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.
