3586040
Description
Mind Map by James Austin, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by James Austin
over 8 years ago
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Of Mice and Men Context
- Positions in Society
- The position of African americans in society in
the 1930s has been described as an American
Hell. They had no civil rights, were allowed to own
land in some circumstances(if the white people
had no apparent use for it), were forbidden from
attending school or from visiting a library to
educate themselves and the only jobs they could
perform was housework for their 'Employers.
They weren't allowed to sleep in the house in
which they worked and often had to live in
garden sheds or barns. Lots of this was based off
of the 'Jim Crow Laws', beginning in the 1880s,
which legalized segregation of Blacks and Whites.
The Ku Klux Klan was also prominent, with many
high ranking officials being members. This lead to
the executing via burning, lynching and beating of
over 5000 Black people.
- The position of Women in society in the
1930s was that they were inferior to
men. They were thought to belong in the
home, as the housewife, cleaner and
carer for the children. If they did manage
to get a job they were often frowned
upon for doing so, as they were viewed
as having taken money away from men.
They also had no job security, and could
be fired simply on the grounds that they
are female. They were still discouraged
from seeking higher education and were
often denied entry to certain schools,
universities and colleges. When they did
manage to get in to schools it was very
rarely for professional degrees, rather
life skills.
- The position of African americans in society in
the 1930s has been described as an American
Hell. They had no civil rights, were allowed to own
land in some circumstances(if the white people
had no apparent use for it), were forbidden from
attending school or from visiting a library to
educate themselves and the only jobs they could
perform was housework for their 'Employers.
They weren't allowed to sleep in the house in
which they worked and often had to live in
garden sheds or barns. Lots of this was based off
of the 'Jim Crow Laws', beginning in the 1880s,
which legalized segregation of Blacks and Whites.
The Ku Klux Klan was also prominent, with many
high ranking officials being members. This lead to
the executing via burning, lynching and beating of
over 5000 Black people.
- Economics
- America's economic position was a very bad one.
By 1933, the country's GNP had fallen to half its
1929 level. Industrial production fell by more
than half, construction of new factories dropped
by 90% and production of Cars dropped by over 2
thirds. 13 million American had lost their jobs,
62% of those being out of work for at least a year.
Bank failures cause over $7billion worth of
savings to literally vanish, leaving many
Americans extremely poor.
- The Wall Street Crash lead to the Great
Depression. The Wall Street crash was
caused by a myriad of reasons, the
main of which was the existence of too
many goods with not enough wealthy
people who could afford to purchase
them. This coupled with the amount of
money America had lost in the first
world war lead to a huge collapse of the
entire American banking system. Over
5000 banks went out of business.
- America's economic position was a very bad one.
By 1933, the country's GNP had fallen to half its
1929 level. Industrial production fell by more
than half, construction of new factories dropped
by 90% and production of Cars dropped by over 2
thirds. 13 million American had lost their jobs,
62% of those being out of work for at least a year.
Bank failures cause over $7billion worth of
savings to literally vanish, leaving many
Americans extremely poor.
- Agricultural
- The Dust Bowl occurred as a result of severe
drought in 1931. This caused farmer's crops to
die and decompose, and dust from the
overplowed and over-grazed lands to begin to
blow around. Over the coming years the storms
increased in frequency and severity as a result of
a number of years of serious droughts. This left
farmers extremely poor and many migrated to
the areas of the country with a higher
precipitation. By 1934, 100 million acres of land
had lost all or most of their topsoil to the dust
storm, leading to huge violent storms to become
common.
- The Dust caused a huge amount of damage to
property, crops and health. The dust was
extremely harmful to inhale, and women often
hung wet sheets over windows in a futile
attempt to prevent the dust from entering
their home. Children wore 'dust masks'
anytime they left the house to protect their
insides.
- The Dust Bowl occurred as a result of severe
drought in 1931. This caused farmer's crops to
die and decompose, and dust from the
overplowed and over-grazed lands to begin to
blow around. Over the coming years the storms
increased in frequency and severity as a result of
a number of years of serious droughts. This left
farmers extremely poor and many migrated to
the areas of the country with a higher
precipitation. By 1934, 100 million acres of land
had lost all or most of their topsoil to the dust
storm, leading to huge violent storms to become
common.
- Political
- Franklin D Roosevelt was the president at the
time of the novel's release (1937). He was the
first truly liberal president of the US, elected
due to his beliefs about the creation of
Government programs for the betterment of
the United States. This gave him a lot of
support as he helped millions during his
presidency in the great depression, as over 13
million were out of work and relied on
government programs to earn money. He also
believed in direct relief, which consists of the
government giving money directly to the
poor. This is the opposite of Herbert Hoover
(his predecessor)'s beliefs, as he thought the
government shouldn't intervene in the
people's lives.
- John Steinbeck's personal political views
were that of a socialist, as despite his
protected and privileged upbringing he
was extremely sympathetic to the daily
plights of the Working Class. The majority
of his novels highlight the social
inequalities that were prevalent during
his upbringing and life, and he had a lot
of empathy for those who were
disadvantaged because they weren't part
of the elitist society.
- Franklin D Roosevelt was the president at the
time of the novel's release (1937). He was the
first truly liberal president of the US, elected
due to his beliefs about the creation of
Government programs for the betterment of
the United States. This gave him a lot of
support as he helped millions during his
presidency in the great depression, as over 13
million were out of work and relied on
government programs to earn money. He also
believed in direct relief, which consists of the
government giving money directly to the
poor. This is the opposite of Herbert Hoover
(his predecessor)'s beliefs, as he thought the
government shouldn't intervene in the
people's lives.
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