Primary Sources in U.S. History INTRoDuCTIoN Primary sources are the best way to get close to people from the past They include the things people wrote in diaries letters or books the paintings drawings maps or cartoons they created and even the buildings they constructed the clothes they wore or the possessions they owned Such sources often reveal a lot about how people saw themselves and how they thought about their world A range of primary sources from the 1920s and 1930s two decades that were times of dramatically contrasting fortunes for Americans are collected in this book The period profoundly influenced how they saw their country and their futures The 1920s began in the shadow of World War I 1914 1918 Americans shocked by the horrors of the war turned away from the rest of the world As prosperity rose at home automobiles and radios became widespread and new influences such as jazz music swept the country For many people however the prosperity turned out to be an illusion In 1929 the stock market crashed devastating the economy A slowdown in trade led to the Great Depression when millions of Americans lost their jobs For much of the 1930s the government tried to kick-start the economy while Americans moved around the country in a desperate search for work
THE JAzz AgE AND THE gREAT DEPRESSIoN HoW To uSE THIS BooK Some boxes contain more detailed information about a particular aspect of a subject The subjects are arranged in roughly chronological order They focus on key events or people There is a full timeline of the period at the back of the book Each spread contains at least one primary source Look out for Source Explored boxes that explain images from the 1920s and 1930s and who made them and why There are also As They Saw It boxes that contain quotes from people of the period Some spreads feature a longer extract from a contemporary eyewitness Look for the colored introduction that explains who the writer is and the origin of his or her account These accounts are often accompanied by a related visual primary source
Primary Sources in U.S. History ISoLATIoNISm World War I was more costly in terms of lives than most Americans had expected By 1918 around 114,000 Americans had in Europe After the war and a deadly Spanish flu pandemic many Americans wanted to turn their backs on the world They wanted to concentrate on U.S. issues not get caught up in international affairs This attitude toward the rest of the world was known as Isolationism The Unknown Soldier was buried in Washington D.C. in 1921 The huge losses of the war convinced many Americans to turn their backs on the world
THE JAzz AgE AND THE gREAT DEPRESSIoN SouRCE ExPLoRED This cartoon was published in Punch magazine in London on December 10 1919 It shows Uncle Sam beside the League of Nations bridge resting on the keystone that would hold the bridge up Without U S involvement the cartoon implies the bridge will collapse The cartoon is a comment on the fact that the League of Nations was proposed by U S President Woodrow Wilson as an organization for settling international disputes Most Americans did not want to join however for fear of being dragged into another war In March 1920 the U S Congress refused to join the League or ratify the Treaty of Versailles that had ended the war AS THEy SAW IT We are met to-day to pay the impersonal tribute The name of him whose body lies before us took flight with his imperishable soul We know not whence he came but only that his death marks him with the everlasting glory of an American dying for his country President Warren g Harding at the dedication of the tomb of The unknown Soldier Arlington Cemetery November 11 1921 This Punch cartoon reflected a common belief that without U.S. support the League of Nations was bound to fail
