The 1930s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Topics in the News

AMERICA'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE AUTOMOBILE CONTINUES DESPITE HARD TIMES

By the 1930s the automobile had become a symbol of wealth, convenience, and leisure. Even when times were hard, Americans were reluctant to give up their cars. In the 1920s, the auto industry had encouraged consumers to buy a new car rather than repair an old one. Finance deals spread the cost over three years, which was the time it took for a new model to come out. But renewing model ranges so frequently was expensive for manufacturers. By the late 1920s the market for used cars was flooded with cheap, reliable vehicles. During the Depression, Americans who purchased cars bought these used models, which reduced the volume of new car sales.

Auto executive Alfred P. Sloan (1875–1966) brought General Motors (GM) through the Depression ahead of its main rivals, Ford and Chrysler. He did so by creating a "car for every purse and purpose" and by constantly upgrading each model. Sloan's strategy, known as "Sloanism," encouraged consumers to trade up when the time came to change their vehicle. He also allowed consumers to trade in their old cars, so that GM, rather than an outside dealer, could sell the used vehicles. Under Sloan's management, GM also introduced the idea of automobiles created by designers rather than engineers. It was an important innovation in the auto industry.

Before the 1930s, automobiles were box-shaped, with their separate elements—fenders, passenger compartment, running board, and trunk—clearly visible. The Styling Section at GM designed automobiles that were more of "one piece." The 1932 Cadillac brought the trunk into the body of the car, while the 1933 Chevrolet hid the radiator behind a grille. In 1938, Cadillac did away with the running board below the doors. This made it possible to widen the body and give more room inside. Cars lost their box shape and began to take on a sleek, curved profile. There were many advantages to streamlining. It increased interior space and produced less wind drag. Streamlined cars were quieter, faster, and more fuel efficient.

Going on sale in 1934, the Chrysler and DeSoto Airflow was one of the most remarkable automobiles of the 1930s. It sold fewer than eleven thousand units in three years of production, but it was one of the most aerodynamic cars of its day. It was the first car to have the chassis, or frame, built into its body. This made it lighter and more stable. At the Chicago Century of Progress Exhibition in 1933, a prototype Airflow sedan stood next to the Union Pacific M-1000 Streamliner train.

The V8 engine Ford introduced in 1932 set the standard for American engine design. With its eight cylinders arranged in a "V" formation when viewed from the front, the V8 became a feature of classic American cars for years to come. In 1932, its extra power was greatly appreciated. Bank robber John Dillinger (1903–1934) wrote Ford to say: "I can make any other car take a Ford's dust." Outlaw Clyde Barrow (1909–1934) was also impressed. He wrote: "Even if my business hasn't been strictly legal it don't hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V8." Ford's 1932 model also lowered the body in between the wheels to give the car greater stability.

ARCHITECTS DEVELOP NEW STYLES

Art deco was a trend in architecture and design that began in Europe. Using rich, heavyweight materials such as marble, wood veneer, and stainless steel, art deco designers and architects decorated entrance portals, elevator lobbies, and corridors with geometric patterns and swooping curves. Art deco reached its peak in the United States with the Chrysler Building, built in 1930. By the early 1930s, however, art deco was being replaced

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with simpler designs based on structure and form rather than ornamentation. One of these new styles was known as functionalism. Beginning in Moscow just after World War I, the idea of functionalism was to think of buildings as if they were machines. If the building did its job well, it was considered beautiful.

Like the functionalists, Walter Gropius (1883–1969), founder of the Bauhaus design school in Germany, was also influenced by the machine age. But Gropius believed that architects should be artists as well as engineers. His approach combined technology with the human elements of arts and crafts. Bauhaus-designed buildings celebrated community life and encouraged people to socialize in public spaces. Gropius immigrated to America in 1937 and became head of the Harvard University School of Architecture. From there his ideas influenced a generation of American architects.

Like Walter Gropius, American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) was interested in building high-quality, low-cost housing. But unlike the Bauhaus founder, Wright drew on nature, rather than machines, for his inspiration. Wright used the idea of building in sympathy with the environment in many of his projects. The best known of these is Fallingwater (1936). Built over a waterfall in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, Fallingwater is one of the most important buildings of the twentieth century. The rocks of the waterfall are part of the house. Many of the walls are glass, opening out on concrete porches. The whole building is surrounded by trees.

Streamline Moderne

In the 1930s, American design threw out the ornate styles of the Victorian age. The new emphasis was on sleek, efficient lines. The new style was applied to everything from toasters to doorknobs. But the most famous example was the Zephyr high-speed train. Designer Edward G. Budd (1870–1946) built a train using powerful diesel engines encased in an aerodynamic skin based on airplane design. The Zephyr could run at 120 miles per hour.

AMERICAN BUILDINGS, FROM SKYSCRAPERS TO DRIVE-INS

Two buildings in New York City offered hope for the future: The Chrysler Building (1930) and the Empire State Building (1931) were the two tallest buildings in the world. Designed by William Van Alen (1883–1954), the Chrysler Building was inspired by machines and streamlining. Its stainless steel pinnacle makes it one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. The Empire State Building opened on May

Day 1931, and was the tallest building in the world until the World Trade Center overtook it forty years later. The opening of the Empire State Building was attended by governor of New York Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) and Mayor Jimmy Walker (1881–1946). In an action considered by some as symbolic of his "hands off" presidency, Herbert Hoover (1874–1964) pretended to throw a switch in Washington to turn on the lights in the building.

Planned as a skyscraper city on Manhattan Island, the Rockefeller Center was built as an arts center, commercial area, and a new theater for the Metropolitan Opera. John D. Rockefeller Jr. (1874–1960), one of the richest men in the United States, was its chief supporter. After the 1929 stock market crash, the Metropolitan Opera pulled out, leaving Rockefeller to do as he wished. He built residential buildings, office space, a mall, and what has become a famous ice rink. The original thirteen buildings were built between 1932 and 1940. The 70-story RCA building and the Radio City Music Hall are among the best known. The public gardens, sculptures, ice rink, and murals are in keeping with the original idea of the center as a public space.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945) used government money to erect buildings and stimulate the economy. The creation of the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1932 released $3.3 billion to build roads, bridges, and public buildings. Another New Deal agency, the Works Progress Administration (WPA), also funded buildings, from the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (1934) to the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. (1935).

Something new in American architecture could also be seen along roadsides from coast to coast. In the poverty-stricken 1930s, Americans on vacation, and searching for work, took to the road. Tourist camps, diners, and camping sites sprang up everywhere. To attract the attention of passing drivers, oversized animals, such as the Big Duck in Riverhead, Long Island, were built by the roadside. American roads were transformed by Chinese pagodas, Dutch windmills, and Native American-style teepees. The famous Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood, California, was built in the shape of a brown derby hat.

FALLING CHURCH ATTENDANCE AND SHIFTING RELIGIOUS LOYALTIES

Despite the hardship of the Depression, Americans did not turn to religion for comfort. In fact, church attendance declined in the 1930s. This was partly because people were embarrassed when they were unemployed

and partly because people moved around more and lost the "habit" of going to church. Understandably, contributions to churches also fell, leaving many churches in debt.

Religious communities were divided along political lines. While most African Americans voted Democratic, white Protestants were mostly Republican. White Roman Catholics supported Democratic New Deal programs. Herbert Hoover's 1928 presidential election victory over Catholic Alfred E. Smith (1873–1944) was reassuring for conservative Protestants. But the times were changing. The fastest growing Protestant groups, including the Pentecostals and Southern Baptists, were small, fundamentalist groups. The major religions were in decline. In the 1930s, Protestant dominance began to give way to a more diverse, more democratic religious influence.

Religion and the Depression

Most churches were involved in charity work during the Depression. While some were intolerant of the poor and unemployed, claiming they brought hardship on themselves, this was not true in all cases, even among white Protestant denominations that had traditionally supported conservative Republican values and traditions. The Methodist Episcopal Church was one of the most outspoken critics of President Hoover's economic policies. In 1932 it produced a report stating that capitalism was sinful because it tolerated poverty. "Private ownership," the report went on, "has failed to keep industry functioning." Some feared that the Methodist Episcopal Church had gone socialist.

Jews formed the third major religious group in the United States in the 1930s. They were divided between Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox communities, and between German and Eastern European origins. The question of whether American Jews should support the Jewish settlement of Palestine was a major issue. With the Holocaust still an unimaginable nightmare, many American Jews feared that Jewish immigration would trigger anti-Semitism (hatred toward Jews) among Christian Americans. However, as German leader Adolf Hitler's extermination program began to gather pace in Germany, European Jews fled to the United States anyway.

A NEW LOOK IN AMERICAN FASHION

When the Depression hit, Americans had less money to spend on clothes. There was also a change of mood. So-called "flappers" had celebrated the "roaring twenties" wearing waistless, narrow dresses. They wore them with long strings of jewelry and elaborate shawls and hats. The flapper disappeared almost overnight at the beginning of the 1930s. For ordinary Americans clothing became more mature, more elegant, and more reasonably priced. The emphasis shifted to clothes that were versatile and practical.

The 1930s saw a change in the kinds of fabrics used in American clothes as well. Simple cotton fabrics such as organdy, piqué, and lace made a comeback, even for eveningwear. Expensive embroidery, beads, and delicate silks all but disappeared. New materials took their place. A stretchy material called "Lastex" was used in swimwear and skiwear. With money in short supply, most women no longer changed their wardrobe with each new season. Instead they bought new hats, gloves, pocketbooks, shoes, and jewelry to freshen up dresses they already owned.

Bootleg Fashions

One way Americans managed to get the look of expensive Paris fashions without paying the high prices was bootlegging. In 1936, buyers from major American department stores attended the Paris fashion shows. They bought hundreds of dresses and brought them back to the United States. But instead of selling them, they had copies made. American stores sold perfect copies of dresses by Chanel and Vionnet for about $100—one fifth of the cost of the originals. The stores also took advantage of export laws. If they returned the original dresses to France within six months, they paid very little import duty. Once the dresses had been copied, the originals went on sale in the backstreets of Paris.

By 1930 Paris had dominated American fashion for more than a century. But in the Depression, American designers began to take over. They produced high-quality, fashionable clothes. Mollie Parnis (1902–1992) was among the first American designers to be known to the public by name. But at between $79 and $195 for a single dress, her clothes were not cheap. American fashion became known for its sporty, relaxed style in the 1930s. Designers such as Clare Potter (1903–1999) made it acceptable to wear sportswear on the street. Muriel King (1900–1977), who designed for Lord and Taylor, made clothes that were worn by everyone, from the average American woman to glamorous movie stars. But the most famous American designer of the 1930s was Elizabeth Hawes (1903–1971). After achieving success showing her work in Paris, in 1932 she designed a ready-made coat and dress that sold for $10.75. The twenty-five dresses she showed in Paris each sold for ten times that amount.

One of the reasons for the success of American fashion in the 1930s was Hollywood. In the 1930s, Hollywood needed costumes that looked good in black and white. Dressing men this way was easy. But for women's costumes, the film industry had to steer away from the trend for patterned prints. Dressed by Adrian (1903–1959), stars such as Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich had a major influence on popular tastes. Clothes stores quickly followed the styles as they appeared in popular movies.

The Look for Women

For most American women, the dominant fashion of the 1930s was the print dress. Often made from new synthetic materials, the print dress usually had a belted waist and a slightly flared, below-the-knee skirt. Unlike the narrow, tubular dresses of the 1920s, the print dress emphasized the waistline and bloused loosely in the top. Sleeves were midlength, while shoes were low-heeled and more comfortable than before.

Not all Americans joined in the move toward austerity in fashion and social life, however. Among the very wealthy in America's major cities, December was the month when families "introduced" their sixteen- and seventeen-year-old daughters into society. The young girls were known as "debutantes" or "debs" because this was their debut social "season." Despite the Depression, families like the Kennedys in Boston and the Vanderbilts in New York spent freely on lavish balls. Debs went to a different dance or social event almost every night from November to January. For these events debs wore expensive dresses and jewelry, often imported from Paris. Magazines such as Life and the Saturday Evening Post published photographs of these events.

FAMILIES STRUGGLE IN A FAILING ECONOMY

In 1935 it was estimated that the average-sized American family needed $2,000 per year to maintain a comfortable lifestyle. Unfortunately, the average household income was only half that. Families had to cut back on expenses such as new cars and household goods. It was mostly women who managed the household budgets. They began making their own clothes and food. Radio shows and magazines gave tips for saving money, while sales of glass jars, used for pickling and preserving, went up. Sales of ready-made goods fell. When the economy improved later in the decade women slowed down on their baking and mending and went back to being consumers.

While women found themselves working harder in the home, men had different problems to face. Most men saw their role as being to provide for their families. Unemployment was thus a humiliating and frightening ordeal. When they lost their jobs, many men became depressed. Suicides became more common, while many others deserted their wives and families without warning.

The Look for Men

As in the 1920s, men's suits emphasized the chest. Jackets were high waisted with wide, short lapels. Trousers were wide and long in the leg. Heavy shoes balanced the loose trousers. Men's fashion was heavily influenced by movie stars such as Clark Gable (1901–1960). But perhaps the strongest single influence came from Britain. The Prince of Wales introduced the double-breasted dinner jacket, the "Windsor" necktie knot, and the backless waistcoat. By the end of the decade, hat brims were wider, jacket shoulders were heavily padded, and trousers were straighter. The zipper replaced buttons in the fly.

In the early 1930s, the high cost of marrying, setting up home, and having children led many couples to avoid or postpone marriage. Divorces were also expensive, so the divorce rate fell too. But the general drop in divorce rates did not mean marriages were happier. As the Depression dragged on into 1933 and beyond, many families did eventually fall apart under the strain. The number of married couples living apart reached 1.5 million in 1940. By 1940, divorce rates were back to 1920s levels.

By 1933, for the first time in U.S. history, the number of births fell below the number needed to replace the population. For many couples, the chance to marry passed them by. Weddings were cancelled or postponed due to lack of money or the need to travel in search of work. Engagements grew longer, and premarital sex became much more common. Many longstanding couples broke up before marrying, but most survived long engagements to marry in the late 1930s.

Despite the pressures of a poor economy, not all families were unhappy. Many families found that the Depression brought them closer together. Women took part-time jobs, while children earned pocket money delivering newspapers, shining shoes, and mowing lawns. Many elderly people moved in with their grown children, and relatives helped one another to get by. Families entertained themselves at home more than before. They played cards, checkers, and the popular new board game, Monopoly. But while this arrangement was cozy for some, for others it was restricting and unpleasant. There was very little privacy. When cheap housing began to appear in the 1940s, most of these large family groups broke up.

AMERICANS AND INDIVIDUALISM

The idea of American individualism goes back to the founding fathers. It held that Americans should be independent and self-reliant, not depending on the government or other groups but only on their own hard work. But in the 1930s this idea of a nation of individuals was seriously challenged. When unemployment and poverty struck, many people found that they depended on others to survive. Americans began to see themselves as members of communities and interest groups, rather than isolated individuals. This change in attitude led directly to the major political changes of the 1930s. From the rise of the labor unions to the Social Security Act (in which the government provided money for people in old age), American politics reflected a growing sense of the nation as a community working together.

Despite the growing enthusiasm for collective action and trade unions, fewer than 100,000 Americans belonged to the socialist or communist parties of the 1930s. (Both parties rejected individualism and capitalism in favor of government or society-wide responsibility for the economy.) Even so, some historians have labeled the 1930s the "red decade." Initially, many communists objected to the New Deal because they thought it would end democracy and lead to fascism. But they soon realized that criticism of the New Deal might split the political left. Realizing that New Deal policies had a lot of support from voters, socialists and communists quickly joined the "popular front" against the conservatives.

Progressive reformers such as Jane Addams (1860–1945) and Florence Kelly (1859–1932) had argued for years that society depended on people working together. Even self-supporting farmers relied on factory workers to provide them with machinery and tools. Progressive New Dealers put their dream of a more supportive, community-based society into action through legislation such as the Social Security Act of 1935. Conservatives opposing the New Deal argued that individual effort was needed to rescue the nation from economic ruin. But the pronouncements of conservatives such as Albert Lasker (1880–1952) only made Americans even more committed to the New Deal. While left-wing progressives were accused of being "reds," conservatives were blamed for the disastrous economic politics of the 1920s.

THRILLS SMALL AND LARGE

Local fairs had long been a part of American life. In rural areas they involved showing prize livestock and produce. Sporting competitions and rodeos were often featured, as were such competitions as guessing the weight of the pumpkin, and prizes for the best-tasting cake. Many fairs celebrated a famous historical event, but most were just an excuse for an annual community jamboree. By the 1930s they included displays of parachuting or wing walking, where somebody would stand on the wing of a flying plane. Elaborate carnival rides traveled from one fair to the next. During the Depression, local fairs were a welcome form of cheap amusement.

Dating and Rating

A 1937 study discovered that American college students ran a competitive system of measuring popularity. The highest scores were achieved by wearing the "right" clothes, owning a car, and being seen with the "right" people. For women, a high score depended on being seen with the right men and by playing hard to get. If she did well, a young woman could create an image of being "special." At the University of Michigan, men who conformed to the "dating standard" were awarded the title "Big Man on Campus" (BMOC) by sorority women.

While small-scale fairs were common across the country, World's Fairs took place in major cities. They were built on a large scale, lasted for many months, and cost millions of dollars. In many cases, World's Fairs were an attempt to boost the economy of the host city. The exhibits were forward-looking and optimistic. Corporations used World's Fairs to show off their products, while the fair site often included permanent new buildings. Many people thought that spending money on World's Fairs could help to put an end to the Depression.

Chicago held its Century of Progress Exhibition in 1933 to 1934. Planning began late in the 1920s, but the exhibition was designed to boost the city's economy. Its theme of scientific and technological progress was a reminder that the Depression would not last forever. Exhibits included a working oil refinery, a Ford assembly plant, and a radio-controlled tractor. Entertainments included the Sky-Ride, shuttling visitors around the exhibition grounds on a rail suspended two hundred feet in the air. An "odditorium" included a theater troupe made up of sixty midgets, and Sally Rand (1904–1979), who performed a nude "fan dance." Attendance at the fair was 22.5 million in 1933 and 16.4 million in 1934. Still it managed to make only a small profit.

The Golden Gate International Exposition was held in 1939 and 1940. It was hoped that the fair would provide work for the unemployed and generate income from tourists. A four hundred-acre island was built in San Francisco Bay. Known as Treasure Island, it was reached by ferry, or by a road link to Yerba Buena Island. Like Chicago's fair, the Golden Gate Exposition featured fantastic architecture and exhibitions from corporations. There were also amusements such as ferris wheels and a roller coaster. Sally Rand made another appearance, this time with her "Nude Ranch" show. Yet even with this visual feast to attract visitors, the fair closed with a deficit of more than a half a million dollars.

With the theme of "The World of Tomorrow," the New York World's Fair (1939–1940) was the greatest of the decade. The fair was divided into nine zones: Amusements, Communications and Business Systems, Community Interests, Food, Government, Medicine and Public Health, Production and Distribution, Science and Education, and Transportation. At its center were the Trylon, a tower 610 feet high, and the Perisphere, a globe 180 feet across. Inside was displayed the "Democracity," a model of the city of the future. It was at the New York World's Fair, at the RCA exhibit, that President Roosevelt (1882–1945) made the first televised address by a U.S. president. The General Motors exhibit, created by Norman Bel Geddes (1893–1958), showed the United States as it might appear in the 1960s. In that far-off future, cars were fueled by liquid air, cancer had been cured, and everyone graduated from high school.

The New York World's Fair lost a total of $18.7 million. Yet it had managed to catch the attention of the public, generating optimism for a better future. This optimism, however, like the fair itself, was short-lived. After the closing of the Fair, the Trylon and Perisphere were broken up for scrap to help the war effort.