Topic 3.3 - Social and cultural changes Flashcards
Why did the Marriage and Birth rate rise before the war?
- Put of marriage during Depression
- Wanted to marry and enjoy a brief time of married life before hundreds went to war.
- Marriage - Rose by 1,118,000
How did Marriage numbers change in the years 1940-43?
Rose by 1,118,000
What did the average marrying age change between 1940-45?
1940 - 22
1945 - 20.1
How did the number of children change before the war?
Rose by 25%
How did divorce numbers change during the war years?
The 1930s - 1.7% rise
The 1940s - 2.4% rise
How did the American Population change during the war years?
An increased population of 6.5 million
According to the War Manpower Commission how many hours, a month was lost in Detroit defence plants so women could do their families laundry?
100,000
How many women delivered food coupons during the war?
10,000
What jobs did many women get during the war?
- 10 thousand delivered food coupons.
- Take lead on civil defences, recycling and coping with food rationing.
- Grew Veg in ‘Victory Gardens’
- Joined Women’s Land Army
What did women do if they had joined the Women’s land Army?
Worked on farms to replace men after conscription.
How did women’s fashion change during WW2?
Fashion became more austere and plain as fewer materials were allowed and cosmetics could be hard to find.
What did Congreewomen Mary Norton do?
- Facilitate numbers of young mothers in war work.
- Helped drive the Community Facilities Act 1941 - Providing child care facilities
- The demand was too high and most still relied on relatives.
Year - Community Facilities Act
1941
What did the Community Facilities Act do?
Providing child care facilities for young mothers in war work.
What were some reasons women could have been more helpful to employers in WW2?
Cheaper wages
Couldn’t be conscripted
What did the United Electrical Workers’ Union fight for?
- Equal pay.
- By the time its case had been accepted by the War Labor Board, the conflict was over and firms said war conditions no longer applied.
How did newspapers encourage women to work?
- Ran propaganda articles eg. Boston Herald - 20th November 1942
- 19-year-old women operating a 10-foot crane
How did the numbers of working women change between 1941 - 1944?
1941 - 14,600,000
1944 - 19,370,000
37% of all women were working
By 1944, what proportion of women were working?
37%
How did the New Deal encourage the arts?
- Create employment
- Record what everyone realised was a significant and possibly unique era.
Which Alphabet Agency was given funding for the arts?
WPA
Works Progress Administration
Which administration commissioned photography?
Farm Security Administration
FSA
Who was the head of the photography program for FSA?
Roy Stryker
How many photographs were commissioned by the FSA?
80,000
Give four examples of key photographs during the depression?
- Dorothea Lange
- Walker Evans
- Ben Fields
- Arthur Rothstein
What was one of the most iconic images of the great depression?
Dorothea Lange’s - ‘Migrant Mother’
1936
What was the story behind the Migrant Mother Photo?
- 1936
- image of Florence Owens Thompson.
- Worked in Pea-picking camp.
Who was commissioned to record the lives of poor tenant farmers?
- By Fortune magazine in 1936
- Writer - James Agee
- Photographer - Walker Evans
What were three branches of the WPA helping media?
- Farm Security Administration (photos)
- Federal Writers Project
- Federal Music Project
Who led the Federal Writers Project?
Henry Alsbury
How many writers were employed in the Federal Writers Project?
6,600
What is the Federal Writers Project’s most famous piece?
- Unchained memories
- 2,300 first-person slave narratives.
- 500 photographs.
What did the Federal Music Project do?
- Employed musicians to give concerts and festivals.
- Boasting morale and positivity.
- AND Introduce music traditions such as the blues.
- Eg. Son House
Why was there tension inside the Federal Music Project?
- Director Dr Nikolai Sokoloff - Classical music
- Deputy Charles Seeger - wanted to make for everyone and favoured more popular music.
When was the Federal Music Project terminated?
Budget cut in 1939
Officially June 1943
Between 1941-1944 how did the proportion of women in the workforce change?
22% to 32%
Which popular actor served with distinction in the Air Force?
James Steward
Which actors didn’t join the war?
- John Wayne - Made exciting war movies but never joined the army
- Dorothy Lamour - Comedy actress appeared in Bob Hopes movies
- Marlene Dietrich - entertained troops often in combat zones
How much did Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope make on their movie?
$350 million
How much did ‘bond blitz’ make?
Over $800 million
300 actors had worked 18-hours days promoting
Who set up the Hollywood Canteen and when? And what did they do?
Bette Davis 1942
- Provide free meals and entertainment for lonely servicemen.
- Waited on or danced with glamorous movie stars for a morale booster.
When was the Office of War Information set up? What did it do?
1942
- Co-ordinate efforts to film and record wartime activities.
What was a famous film by John Huston?
Report from the Aleutians (1943)
Celebrating war effort
What was a famous film by Frank Capra?
Why we fight (1942-45)
Justify war through powerful attacks on enemy regimes and their brutal aggression
What was a famous film by Lewis Seiler?
Guadalcanal Diary (1943)
Realistic war film not wishing to patronise audiences.
What was a famous film by William Wyler?
Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)
Realistic war film not wishing to patronise audiences.
Give two examples of nostalgic and sentimental films
Meet me in St Louis (1944)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
What film did George Stevens make?
The more the merrier (1943)
Comic view of housing shortage
What film did Sidney Lanfeild make?
My favourite Blonde (1942)
Reflecting tendency to replace gangsters as the villains with Nazi Spies.
What film presented a moral crusade and was very popular?
Casablanca (1942)
Nazis as the embodiment of evil and most of the other characters ambivalent until it comes to making a stand against them.
What proportion of Disney studio workers became involved in producing training films?
90%
How many feet of film and hours of footage did Disney make during WW2?
400,000 feet of film 68 hours of footage
What was a very popular Disney character during WW2 and what did he play in?
- Der Furhur’s Face with Donald Duck
- Donald an oppressed worker in the vile dictatorship of Nazi Germany.
- Won Best Animation award 1943 Oscars
What type of radio stations were popular during WW2?
Escapist programs
Give an example of a radio reporter sent to report on real-life war matters in WW2?
Edward R. Murrow
Blitz in London
Give two examples of propaganda radio programs during WW2?
Lest We Forget (1943 - 48)
You can’t do Business with Hitler (1942)
What was popular music like during WW2?
Goldern age of Swing and Jazz, ‘Crooners’ and sentimental songs.
Who was a popular singer during WW2?
- Glenn Miller
- Unique nostalgic sound connecting troops overseas with their loved ones at home.
- He served in the army and was killed December 1944 while flying to play a concert for troops in Paris.
What song was written due to the attack on Pearl Harbour?
1941 - ‘Remember Pearl Harbour’
What song was written due to the battle of the Philippines?
1942 - ‘Hats Off to MacArthur!’
What song did the Andrew Sisters sing? What did it depict?
‘Don’t sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else but Me’
The concern that wives and girlfriends may be unloyal.
Which patriotic song was resurrected?
1918 - ‘God bless America’ - Irving Berlin
What was a program that meant artists could entertain troops?
United Service Overseas (USO)
How many concerts did USO preform between 1941-1947?
- 293,738 performances
- 161 million servicemen and women.
- 702 different troupes were touring.
Which artist was classed as unsuitable for military service?
Frank Sinatra
He became the first idol of teenagers - called ‘bobbysoxers’
What was the nickname given to Frank Sinatra?
Bobbysoxers
What did Jack Benny think of Frank Sinatra?
- ‘Thought the goddamned building was going to cave in. I never heard such a commotion’
- After 30 December 1942
- At same venue in October 1944 - 35,000 fans were refused entrance caused a riot.
