The Great Depression destroyed the 1930s
May 24, 1931
$1.10
Political scene
In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt
defeated Herbert Hoover in a landslide
election for the U.S. presidency, due
mainly to the nation's struggles of the
Great Depression. Many of the voters
blamed Hoover and "Hoovervilles" became
a common nickname for the migrant
shantytowns popping up around the
country.
Following his inauguration, Roosevelt
immediately introduced legislation for a
wide range of liberal reforms
collectively known as the New Deal
intended to stimulate the economy. These
programs, along with Roosevelt's deft
media manipulation, would help him win
the presidency four times, the only person
to win more than two. He achieved this
feat despite the fact that he had suffered
from polio as a child and did not have the
use of his legs a fact that the media
kept secret from the public.
FDRs fireside chats
Roosevelt used the media as well as any
media-savvy president of the 20th century.
His most important innovation in
communicating with the American public
Young boy with his pet dog
Germany
and the Soviet Union during World
In Germany, a political maelstrom was
brewing. By the early 1930s, the president
and other U.S. officials had learned of
Hitler's power and domination in Europe.
Under Hitler, the Nazi regime stripped away
the rights of Jews and other citizens, killed
the innocent, sterilized people with genetic
defects and vied for German world
domination. Leni
Riefenstahl,German-actress-turned-director,
captured the 1934 Nazi rally in Nuremberg
and the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, among
others.
the message and censoring dissent.
Spanish Civil War
Spain's Civil War was similar to the
United States Civil War, in that it
offered a testing ground for new
warfare strategies and technologies,
while also being very brutal and
destructive. Foreign nationals from all
over the world descended on Spain to
fight in the conflict, some with the
leftists, others with the fascists.
Pro-leftist Americans formed the
Abraham Lincoln Brigade, while
fascist Germany sent tanks and planes
to perfect techniques that would later
prove so successful in Poland, France
War II.
Mussolini addresses his
supporters
In Italy, Mussolini continued in
power, eventually becoming absolute
ruler of a fascist state. His armies
would eventually invade the African
nation of Ethiopia. His interest in
media continued to flourish, though he
was chiefly concerned with controlling
was his weekly radio broadcast. Known as
"Fireside Chats," these radio speeches and
his warm, earnest speaking style reassured
a citizenry jittery over the wrecked
economy and the future of the country,
and won the public over to his New Deal
agenda.
The crash of the Hindenburg
The crash of the huge German airship was
the first major catastrophe to be covered by
on-the-spot broadcast reporting. Herb
Morrison, a radio reporter for the Chicago
station WLS, was covering the zeppelin's
mooring in Lakehurst, N.J. His naked,
emotional reactions, caught on a recording
device he was trying out, would forever color
memory of the disaster in the public mind.
But in Nazi Germany, the crash of the
Hindenburg would be downplayed;
considered bad publicity.