America was rocked by financial hardship in the wake of the Great Depression. No one was immune to its effects. It was ironic that then President Herbert Hoover had stated “We in America today are nearer to the final triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of any land.” Hoover could not have predicted the great economic crisis, but it shook America to the core. In October of 1929 the stock market crashed, rocking Americans like an earthquake. The beginning of the Great Depression signaled the end of an era. The expansion of industry that had boomed since the Civil War came to a complete stand still for at least half a generation. Frank Walker, president of the National Emergency Council in 1934 was quoted saying “I saw old friends …show more content…
The task of tackling the Great Depression fell to the Governor of New York Franklin Delano Roosevelt. On his first day as President, Roosevelt offered it to them in his first inaugural speech, which was broadcasted by radio, “This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself… I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis- broad. Executive Power to wage war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given if we were in in fact invaded by a foreign foe.” President Roosevelt his economic relief plan in his New Deal. He wanted to start public works programs to give people jobs, offer low-interest loans to help prevent further home foreclosures and help fix the banking system so Americans savings would remain safe. His approach was opposite that of his predecessor Hoover. Hoover thought helping big corporations would cause the economy to turn around. His reasoning was if large companies were healthy, they would in turn hire more people, who would have more money to put back into the economy which would grow. Roosevelt chose to help those who were most effected. He knew these people needed the government’s help to survive and could not wait for the economy to improve on its own. There was an incredible amount of activity during Roosevelt’s first …show more content…
They originated in the early 1930s as a way of bending the Sunday Funnies into a magazine type format. Comic strips had appeared in newspapers in the late nineteenth century. The sequential panels of cartoon drawing were mostly humorous in nature. Hence where the term “comics.” Comic books and jazz have often been described as being the two uniquely original American art forms. The creation of comics reflected the Great Depression when Americans were in need of some cheap diversions. President Roosevelt remarked about the harsh times Americans were facing, “When the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time during this Depression, it is a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents an American can go to a movie and forget his troubles.” Comic books were similar cheap entertainment costing 10 cents. Comic books sales were based on lunch money and sticky fingers. Comic books that featured a super hero in 1938 with the debut of Superman Action Comics issue number 1. Created by two Jewish youngsters from Cleveland Joe Schuster and Jerry Siegel, Superman is first true comic book super hero and has proven to be the most enduring. Bradford Wright distinguishes between the new cultural hero and folk heroes of the past, “Whereas heroes of previous centuries, like Daniel Boone, Natty Bumpo and Wyatt Earp,