Culture and the New Deal (T3) Flashcards
Who was Dorothea Lange?
- A photographer employed by the Farm Security
- Administration to document the lives of people suffering during the Depression
- She took the now famous Migrant Mother photo, an image of Florence Owen Thompson, a worker in a pea picking camp
What was the Farm Security Administration?
- A New Deal agency that commissioned photographs of victims of the Depression.
- These were then given without charge to newspapers to publish and make all Americans aware of the suffering and hardships being faced
What was the Federal Writers’ Project?
- The Federal Writers Project was set up with support from the WPA to create work for 6,600 writers and authors.
- They compiled works of local and oral history that might not have been recorded otherwise
What was the Federal Music Project?
It employed musicians through the WPA:
- These musicians were to give concerts and organise music festivals
- It introduced music education into schools along with documenting America’s music traditions in much the same way writers had recorded oral history.
Why did marriage and birth rates rise during the early 1940s? (2 reasons)
- Because people put off marriage during the hard years of the Depression
- To enjoy married life before husbands went to war
During 1940 and 1943, what did the marriage rate rise by?
1940 to 1943 - marriages rose by 1.1 million
What did the average age of marriage fall by from 1940 to 1945?
The average age fell from 22 in 1940 to 20 by 1945
What did the no. of children below 5 rise by?
The number of children under 5 rose by 25%
How did the lives of women on the home front change during WW2? (4 reasons)
- Many moved to be near their husbands who were training at the various bases dotted around the USA
- There was a shortage of housing and they often lived in cramped and crowded conditions
- They had to take the lead in things like civil defense, recycling, food rationing
- It wasn’t until 1941 when childcare facilities were provided through the Community Facilities Act
What role did women have on the home front during WW2?
- 10,000 delivered ration coupons
- Women grew vegetables in Victory Gardens
- They joined the Land Army and replaced men working on farms
How many authors did the federal writer’s project employ?
6,600
How many first person slave narratives did the federal writer’s project write?
2,300
What sort of music did the federal music project want to record?
Blues and traditional music
What was the collection of slave narratives called?
Unchained Memories
What else did the Federal Writer’s project publish?
Very detailed guides for each state
