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Episodes from "The Great Depression," Texas Wesleyan University (Spring 2012): 1 through 10 of 17

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  1. Baer Clowns, Braddock Downs
    date June 13, 1935map New York, New Yorktags Depression Entertainment, Cinderella Man, Baer, Braddock, Max Baer, James Braddock, Boxing

    “From rags to riches. Strive and succeed. A man may be down but he’s never out.”[1] -John Kieran Max Baer taunted his opponent.  A barrage of “boos” rained down from the audience, voicing their antipathy and intolerance for Baer’s lack of sportsmanship and detachment from the struggles of ordinary Americans.  In response to the jeering onlookers, Baer began yelling and heckling members...

  2. “The Baby Faced Mad Man of Highway 12”
    date August, 1934 to November 27, 1934map Cook, Illinoistags Gangsters, The Great Depression

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) named 1934 “The Year of the Gangster” as the agency had killed John Dillinger, Homer Van Meter, Bonnie and Clyde, and Charles Arthur “Pretty Boy” Floyd. The FBI now had its eye set on Baby Faced Nelson. Nelson had killed FBI agent W. Carter Baum at the Little Bohemia shootout as a member of the 2nd Dillinger gang. By August 23, 1934, FBI and local police...

  3. Jazz Boom!
    date January 1, 1929map Adams, Illinois, Orleans, Louisianatags Satchmo, Louis Armstrong, music, Swing Jazz, The Great Depression, WPA, Billie Holiday, Jazz

    The American country was in turmoil. People were starving for work and relief from the Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt was struggling to regain control of the plummeting economy and the people were worn. Any distraction offered to these hard working masses was widely accepted. Music, for many, was seen as brief respite from the difficulties of their daily life. Along with FDR’s fireside chats,...

  4. The Great Jack-Rabbit Roundup
    date 1935map Seward, Kansastags The Great Depression, Rabbit Drives, Jack Rabbit Roundup, Kansas, Dust Bowl

    When one thinks of the Dust Bowl one normally envisions the swirling dust, the storms, the poverty, and the despair. A little discussed consequence of the Dust Bowl was the effect that it had on the wildlife. An ever decreasing food supply was driving the jack-rabbits out of their native habitats and forcing them onto the plains in rapidly increasing numbers. Once on the plains these rabbits began...

  5. The FDR and Lucy Mercer Affair
    date November, 1913 to 1913map Albany, New Yorktags The Great Depression, Affair, FDR, Lucy Mercer

    Franklin D. Roosevelt will forever be remembered for his public contribution to our nation during the Great Depression years. However, the confidence FDR exuded publically was also used in a more private nature. Late in 1913 Lucy Mercer was hired by Eleanor Roosevelt to act as a social secretary and as such she managed any of the paperwork and social affairs of Eleanor. When FDR first saw Lucy, she...

  6. Don't Sit under the Apple Tree (with Anyone Else but Me)
    date January, 1939 to 1939map New York, New Yorktags Kay Kyser, the Andrews Sisters, Glenn Miller

    Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me Anyone else but me, anyone but me,no,no,no Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me 'Til I come marchin' home "Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree(With Anyone Else But Me)" is a popular song that was made famous by Glenn Miller and the Andrews Sisters during World War II.The melody was written by Sam H. Stept. It was a version of the nineteenth-century...

  7. The Banjo's Role during the Great Depression.
    date 1920 to 1944map Rutherford, Tennesseetags banjo, music, folk, Great Depression

    The banjo is a string instrument with a sound unlike any other. It made parlor room music for the upper middle class and was a part of the Great Depression and has continued on into the years as a recognizable instrument. The banjo was sought by many because of its strange high tempo songs that were played on them. In the Tennessee Valley country farmers would get together after working all day in...

  8. M1 Carbine
    date June, 1936 to March 24, 1947map Sangamon, Illinoistags Military, M1, Carbine, TM 9-1276, FM 23-7

    The 1936 Garand rifle was a military issued weapon that made its greatest contribution during World War II. Also known as the M1 Garand it was a gas operated, bolt action rifle that was massed produced for the military by subcontracted companies located across the country. The original design of the bolt that made this weapon uniquie was created by none other than a prisoner who developed the idea...

  9. Rhapsody In Blue
    date January 4, 1924 to February 12, 1924map Richmond, New Yorktags Gershwin,Rhapsody in blue, jazz, classical music,, composers

        “I heard it as a sort of musical kaleidoscope of America, of our vast melting pot, of our unduplicated national pep, of our metropolitan madness.”- George Gershwin  “Rhapsody in Blue” was a musical experiment morphed into masterpiece. Paul Whitman asked George Gershwin to write a jazz concerto piece mixing jazz and classical music to shock the   musical community. Whitman wanted to...

  10. Rosie the Riveter
    date 1942 to 1945map Tarrant, Texastags Women, WWII, working women, Rosie the Riveter, Propaganda

    “All day long whether rain or shine, she’s part of an assembly line, she’s making history, working for victory!”  For the first time, in 1942, women were making history while being recognized for it, by working in the factories keeping our nation running strong, without skipping a beat, while the men were fighting World War II.  Propaganda was used to influence women to join the workforce. ...

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