The Last Night of Ballyhoo (Historical Context)

Historical Context

The Great Depression

The United States spent the 1930s in the midst of the Great Depression. This global economic recession was the worst depression in American history. Thousands of banks closed, leaving their customers with lost savings. Unemployment jumped dramatically, from just less than four percent in 1929 when the depression began; it reached its height in 1933, when about twenty-five percent of the U.S. population was out of work. By the late 1930s, many families had begun to feel some economic relief, but the depression did not end until the United States entered World War II in 1941.

Popular Culture in the 1930s

Americans turned to the movies as a way of forgetting their problems during the Great Depression. Gone With the Wind, based on a novel by Margaret Mitchell, became the most popular film of the decade. Comedies and musicals were also popular. However, some filmmakers illustrated social issues. Sullivan’s Travels depicted the hobo life, and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town criticized the wealthy.

Literature of the 1930s often reflected a new wave of realism. Books like John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath portrayed the hard life of migrant farm workers as they traveled to California in search of a better life. Richard Wright’s Native Son reflected a young African-American man’s bitter experiences in a racist world.

Theater of the 1930s saw a shift throughout the course of the decade. At the beginning of the 1930s, many plays dealt with the country’s labor and class struggles, while some plays, like Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, attacked upper-class greed. By the late 1930s, however, the most popular plays celebrated traditional American values, such as Thornton Wilder’s Our Town.

World War II

War broke out in Europe in 1939. Adolf Hitler had already annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia to the Third Reich, and on the morning of September 1, 1939, Hitler announced the annexation of Danzig, a Polish port city with a large German population. At the same time, Germany began a massive attack on Poland. Nazi troops and tanks entered the country by land, while the air force bombed from above. With this act of aggression, Hitler broke the pact that he had made in 1938 with Great Britain and France, promising to make no more claims on territory in Europe. Within forty-eight hours of the German attack, Britain and France had declared war on Germany. However, they took no military action to turn back the German assault, and Poland was easily subdued, surrendering on September 17.

In western Europe, France and Britain began mobilizing for a war, but little military action took place. Newspapers began to speak of a “phony war” in the region, but this terminology proved invalid on April 9, 1940, with Germany’s invasion of Denmark and Norway. Both countries quickly fell to the German onslaught and remained under

German occupation until the end of the war in 1945. Hitler next turned his sights westward, invading the Low Countries in rapid succession. By June 1940, even France had fallen; Britain stood alone to face the Nazi menace.

U.S. Involvement in World War II

Throughout the 1930s, the United States had expressed its determination to remain neutral in future wars. Though some people believed that the Nazis posed a threat to the whole of civilization, most Americans did not think the United States should concern itself with Europe’s war. The United States did revise the Neutrality Act in 1939 to allow American firms to sell munitions to Great Britain. After the fall of France, American sympathy for Britain increased, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, convinced that the United States would be drawn into the war eventually, transferred fifty old American naval destroyers to Britain in 1940. Congress also passed the first national draft law to be adopted by the country during peacetime. By early 1941, the United States was selling war materials to Britain on credit, and by that autumn the U.S. Navy was involved in an undeclared war with German submarines. On December 7, 1941, Japan, which was allied with Germany and Italy, attacked a U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the United States officially joined the war on the side of the Allies.

Compare & Contrast

• 1930s: Over 100,000 German Jews enter the United States between 1933 and 1939, but many, many more Jews are denied entry because of existing quota laws. Most of these Jews will die in Nazi concentration camps.

  Today: Between 1991 and 1998, 54,900 Germans immigrate to the United States. During this same period, another 371,658 immigrants are admitted as permanent residents under existing refugee acts.

• 1930s: In 1939, almost all of Europe is involved in World War II. However, the United States still remains out of the war, although it provides Great Britain with military supplies.

  Today: In 2001, in response to a terrorist attack, the United States launches its war on terrorism. In October, the United States begins bombing raids on terrorist training camps and other military targets in Afghanistan, which is believed to shelter the terrorists responsible for the attacks on the United States. The United States has the backing of NATO in this assault.

• 1930s: The most popular film of the decade is 1939’s Gone with the Wind, a technicolor epic. For years, the film is the leader in box office receipts.

  Today:Titanic, made in 1997, is one of the most popular films of the 1990s. It grosses more than $600 million, giving it the all-time number one box office ranking.

• 1930s: Americans entertain themselves by going to the movies, listening to radio programs, listening to music, and reading. Clark Gable, who stars in Gone with the Wind, is a leading heartthrob.

  Today: In addition to attending movies, watching television, and listening to music, many Americans find entertainment on the World Wide Web. On the Web, people can download music and movies, communicate via email, make purchases, read magazines, and conduct any number of other activities.