Essay/Term paper: The twenties and thirties

Essay, term paper, research paper:  American History

The twenties and the thirties were very unusual time periods

in American History. In

some ways they are alike, but in most ways they are

very different. The twenties were a time of

fun and partying. This is probably

the reason it is called the Roaring Twenties. All of the thirties

were known

as The Great Depression. It was probably called that because of the stock

market

collapse and the millions of people without jobs.

In the twenties,

industry took a very big step. The automotive industry was the largest

industry

there was. The assembly line made mass production possible, and the industry

boomed.

Henry Ford"s assembly line, located in Detroit, Michigan, was the

largest one in the country and

possibly in the world. When Ford first started

making cars, the only car he made was a black

Model-T. Almost everybody in

the United States had a car. Three-out-of-four families owned

one or more

cars. With the assembly line they made a lot more cars in one day than they

did

before. Instead of paying for the cars with cash, people could now use

credit to purchase items.

Since most families didn"t have the money, they

would buy the car with credit and pay off the

debt later.

The thirties was

a bad time for the automotive industry. By now Ford had made a

Model-A and

had three new colors: tan, purple and black. All of the companies were making

more

cars than they could sell. Nobody had enough money to buy a car because of

all of the

banks going under. Millions of people lost whole fortunes. Since

no one had the money for a car,

the cars were not being sold. This caused

a big problem. The dealers were very optimistic. They

continued to make cars

hoping that sales would go up.

The new credit law was a wonderful idea.

It allowed people to purchase items like a

television or radio. The invention

of the radio united the nation. The news that was heard on the

radio was

heard by everyone that had a radio. It was the best form of entertainment

of its time.

Soon thereafter, the television was invented. Once again people

took advantage of the credit and

purchased televisions. The television still

did not take place of the radio. The radio was still used

for listening to

music. Many people were spending more money than they had.

Even in the thirties

the radio and television were top forms of entertainment. Although,

some

people did not have these accessories, they could still go the movies if they

had the money.

In the thirties, everyone watched a lot of television and

listened to the radio. In contrast to the

twenties, the thirties were very

depressing. Evidentially, it lived up to its name.

In the twenties, people

had parties all of the time. Everybody in America was keeping

themselves

busy. Hunting and camping were very popular, but there were also many other

outside

events to do. Movies and horse races were the best forms of entertainment

for some.

This was all altered in the thirties.

During the thirties, the

parties and the outside events became less and less common.

Horse races and

movies were still very popular in spite all of the depressing times. Baseball

and

football became drastically popular and attracted large crowds. Babe

Ruth was a great baseball

star.

In this, it appears that the depressing

thirties and the Roaring Twenties are very different.

Though they have some

similarities it is still hard to compare the Great Depression and the

Roaring

Twenties. These time periods are very important. We can learn from the mistakes

made

then to promise a healthy future.