time. She swam the 31 miles

across the Channel in 14 hours. Ederle

has also won 3 Olympic medals.

Jack Dempsey, also known as the

Manassa Mauler, was a great boxer.

He held the World Heavyweight title

from 1919 to 1926. A fight between

Dempsey and France's Georges

Carpentier was the first sporting

event to be broadcasted on the radio.

Shortstop Raymond Chapman was

killed in April of 1920 when hit in the

head by a pitch thrown by Yankee's

pitcher Carl Mays. Because of his

tragic death, a new rule was

established stating that umpires have

to replace the ball whenever it

becomes dirty.

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Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) - Men ages 18-25 sent to live in

camps and help restore national parks with their wages sent back to

their families.

Civil Works Administration (CWA) - Helped create jobs, but ended in

1934.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - Government insured loans for

housing to help economy.

Homeowner's Loan Corporation (HOLC) - Refinanced home mortgages

in

default to prevent foreclosures.

National Recovery Act (NRA) - Created limited supply with maximum

hours.

Public Works Administration (PWA) - Creates jobs, schools, and

public buildings

Social Security Act (SSA) - Created unemployment insurance by

workers and employers paying into a fund to provide pensions.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) - Created jobs and brought

electricity to the south by building dams and power plants on the

Tennessee River.

Works Progress Administration (WPA) - Created jobs, roads, bridges,

and dams.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) - Insured saving

accounts up to $2500.

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The date is

October 29, 1929.

Following the bell

that signals the

beginning of

business, everyone

inside the New York

Stock Exchange is

trying to sell

everything. The

market has just

crashed, and the

owners of the stocks

of hundreds of

companies tried in

vain to get any of their money back. Many of them would fail, and their families, like

the rest of Americans, would go bankrupt overnight. Overwhelmed by the stress,

some would choose to end their lives rather than deal with the consequences of Black

Tuesday.

During the Roaring Twenties, the

stocks went up and up, and many people

made a lot of money off of market. It

seemed that the stocks would never stop

climbing. Stockholders would take out loans

worth thousands, sometimes millions, of

dollars, trying to make as much money as

possible. But, ultimately, what goes up,

must come down.

Because of the massive amounts of

loans, banks had no money. When the

citizens rushed to the banks to get their

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money, the banks had no money to give. Families lost their entire life savings when

half the banks in America closed their doors permanently. Americans could no longer

afford to live in their homes, and had to live in shantytowns. These cardboard

villages were referred to as "Hoovervilles" in spite of Herbert Hoover, who was

President during the crash.

Along with the banks failing, the

unemployment rate rose to over 25%.

Citizens were forced to live in terrible

conditions. Americans went hungry,

and had to live off of food provided by

free soup kitchens. Many would starve

anyway when these kitchens ran out of

food because of the high demand.

The Depression drug on and on

because President Herbert Hoover

practiced a strict laissez-faire policy.

When President Roosevelt took over in

1932, he did his best to fix some of the

damage. His New Deal programs were

mildly successful, and would have been

more so, had he been given the time.

However, the Depression would not end

until 1941, 12 years after it began, when America officially entered World War II.

America, however, was able to learn from this grim time in our country's

history. We learned not only how to respond to a financial crisis, but how to help

prevent it. Savings accounts are now insured, so customers of a bank will not lose all

of their money if the bank were to fail. Many of President Roosevelt's New Deal

programs are still active in some form. Also, President Roosevelt's plan for the

government to create jobs to stimulate the economy is still relevant. After the

housing market crash in 2007, the government used FDR's plan to help stabilize the

economy.

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18th Amendment Passed

In January of 1919, the 18th amendment, which

banned the sale, manufacturing, and transportation of alcohol

was ratified by the United States. While the amendment

made obtaining alcohol difficult, it did not ban the

consumption of alcohol. At first, the consumption level of

alcohol decreased by nearly 50 percent, but soon more people

began to try and find loop holes in the amendment. During

the time of Prohibition, there was a rapid growth in violent

and organized crime, such as Al Capone's gang. This was a

response to the public's demand for the illegal substance. In

1933, fourteen years later, the amendment was repealed by

the 21st amendment, and Prohibition ended.

Election of 1920:

Both Men and Women

Vote

Due to the 19th

amendment, for the first

time ever, women voted in

the presidential election

of 1920. This amendment

also allowed women to join

political parties and be

eligible for election into

office. In 1924, Nellie

Tayloe Ross and Miriam

Ferguson were elected as

the first two female

governors of Texas and

Wyoming. Even though

women could now vote,

not everything changed for

them. Some universities

still refused to admit

women, and they still

could not be on juries or

keep their own earnings if

they were married.

Election of 1932: Franklin D. Roosevelt

The governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt, won

the presidential election of 1932 against Herbert Hoover. The

new president's stand on the Depression was that "the only

thing we have to fear, is fear itself." In attempts to resolve

the Depression and fuel the economy, Roosevelt took some

key ideas from John Maynard Keynes and started several "New

Deal" programs. These programs created jobs for people

nation-wide. Roosevelt also started weekly fireside chats to

inspire and give hope to the country. On his first chat, he

talked about how the people's money would be safer in

reopened banks than under their mattresses. The next day, a

large percent of the country put their savings back into the

banks. Despite his efforts, Roosevelt could not help some

things like the Dust Bowl still affecting farmers and the lack of

trust keeping the Stock Market down.

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Louis Armstrong is still one of

the most famous jazz

musicians. He was known for

his extraordinary talent for

trumpet. Armstrong has been

featured in the Rock and Roll

Hall of Fame, the Stars on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame, and

the Grammy Hall of Fame.

The Great Gatsby is probably F.

Scott Fitzgerald's most famous novel.

The novel is based around a young man

who moves from the Midwest to Long

Island, where he encounters the

infamous Jay Gatsby. The narrator,

Nick Carraway, is then swept into the

bizarre lives of the social elite, and is

astounded by the hypocrisy found

there. The Great Gatsby has become

a classic, and is studied in high schools

and colleges all over the country.

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William Faulkner is one of the most well-

known and influential American authors. He made

great use of the stream of consciousness style of

writing. After winning the Nobel Prize for

Literature and two Pulitzer Prizes, Faulkner

remains relevant in the curriculum of high school

and college courses all over the country.

Rin Tin Tin was a German

shepherd who appeared in several

1920s and 1930s movies. The movie

Where the North Begins was Rin Tin

Tin's first starring role. The film is also

credited with saving Warner Brothers

from bankruptcy. Though the dog died

in 1932, the name Rin Tin Tin lived on

in popular culture until the late 1980s.

Art Deco was a new art and design

style that began in the 1920s in Paris, and

took the world by storm in the 1930s. An

existing example of the style is the

Chrysler Building in New York City.

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Al Capone's claim to infamy was

bootlegging. He was the most famous of the

Chicago mobsters. Interestingly, Capone is

considered the first "equal-opportunity" mob boss.

He would hire anyone, regardless of race, as long

as he considered them trustworthy.

Bonnie and Clyde captured the imagination of

America in both the 20s/30s and today's popular culture.

The story of a real-life couple who traveled the country

robbing gas stations and eluding the police is a thrilling

tale that will not be forgotten for a long time.

John Dillinger is infamous for robbing

banks alongside criminals like Baby Face Nelson

and Pretty Boy Floyd. The mad adventure of

John Dillinger lives on in popular culture in

movies like Public Enemies, which stars Johnny

Depp as Dillinger.

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