REGINA DOOLEYHONORS ENGLISH I I I

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 6 , 2010

The Depression Era

Facts

• Historians contribute the world wide depression to the collapse of the United States stock market

• Blacks were allowed to have job’s that had previously been reserved for whites

• “The Great Depression” was originally known as “The Great Crash”

• One of the worst droughts in history occurred in the midst of the depression, the dust bowl

• One in four worker’s were unemployed• President Roosevelt was credited with ending

the depression

Facts

• Low income areas were called “Hoover-villes”• The 1934 San Francisco waterfront strike

became a day still known as "Bloody Thursday," when two strikers were killed and 64 people injured after strike breakers and police attempted to "open the port."

• Frankenstein, King Kong, Gone with the Wind, and The Wizard of Oz were all made during this time period

• Desperation for jobs led to poor wages and poor standards

Michael Gold

Born 1894 in New York City

His parents were Jewish immigrants and originally had the name Itzok Isaac Granich

He had radical political veiws

When the first world war started he moved to Mexico to escape the draft

He returned to New York in 1920

Michael Gold

• Gold Died in 1967• Works

• Masses• The Call• Editor of the Liberator• Joint Editor of “New

Masses”• 120 Million• Jews Without Money• Change the World

What is Michael Golds “New Masses” about?

• Gold edited the publication

• A prominent American Marxist publication

• Had socialist political views

• Was a journal/magazine

What were some social influences on New Masses?

• The first world war and the bombing of Pearl Harbor were major influences on the socialist movement

How does the author relate to “New Masses”

• Gold is a socialist so the Journal reflects his political reviews

Who is effected the greatest?

• Those involved in the political movements would have been most greatly effected

What was the impact on culture as a whole?

• The American culture was given an outlet from a political view other than that of mainstream media

• The journal most likely acted as the primary target of patriots

Is it relevant today?

• The political parties views have for the most part remained the same thus it should be relevant to those in the socialist party or those wishing to know more