By Michael Chandler
The period form 1930 to 1945 was a very tumultuous one. You had not one but several Historic events take place. You had the Great depression which affected the whole world. You had the rise of fascism and the expansion of communism. Leaders like Hitler, Tojo, Hirohito, Mussolini and Stalin kept people in fear. There was the brutality of the wars in Asia (Manchuria and China), Ethiopia, and the Spanish Civil War. But that was nothing compared to the misery that would be unleashed onto the world on September, 1 1939 when Hitler thrust the world into World War Two with the invasion of Poland. The next 6 years would see brutality and inhumanity on a scale never before witnessed. During that period the History did not stop. You had the Battle of Britain, The battle for Russia, Pearl Harbor, Stalingrad, D-Day, The Battle of The Bulge, Operation Market Garden, The Bataan Death march, the brave stand of the Marines at Wake Island, Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and finally the end of the war on August 14, 1945 8 days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Here is a brief Time Line by year some of the major events (this list is far from inclusive)
1930: The Stock market Crash fully grips America and starts its global sweep.
1931 Japan invades Manchuria
1933 Hitler Rises to power starts his plans for world conquest
1935 Invasion of Ethiopia by Italy
1936 Spanish Civil War begins
1937 Japan Invades China
1938 Munich conference in which Britain and France Kowtow to Hitler, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain pronounces “peace in our time” upon return, shortly thereafter Hitler takes Czechoslovakia. Britain and France pledge support to Poland thus setting stage for WW2 in Europe.
1939 World War 2 officially begins. Great Depression ends.
1940 defeat of France, Conquest of all Western Europe by Hitler with exception of Spain, Portugal, and Switzerland. The Battle of Britain takes place
1941 FDR starts Lend-Lease, Draft starts, and America starts the process of becoming the “Arsenal for Democracy”, Pearl Harbor, Hitler invades Soviet Union. Wake Island
1942 The Battle of Stalingrad, Battle of Coral Sea, fall of Philippines and Bataan Death march, Battle of Midway, invasion and battle of Guadalcanal. McArthur evacuated to Australia, and makes his “I will return speech” and starts his march back. Allies land in North Africa, British/Canadian attempt invasion of Dieppe.
1943 Allies capture all of Middle East, Italy surrenders, invasions of Sicily and Italy
1944 D-Day, Battle of the Bulge, Operation Market Garden, Allies in Pacific continue pushing Japanese back.
1945 War ends in Europe, invasion of Okinawa, Iwo Jima, Saipan, and Tinian set stage for massive firebombing raids on Japan. Preparations are made for invasion of Japan, the two part operation (Olympic and Downfall) is predicted to cause over 1 MILLION US Casualties alone. (Postwar examination of Japanese fortifications and preparations confirm this fear) Atomic Bombs are dropped thus ending the war. World enters Nuclear age and the cold war between east and west begins.
So there you have some of the major events of the 15 year period between 1930 and 1945.
http://www.worldwar-2.net/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/manchuria.htm
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/WORLD%20WAR%20TWO.htm
http://www.users.bigpond.com/battleforaustralia/historicalbackground/JapMilaggro.html
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Music of 1930 - 1945
By Alicia Brungs
The 1930’s and 1940’s in American music was a very important era in our history. There were many musicians that helped open the doorway for different styles of music. In the 1930’s, music was evolving into a more mainstream form of entertainment. Big Bands and Swing bands were popular. Folk music was popular during the depression and the dust bowl. African American’s were being broadcast on the radio, showcasing their underground world of jazz and blues. Some of the many musicians that formed during the 1930’s and 1940’s were Benny Goodman, The Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dizzy Gillespie along with some of my favorites that I decided to write about.
Folk Music
Woody Guthrie, singer and songwriter, was a driving force behind American folk music and culture in the 30’s and 40’s. “Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma”. During the dust bowl years Woody developed a desire to travel. While making his way to Ca
lifornia, hungry, and looking for work Woody would do odd jobs. Including, playing music on the street and in clubs for money. In 1937, he obtained a job at a radio station playing traditional songs and even some of his original work. One of the songs Woody wrote that represented the horrible conditions the dust bowl created was “Talking Dust Bowl Blues”. He also wrote a very important song to our nation, “This Land is Your Land” which is on nearly every popular child’s cd and in many of our hearts today. Woody then went to New York, where he formed The Almanacs. They fought hardly for the things they believed in such as Unions, the Communist Party, and Peace. “The Almanacs helped to establish folk music as a viable commercial genre within the popular music industry.” (Woody Guthrie-Biography. (n.d.) In 1945, Woody married and had four children, Cathy, Joady, Nora Lee, and Arlo. Arlo continues to play in his father’s footprints by touring the world singing about the world, being happy, and anti-war sentiments today.
Jazz and Blues
During the 1930’s, Cab Calloway helped pave the way for African-Americans to be heard in the music industry. Cabell Calloway III was born December 25, 1907 in Rochester, New York. Cab knew in high school he was going to be an entertainer. He began playing the drums and formed a small band
with kids from his school. Cab Calloway was one of the most influential artists that made jazz music popular in the 1930’s. His first recording was “Gotta Darn Good Reason Now” in 1930. In1931, Cab became famous for his he-de-hos in his songs, which came from a time when he was singing and forgot the lyrics. Cab wrote his first big hit, “Minnie the Moocher”. Cab continued to play and become more popular. One of his favorite places to play was the Cotton Club. Cab and his band performed regularly at The Cotton Club during the 30’s. The Cotton Club was known for allowing only the famous, wealthiest, and most renowned clientele. “When Lucky Strike, a cigarette manufacturer, sponsored the band on a nationwide radio show in the U.S., Cab, as leader, became the first African-American to break through the network color barrier.” (http://www.cabcallowayllc.com/biography/index.php. (n.d.)
Country, Western, and Bluegrass
Another major influence in music during the 1930’s and 1940’s was Country, Western, and Bluegrass. During the 20’s it was considered Hillbilly music and was primarily in the Appalachian Mountains but began to gain popularity around the United States in the 30’s.
One of the groups that helped to advance the Country, folk, and bluegrass music was the Carter Family. They are a very interesting family. It started with Sara, Alvin Pleasant (A.P.) Carter, and Sara’s cousin Maybelle. Maybelle “had already developed her own style called the Carter scratch, where she could play both the melody and the rhythm on the guitar. It was like having two instrum
ents in one." (Country Music’s First Family. (n.d.) When the Carter’s began having kids, they were all included in the concerts and recordings. The Carter’s were not extremely popular among all audiences at first but they became popular as they continued to play. The Carter’s recorded more than 300 songs. Woody Guthrie, Earl Scruggs, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash have all recorded songs that the Carter’s wrote. The Carter’s continued to play even after Sara and A.P. split up until 1943 when Sara moved to California. Sara’s cousin, Maybelle took her daughters Helen, Anita, and June to Nashville and continued to perform. June continued her playing music, which lead her to Johnny Cash.
These musicians helped shape the wonderful music we have seen throughout the decades. They opened barriers due to skin color or stereotypes. Because of music we can express our feelings when we can’t seem to talk about it. Music is a wonderful thing.
References
Biography. (n.d.) Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website: http://www.cabcallowayllc.com/biography/index.php
Country music’s first family: New Book Chronicles Legacy of the Influential Carter Family. (n.d.) Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website; http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jul/carter/index.html
"Carter Family." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved March 05, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-CarterFam.html
The carter family. (n.d.) Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website: http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/node/190
The people history: 1940’s music section. (n.d.) Retrieved March 4, 2009 from Website: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/40smusic.html
Vaillant, D. (2002). Sounds of whiteness: local radio, racial formation, and public culture in Chicago, 1921-1935. American Quarterly, 5(1), 25-66.
Woody Guthrie-Biography. (n.d.), Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website: http://woodyguthrie.org/biography/biography1.htm
The 1930’s and 1940’s in American music was a very important era in our history. There were many musicians that helped open the doorway for different styles of music. In the 1930’s, music was evolving into a more mainstream form of entertainment. Big Bands and Swing bands were popular. Folk music was popular during the depression and the dust bowl. African American’s were being broadcast on the radio, showcasing their underground world of jazz and blues. Some of the many musicians that formed during the 1930’s and 1940’s were Benny Goodman, The Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, Dizzy Gillespie along with some of my favorites that I decided to write about.
Folk Music
Woody Guthrie, singer and songwriter, was a driving force behind American folk music and culture in the 30’s and 40’s. “Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was born on July 14, 1912, in Okemah, Oklahoma”. During the dust bowl years Woody developed a desire to travel. While making his way to Ca
lifornia, hungry, and looking for work Woody would do odd jobs. Including, playing music on the street and in clubs for money. In 1937, he obtained a job at a radio station playing traditional songs and even some of his original work. One of the songs Woody wrote that represented the horrible conditions the dust bowl created was “Talking Dust Bowl Blues”. He also wrote a very important song to our nation, “This Land is Your Land” which is on nearly every popular child’s cd and in many of our hearts today. Woody then went to New York, where he formed The Almanacs. They fought hardly for the things they believed in such as Unions, the Communist Party, and Peace. “The Almanacs helped to establish folk music as a viable commercial genre within the popular music industry.” (Woody Guthrie-Biography. (n.d.) In 1945, Woody married and had four children, Cathy, Joady, Nora Lee, and Arlo. Arlo continues to play in his father’s footprints by touring the world singing about the world, being happy, and anti-war sentiments today.Jazz and Blues
During the 1930’s, Cab Calloway helped pave the way for African-Americans to be heard in the music industry. Cabell Calloway III was born December 25, 1907 in Rochester, New York. Cab knew in high school he was going to be an entertainer. He began playing the drums and formed a small band
with kids from his school. Cab Calloway was one of the most influential artists that made jazz music popular in the 1930’s. His first recording was “Gotta Darn Good Reason Now” in 1930. In1931, Cab became famous for his he-de-hos in his songs, which came from a time when he was singing and forgot the lyrics. Cab wrote his first big hit, “Minnie the Moocher”. Cab continued to play and become more popular. One of his favorite places to play was the Cotton Club. Cab and his band performed regularly at The Cotton Club during the 30’s. The Cotton Club was known for allowing only the famous, wealthiest, and most renowned clientele. “When Lucky Strike, a cigarette manufacturer, sponsored the band on a nationwide radio show in the U.S., Cab, as leader, became the first African-American to break through the network color barrier.” (http://www.cabcallowayllc.com/biography/index.php. (n.d.)Country, Western, and Bluegrass
Another major influence in music during the 1930’s and 1940’s was Country, Western, and Bluegrass. During the 20’s it was considered Hillbilly music and was primarily in the Appalachian Mountains but began to gain popularity around the United States in the 30’s.
One of the groups that helped to advance the Country, folk, and bluegrass music was the Carter Family. They are a very interesting family. It started with Sara, Alvin Pleasant (A.P.) Carter, and Sara’s cousin Maybelle. Maybelle “had already developed her own style called the Carter scratch, where she could play both the melody and the rhythm on the guitar. It was like having two instrum
ents in one." (Country Music’s First Family. (n.d.) When the Carter’s began having kids, they were all included in the concerts and recordings. The Carter’s were not extremely popular among all audiences at first but they became popular as they continued to play. The Carter’s recorded more than 300 songs. Woody Guthrie, Earl Scruggs, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash have all recorded songs that the Carter’s wrote. The Carter’s continued to play even after Sara and A.P. split up until 1943 when Sara moved to California. Sara’s cousin, Maybelle took her daughters Helen, Anita, and June to Nashville and continued to perform. June continued her playing music, which lead her to Johnny Cash.These musicians helped shape the wonderful music we have seen throughout the decades. They opened barriers due to skin color or stereotypes. Because of music we can express our feelings when we can’t seem to talk about it. Music is a wonderful thing.
References
Biography. (n.d.) Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website: http://www.cabcallowayllc.com/biography/index.php
Country music’s first family: New Book Chronicles Legacy of the Influential Carter Family. (n.d.) Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website; http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jul/carter/index.html
"Carter Family." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved March 05, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-CarterFam.html
The carter family. (n.d.) Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website: http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/node/190
The people history: 1940’s music section. (n.d.) Retrieved March 4, 2009 from Website: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/40smusic.html
Vaillant, D. (2002). Sounds of whiteness: local radio, racial formation, and public culture in Chicago, 1921-1935. American Quarterly, 5(1), 25-66.
Woody Guthrie-Biography. (n.d.), Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Website: http://woodyguthrie.org/biography/biography1.htm
Thursday, March 5, 2009
LITERATURE & MAGAZINES 1930-1945
By Alisha Caldwell
In the early 1900’s America was criticized by some for its lack of creativity. Literary critic Van Wyck Brooks stated "no ideas in America are really strong or bold.” (Alexander 1969). Within decade s these words were meaningless and “the harvest, hurried by the war and its disheartening aftermath, was at hand in the work of novelists like Dreiser, Sherwood Anderson, Fitzgerald, and Hemingway; of poets like Robinson, Sandburg, Frost, and Jeffers; and of the playwright O'Neill.” (Alexander 1969) America’s literature had come of age.
The turmoil of the war and the depression spurred the literary imagination. The second age of Modernism and the Marxist movement provided for more radical beliefs and stances (New World). The period gave way to questions about sex, bonding, the raising of children and self-orientation (New World). New works resulted that would leave an imprint on American literature that could not be erased. The period of 1930-1945 saw many new works, both controversial and imaginative. As shown by the events and works mentioned below, it is a period that no one can deny was a period of luster for literary America.
1930 Events
Pulitzer Prizes:
Fiction: Laughing Boy, by Oliver La Farge
Drama: The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly.
Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded on November 5th to Sinclair Lewis.
Boston courts banned Theodore Dreisers’s novel An American Tragedy for being obscene.
Popular readings of the time were The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper and The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passo.
1931 Events
The premier of Green Grow the Lilacs by Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs which was later adapted by Rodger and Hammerstein as “Oklahoma!”
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Years of Grace, Margaret Ayer Barnes
Drama: Alison's House, Susan Glaspell
1932 Events
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck
Drama: Of Thee I Sing, George S. Kaufman, Morrie Ryskind, and Ira Gershwin
Popular readings of the time included The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck.
1933 Events
Newsweek magazine was published for the first time on February 17th.
Esquire debuts as the first men's magazine
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: The Store, T. S. Stribling
Drama: Both Your Houses, Maxwell Anderson
Popular readings of the time included Autobiography of Alice B Toklas by: Gertrude Stein.
1934 Events
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Lamb in His Bosom, Caroline Miller
Drama: Men in White, Sidney Kingsley
The Flash Gordon comic strip is fist published.
1935 Events
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Now in November, Josephine Winslow Johnson
Drama: The Old Maid, Zöe Akins
Popular readings included Tortilla Flat by: John Steinbeck.
1936 Events
Life magazine is first published.
Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind published.
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Honey in the Horn, Harold L. Davis
Drama: Idiot's Delight, Robert E. Sherwood
Nobel Prize for Literature: Eugene O'Neill
1937 Events
Look magazine goes on sale in the U.S.
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
Drama: You Can't Take It With You, Moss Hart and George S.
Popular readings included The Age of Innocence by: Edith Wharton.
The first issue of Detective Comics is released by the company that will eventually be named DC Comics.
1938 Events
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: The Late George Apley, John Phillips Marquand
Drama: Our Town, Thornton Wilder
Nobel Prize for Literature: Pearl S. Buck (US)
The trilogy USA by John Dos Pasos is published containing his three novels, The 42nd Parallel (1930), 1919 (1932), and The Big Money (1936).
Popular readings included Our Town by Thornton Wilder.
Action Comics makes its first appearance, and features the first superhero ever, Superman.
1939 Events
A Christmas Carol is read before a radio audience.
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Drama: Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Robert E. Sherwood
Robert Kane introduces the Batman cartoon.
The big-screen adaptation of Gone with the Wind premieres
Popular readings included The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman.
Batman makes his first appearance in Detective Comics. Unlike Superman, Batman has no powers; he fights crime using martial arts, technology, and his mind. Timely Comics releases Marvel Comics, including Prince Namor the Sub-Mariner and several other heroes. Timely will eventually be renamed Marvel.
DC introduces The Flash, a superhero who can run faster than the speed of light.
1940 Events
Pride and Prejudice is adapted for a motion picture.
The first Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
Drama: The Time of Your Life, William Saroyan
Popular readings included For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway and Native Son by Richard Wright.
DC presents Alan Scott, who makes a ring that allows him to use the light of the Green Lantern. Brenda Starr debuts. The star of the strip is a redheaded reporter who often visits exotic places. It's notable for being created by a woman, Dale Messick. The strip continues to be female-created, now being written by Mary Schmich and drawn by June Brigman.
1941 Events
Fitzgerald’s unfinished work The Last Tycoon is edited and published by Edmund Wilson.
Pulitzer Prizes
Drama: There Shall Be No Night, Robert E. Sherwood
In what will become the Marvel universe, Steve Rogers is given super-soldier serum and a mighty shield, becoming Captain America. DC introduces Wonder Woman, designed by psychiatrist William Marston to embody female ideals of heroism. Redheaded teenager Archie Andrews makes his first appearance in Pep Comics. In 1945, the publisher will change its name from MLJ Comics to Archie Comics.
1942 Events
New York Times launches its Best Seller List.
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: In This Our Life, Ellen Glasgow
1943 Events
George Orwell resigns from the BBC to become editor of the Tribune.
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Dragon's Teeth, Upton Sinclair
Drama: The Skin of Our Teeth, Thornton Wilder
Rodgers & Hammerstein's “Oklahoma!” opens and is the adaption of Green Grow the Lilacs by Cherokee playwright Lynn Riggs.
Popular readings included Four Quartets by Burnt Norton.
1944 Events
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: Journey in the Dark, Martin Flavin
1945 Events
The first Ebony Magazine is published on November 1st.
Pulitzer Prizes
Fiction: A Bell for Adano, John Hersey
Drama: Harvey, Mary Chase
Popular readings included W. H. Auden, The Collected Poems, Gwendolyn Brooks, A Street in Bronzeville, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Crack-Up and Other Uncollected Pieces, John Steinbeck, Cannery Row, Richard Wright, Black Boy, and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.
Sources:
Alexander, C. (1969). Nationalism in American Thought, 1930-1945. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.
Yearly Information 1930-1945. Retrieved March 4, 2009 from http://www.infoplease.com/year/XXXX
Comic Information 1930-1945. Retrieved March 4, 2009 from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/comicstimeline.html
Modernism. Retrieved March 3, 2009 from http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Modernism.
Television in the 1930's-1945
By Donna Baxter
The television was originally invented in 1927, though many of the changes and upgrades to television happened in the 1930’s. In 1934, a British company (British Communications) bought a license to make systems based on Farnsworth’s designs. In 1939, an American company (RCA) did the same.
One of the first television stations in America was W2XCR, originally the WGBS radio station. They aired their regular broadcasting duo on April 16, 1931 in New York City on a six inch square image. CBS station W2XAB began broadcasting regularly in July of 1931. A few of their first shows were Jimmy Walker, and the Boswell Sisters.
In 1936, Don Lee Broadcasting began a month long demonstration of “high definition” in Los Angeles. 240+ line for normal broadcasting and 300-line image for motion picture films. By June of 1939, shows were broadcasted regularly at 441-line images. This was available in New York and Los Angeles. There were twenty to fifty-eight hours of programming a month, airing only Wednesday through Sunday of each week. Programming’s were primarily news, though provides drama and educational shows as well.
In 1941 the FCC adopted NTSC television, calling for 525 lines vertical resolution. The FCC reduced the required minimum air time for television stations from 15 to 4 hours a week, after the US entry into World War II. Many of the television stations suspended their broadcasting altogether. There were still quite a few airing mostly entertainment shows, such as boxing and plays.
In 1942 there were over five thousand television sets in operation, though new TVs were suspended from April 1942 until August of 1945.
References:
Television. (2006, March). The Great Idea Finder. Retrieved March 2, 2009
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/television.htm
History of television. (2009, February 28). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 2, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_television&oldid=273974552
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)