Making sense of hard times: Newspapers, magazines, and books in America, 1929–1941

David B Welky, Purdue University

Abstract

Historians have traditionally viewed 1930s culture through the lens of liberal and radical writers like John Dos Passos, James T. Ferrell, and Michael Gold, creating a false impression of the Depression decade as a time replete with calls for social revolution. Instead of accepting the works of overtly ideological authors who found little contemporary public favor as the norm, we should instead concentrate on exploring the themes and messages imparted by the era's most popular newspaper stories, magazines, and books. An examination of these sources reveals that the middle class, which accounted for the bulk of the reading audience, tenaciously clung to old values during this turbulent period, hailing hard work, the traditional family, and American democracy as the keys to a happy and successful life. Middle-class culture began to assert the need for a national community as America neared entry into World War II, but this ideal did not accurately reflect American reality, as it envisioned a community comprised solely of the white middle class and based largely upon middle-class values. This study also contradicts earlier histories that portray middle-class culture as the messageless product of corporations interested only in standardizing tastes. Instead, the middle class actively sought out the cultural products that best suited their needs and interests, forging a distinct identity within the larger milieu of mass culture. The merging of mass- and middle-class culture created tensions within the print trades, as voices both outside and within these industries debated the purpose of literature in a mass democracy and considered the influence of mass culture upon their businesses, which had largely existed to serve the middle class before being pushed into the mass market.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Roberts, Purdue University.

Subject Area

American history|American studies|Mass media

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