The uncertainty of everyday life, 1915-1945 / Harvey Green.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Green, Harvey, 1946-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--Social life and customs--1918-1945.

United States.

Manners and customs.

Physical Description:

x, 262 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 21 cm

Place of Publication:

Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, 2000.

Summary:

The era between the world wars, from the "roaring 20s" to the grim days of the Great Depression, was a time of tremendous change. The United States became an increasingly urban culture as people left their farms to seek work in the cities. Many blacks moved North to escape the violence and racism of a resurgent Ku Klux Klan in the South. And, while life became more comfortable for many Americans during this period, by 1941 only half the population enjoyed the modern conveniences we now take for granted.

With improvements in technology and the rise of consumerism (spurred by the new "science" of advertising) the country was expanding in every direction. However, for many Americans, daily life was fraught with uncertainty. Jobs and wages were unpredictable, labor unrest was constant, and savings vanished in the stock market. In this vividly detailed narrative, Harvey Green recounts an era of unprecedented change in American culture and examines the impact of these uncertain times on such aspects of daily life as employment, home life, gender roles, education, religion, and recreation.

Contents:

1. Work, Struggle, Intolerance 17

Office Work

Laborers

Struggles and Bias

Farming

Lumbering, Fishing, Mining

Working Women

2. Crash 71

The Crash

Roosevelt Triumphant

3. Houses and Homes 91

Housing, Ideal and Real

Farmers' Housing

The Suburbs and the City

4. Growing Up, Going Out, Getting Old 119

Bearing and Raising Children

Finding a Mate; Youth Culture

Religion, Aging, Dying

Wars

5. The Healthy Table and the Healthy Home 155

Cooking

Reform

Influenza and the Cleanliness Crusade

6. Playing 187

The Radio Age

The Movies

Nightlife

Time Off

Sports.

Notes:

Originally published: New York : HarperCollins, c1992.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-252) and index.

ISBN:

1557285985

OCLC:

43114249