Sandwiched between the giddy 1920's and World War II, the 1930s saw a huge disparity in the lifestyles of the common man and those considered High Society.
The period following the Great War, the so-called “Roaring Twenties” earned its name due to the booming economy and explosion in consumerism as Americans enthusiastically embraced the future.
Innovation and increased efficiency at home and at work allowed for more leisure time and people embraced cultural and social pursuits such as literature, film, music and partying.
Women were also gaining their independence and making their mark outside the home.
But the good times came to a crashing halt on “Black Friday”, October 29, 1929 when the stock market crashed. Within a year 5,000 banks collapsed and six-million workers lost their jobs. By 1933 more than 15-million people – one-quarter of the workforce – were unemployed.
The Great Depression was partly caused by the great inequality between the rich who accounted for a third of all wealth and the poor who had no savings at all. As the economy worsened many lost their fortunes, and some members of high society were forced to curb their extravagant lifestyles.
But for others the Depression was simply an inconvenience especially in New York where the city’s glamorous venues – places to see and be seen – such as El Morocco and The Stork Club were heaving with celebrities, socialites and aristocrats.
For the vast majority the 1930s was a time of misery. But for many American dynastic families, parties helped to escape the reality on the street and the grander the better.
While storefronts stood empty, the 47-storey Waldorf-Astoria Hotel opened in 1931 at a cost of $42 million ($600 million today). Hosting a number of lavish parties during the Depression, the Waldorf even had it’s own in-house professional hostess in Elsa Maxwell. She delighted high society with her child-like bashes: costume and painting parties, cooking soirees, and parlor games. In fact, it was during this decade that this "hostest with the mostest” invented the "scavenger hunt" to keep her guests entertained.
The Ritz was another favored venue for extravagant celebrations. It hosted two of High Society’s most memorable coming out parties during the Great Depression. Socialite and “poor little rich girl” Barbara Hutton, grand-daughter of the dime-store magnate Frank W. Woolworth, made her debut there in 1933. Costing more than $60,000 ($1million today) it was one of the most glamorous parties of the 1930s. Eucalyptus and silver birch trees were imported from California, four orchestras played accompanied by singer, Rudy Vallee. It was attended by a veritable Who’s Who list of the rich and famous, including the Astors and the Rockefellers.
It was on the West Coast that even greater excesses were witnessed, at a time when most Americans could not afford to feed their family.
Newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst was fast losing revenue from advertisers taking flight. Yet he refused to believe it would last: the worse the Depression got, the more frantic Heart's spending became. Throughout the early 1930's Hearst held elaborate parties and commissioned new bedrooms at his home to accommodate all the guests. According to the Hollywood gossip and historian Kenneth Anger, the parties were "the most extravagant the movie colony had ever seen.” On New Year's Eve 1932, he held a Kids’ Masquerade that was so extravagant that gossip columnist Louella Parsons apologized to her readers and explained "the beauty of this party was that the costumes were inexpensive.”
America has never again seen such obvious excess at a time of widespread poverty, which has cemented the reputation of 1930's High Society into the stuff of legend.
FAQs
Not everyone, however, lost money during the worst economic downturn in American history. Business titans such as William Boeing and Walter Chrysler actually grew their fortunes during the Great Depression.
What was society like in the 1930s? ›
As stocks continued to fall during the early 1930s, businesses failed, and unemployment rose dramatically. By 1932, one of every four workers was unemployed. Banks failed and life savings were lost, leaving many Americans destitute. With no job and no savings, thousands of Americans lost their homes.
How many Americans couldn't find work in 1931? ›
By 1930, 4 million Americans looking for work could not find it; that number had risen to 6 million in 1931.
Who suffered the most during the Great Depression? ›
The problems of the Great Depression affected virtually every group of Americans. No group was harder hit than African Americans, however. By 1932, approximately half of African Americans were out of work.
Who became a millionaire during the Great Depression? ›
Howard Hughes grew up rich and got even richer during the Great Depression. In fact, the seeds of his eventual billion-dollar aerospace and defense empire were sown during this time.
Who profited from the 1929 crash? ›
Several individuals who bet against or “shorted” the market became rich or richer. Percy Rockefeller, William Danforth, and Joseph P. Kennedy made millions shorting stocks at this time. They saw opportunity in what most saw as misfortune.
Were kids sold in the Great Depression? ›
Many people bought and sold these children, not as family, but to work almost like slaves with horrible living conditions and treatment.
What was the worst decade in the 1930s? ›
The Great Depression was a social and economic disaster that brought misery to millions worldwide, making the 1930s one of the worst decades in history. Even in the 1920s, many countries around the world, particularly Britain, were still recovering from the recession caused by World War I.
What did kids wear in the 1930s? ›
Hemlines were high for younger girls and dropped below the knee for older girls. Dark “Mary Jane” dress shoes topped ankle-high white socks. Boys' trouser hemlines also dropped as they got older. Younger boys donned sailor suits or “buster suits,” which paired shorts with long-sleeve, button-down shirts.
What was eaten during the Great Depression? ›
Celery soup mixed with tuna fish and mashed potatoes. A salad of corned beef, gelatin and canned peas. Baked onion stuffed with peanut butter. Those are just some of the recipes Americans turned to during the Great Depression, when many families struggled to eat enough nutritious food.
Farmers couldn't afford to harvest their crops and were forced to leave them rotting in the fields while people elsewhere starved. In 1930, severe droughts in the Southern Plains brought high winds and dust from Texas to Nebraska, killing people, livestock and crops.
What was the worst depression of modern history? ›
Great Depression, worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world, sparking fundamental changes in economic institutions, macroeconomic policy, and economic theory.
What ended the Great Depression? ›
Despite all the President's efforts and the courage of the American people, the Depression hung on until 1941, when America's involvement in the Second World War resulted in the drafting of young men into military service, and the creation of millions of jobs in defense and war industries.
What was the cost of living in the 1930s? ›
During The Great Depression the cost of living was an average of $4,000 per year, today that amount would be equivalent to $60,575. Yet, the average salary was $1,125 per year. Today a single person household costs $1,000 per month and a family of four is $4,000 per month.
What was the Dust Bowl in the 1930s? ›
The Dust Bowl was the result of a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s.
Did some people become rich in the Great Depression? ›
But some investors built their wealth during this era. Jesse Lauriston Livermore was one of those people. He wasn't afraid to short stocks and leaned on technical analysis for his investing decisions. Jesse's returns from the Great Depression earned him the nickname The Great Bear Of Wall Street.
Who got rich during the Great Recession? ›
When the market rebounded, Getty was a rich man, thanks to his action when the economy appeared to be at its worst. The same thing happened to people like Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, and Carl Icahn during the Great Recession of 2008. Each zigged when the rest of the world zagged.
Who were the richest people in 1930? ›
The Complete List of the Richest People on the Planet From 1900-2023
| Year | Richest Person | Net Worth (in billions) |
|---|
| 1930s | John D. Rockefeller | $1.4 (1937) |
| 1920s | John D. Rockefeller | $1.2(1920) |
| 1910s | John D. Rockefeller | $0.9 (1913) |
| 1900s | Andrew Carnegie | $0.38 (1901) |
41 more rowsIn the early 1930s prices dropped so low that many farmers went bankrupt and lost their farms. In some cases, the price of a bushel of corn fell to just eight or ten cents. Some farm families began burning corn rather than coal in their stoves because corn was cheaper.
