Peterson A.T., Hewitt V., Vaughan H., Kellogg A.T. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing through American History, 1900 to the Present. Volume 1: 1900-1949
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generally had larger schools with indoor plumbing, even some laboratory
equipment in the higher grades.
SOCIAL OCCASIONS
American society was disrupted by the war. Spare time was dedicated to
the war effort in many different ways. The USO and Red Cross provided
opportunities for civilians to contribute to the war effort. Established in
1940, the USO included the Young Men’s Club of America, the Young
Women’s Club of America, Salvation Army, National Catholic Commis-
sion Service, National Jewish Welfare Board, and the National Travelers
Aid Society. The USO operated mobile and stationary canteens, visited
hospitals, and entertained the troops around the world. The Red Cross
served understaffed hospitals, sent relief parcels to the troops, and col-
lected blood plasma.
Everything in support of the war effort became a social occasion. Neigh-
borhoods would work together to collect tin and rubber and in victory gar-
dens and sharing produce. Ladies’ community and church groups taught
each other how to ‘‘make, do, and mend.’’ They would turn men’s suits into
ladies’ suits, make hats for church and going into town, and put up canned
goods. Even shopping and cooking economically became a social occasion.
Like adults, teenagers contributed to the war effort. Some worked in fac-
tories after school, whereas others volunteered to make care packages for the
troops. They still found time to socialize. Dances, movies, and sing-alongs
were group activities for all to enjoy. Dances were held in high school gyms
and the USO on weekends. Thanks to big bands and swing music, the jitter-
bug became the favorite dance of teens. Neighborhood dances became quite
popular, with speakers strung outside around the block. Churches and high
school g yms were also favorite dance halls for local teenagers.
Movies were usually attended in groups or double dates. The movies
helped the teenagers to both connect with the war and escape from it.
Sing-alongs were another popular diversion from the realities of life dur-
ing the war. Teenagers would sing together sitting around a campfire or
gathered in someone’s living room. They would sing wartime favorites
such as ‘‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B’’ and ‘‘Don’t Sit Under
the Apple Tree with Anyone Else but Me.’’
HEALTH AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Leisure activities were limited during the war. Every effort went to sup-
port the war, and baseball was no exception. War bond drives were
The 1940s
109
sponsored by baseball teams. Baseball provided entertainment on the
home front and served as a connection to home for those serving around
the world. Equipment was gathered and shipped to the troops overseas,
and many coaches, umpires, and players enlisted, including Joe DiMaggio,
one of the greatest hitters and centerfielders of all time. Baseball games
were considered so important to morale that the Japanese tried to jam ra-
dio broadcasts of the games.
By 1943, half of the professional players had enlisted. Older baseball
veterans and even a one-armed outfielder, Pete Gray of the St. Louis
Browns, were recruited to fill the void. Wood was in short supply so it was
difficult to find bats. Rubber went to military use, so baseballs became
soggy and unresponsive. Baseball, the American game of games, made an
interesting diversion during the war.
With most able-bodied men between 18 and 26 off at the front, the
favorite American pastime turned to who was left: women and African
Americans. The emergence of the All-American Girls’ Professional Base-
ball League helped. A pioneering new sport for women, this was a tough
sell to the public. These ladies not only had to exhibit enough athletic
ability to keep the game interesting, but, in the conservative society of the
1940s, they also had to show refinement and become proper role models
for young girls. The image of the sport and its participants was so impor-
tant, the league prepared a document titled, A Guide for All American
Girls. Suggestions in this document inc luded the necessary components of
Jitterbug. The Jitterbug referred to vari-
ous t ypes of swing dances, such as the
lindy hop and the East Coast swing, that
were popular during the 1940s. These
energetic dances were done in nightclubs
and dance halls to the sounds of big
bands. The dances had fast, bouncy, and
sometimes acrobatic movements. It was
not uncommon t o hear about jitterbug
injuries for those who were unfamiliar
with the moves. The clothing worn for
this style of dancing needed to be com-
fortable a nd allow for exaggerated, large
movements. Fuller skir ts, low-heeled
shoes, and bobby socks were commonly
worn by women. The mambo, a dance
that emerged during this period, com-
bined the athletic moves of the jitterbug
with the smooth flow ofthe rhumba.
The jitterbug was extremely popular
with service men. Whenever they had
leave, they were found at nightclubs and
USOs, jitterbugging the night away.
They popularized the dance in both
England and France when they were
stationed there.
110
DAILY LIFE
a beauty kit including a daily beauty routine, exercises for beauty, fitness,
posture, relaxation, wardrobe choices, etiquette, sportsmanship, and public
relations. The greatest emphasis was to appear wholesome and polite.
Major League Baseball had lost its excitement because of inferior
players and equipment. The league did not allow African Americans to
play, so they created their own leagues. The Negro League packed games
across the country. African Americans were kept out of many military
occupations, and, thus, more experienced players were able to stay in the
game. They became very popular during the war and competed in a Ne-
gro World Series that pitted the winners of the Negro National League
against the winners of the Negro American League. The series was played
every year from 1942 to 1948.
The African-American players were so good that the Major League
began scouting the Negro League. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier
when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. That was the begin-
ning of the end for the Negro League as more players crossed over.
When the Japanese first attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,
three scheduled National Football League games were underway. At New
York’s Polo Grounds, the public address announcer interrupted a celebra-
tion for star running back Tuffy Leeman, telling all servicemen to report
to their units. The same announcement was heard at Chicago’s Comisky
Park. Reporters were told to check with their offices at Washington’s
Griffith Stadium. The announcer paged high-ranking government and
military personnel in attendance but did not mention the attack.
As with the other professional sports teams, hundreds of football play-
ers enlisted to support the war effort. More than $4 million in sales of
war bonds were driven by the National Football League in 1942, and a
halftime rally at the Steagles-Bears game in 1943 raised an additional
$364,150 (Algeo 2006, 98).
Football was so popular and important for morale that innovative tac-
tics were taken to preserve the game. Travel restrictions attributable to the
war effort made it impossible for fans to follow their favorite teams. To
keep the excitement up from the crowd and give fair advantage to both
teams, during the 1942 Army-Navy game played in Annapolis, half the
midshipmen were assigned to cheer for West Point (USA Today 2007).
Teenagers’ free time was usually spent in team sports in school, outdoor
activities such as hiking, camping, swimming, skating, and sledding, church-
sponsored activities , or neighborhood get-togethers and dances. Golf
and tennis were supported mostly by upper-class families and private
high schools, but courts were not regularly avail able to lower-income
families.
The 1940s
111
Whereas boys could choose from a number of organized activities
including baseball, soccer, swimming, sailing, rowing, basketball, and
football, girls often had only badminton and basketball available as a com-
petitive sport. As the All-American Girls’ Baseball League emerged, so
did the All-American Girls’ Basketball League. Winter sports were popu-
lar in the northern part of the country. Sleds and toboggans slid through
the snow, and Americans skated on any frozen pond or creek. In addition,
skiing was available in mountainous northern states.
Postwar activities were influenced by a rising standard of living, techno-
logical advancements, and new fashions and fads. Cross-country skiing was
more popular than before the war thanks to returning soldiers who used it
as a necessity throughout Scandinavia and the Alps during the war.
Generally speaking, the upper and upper-middle class spent more time
in museums, dining out, at the theatre, concert hall, golf course, and col-
lege football games. Lower-class families tended to appreciate baseball,
boxing, and horse racing. When Detroit resumed production of automo-
biles in 1946 and gasoline was no longer rationed, the open roads pro-
vided oppor tunity for ‘‘escape’’ and Americans took to the highways. With
movies still a key entertainment venue, drive-in movie theaters sprang up
across the country to meet the needs of Americans on wheels.
People had the freedom to move about the country and the means
with which to do it. Getting away for a weekend or week of vacation was
becoming popular. People went to the beach, to the lake, to the moun-
tains, just getting away. The end of the war brought a sudden upswing in
the number of national park visitors. Visitors to the national park system
jumped from 11.7 million in 1945 to 25.5 million in 1947 (Sellars 1997,
173). Favorite driving destination vacations included Niagara Falls, Luray
Caverns, and Yellowstone National Park.
REFERENCES
Andrist, R. K., Ed. 1970. The American Heritage History of the 20s & 30s. New
York: American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc.
Baker, P. 1992. Fashions of a Decade: The 1940s. New York: Facts on File.
Berkin, C., Miller, C. L., Cherny, R. W., and Gormly, J. L. 1995. Making Amer-
ica: A History of the United States. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Best, G. D. 1993. The Nickel and Dime Decade: American Popular Culture During
the 1930s. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Bevans, G. H. 1930. Assembling the Layette. Chicago Daily Tribune, July 6, D4.
Gordon, L., and Gordon, A. 1987. American Chronicle. Kingsport, TN: Kingsport
Press, Inc.
112
DAILY LIFE
Hobbs, F., and Stoops, N. 2002. Demographic Trends in the 20th Century. U.S.
Department of Commerce, November.
Kaledin, E. 2000. Daily Life in the United States, 1940–1959: Shifting Worlds.
Westpor t, CT: Greenwood Press.
Keenan, B. 1978. The Women We Wanted to Look Like. London: Macmillan Lon-
don Limited.
Kyvig, D. E. 2002. Daily Life in the United States, 1920–1940. Chicago: Ivan
R. Dee Publisher.
Marling, K. A. 2004. Debutante: Rites and Regalia of American Debdom. Lawrence,
KS: University Press of Kansas.
Marshall, A. 2006. Beneath the Metropolis: the Secret Lives of Cities, edited by
D. Emblidge. New York: Carroll and Graf Publishers.
McKay, J. P. 1999. A History of Western Society. New York: Hougton Mifflin.
Mendes, V. D., and De La Haye, A. 1999. 20th Century Fashion. London:
Thames and Hudson.
Murrin, J. M., Johnson, P. E., McPherson, J. M., Gerstle, G., Rosenberg, E. S.,
and Rosenberg, N. 2004. Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American
People, Vol. 2 since 1863. Belmont, CA: Thomson.
Olian, J., ed. 2003. Children’s Fashions 1900–1950: As Pictured in Sears Catalogs.
Mineola, NY: Dover.
Perrett, G. 1982. America in the Twenties, A History. New York: Simon and
Schuster.
Reeves, T. C. 2000. Twentieth Century America: A Brie f History. Oxford: O xford
University Press.
U.S. Census Bureau. 2001. Expectation of Life at Birth by Race and Sex, 1900–
2001 HS-16.
The 1940s
113
5
The Individual and Family
Families looked profoundly different from the beginning of the century to
the end of the 1940s. In the first years of the century, marriage was seen
as an ideal to which women aspired. Often, marriages were arranged by
the parents. If they were not arranged, they still required the parents’ ap-
proval. Divorce was scandalous, and if a young woman got pregnant, she
was usuall y forced into marriage.
Men’s and women’s roles in the 1900s were quite different. Men were
seen as the breadwinners, whereas women were the keepers of the family’s
virtue and morals. Women were expected to support and guide the family
as the mother and wife, two roles that were held in high regard by society.
Women began advocating for more rights, including the right to vote.
Not all women agreed that their position should change, and there were
frequent debates about the subject.
Sexuality in the 1900s was rarely discussed, and, when it was, it was
always done in private. Women were expected to suppress any sexual
desires and never to have sex outside of marriage. Conversely, it was
accepted when men had sex outside of marriage. As families sought to
limit the number of children they had, they began seeking birth control
methods but could rarely find reliable information.
For children, the potential for illness was great and a source of fear for
parents. Mothers had the responsibility of caring for their children’s
health and their upbringing. Lower-class children often worked to
115
supplement their family’s income, and educational opportunities for girls
were limited.
The 1910s allowed women more freedom in choosing marriage part-
ners. Many women chose to marry young, and, when WWI began, many
couples rushed to the altar to keep the man from being drafted. During
this period, women who held professional jobs, such as teachers, were
expected to give up the job once they were married.
Sex education and information was a common theme in the 1910s.
Activists pushed for sex education in the public schools and more readily
available information about birth control. There were many critics of
these plans, so they were rarely implemented. Syphilis became a problem
especially during WWI, when men would frequent brothels. White slav-
ery, or forced prostitution, became a sensational topic and the impetus for
legislation outlawing the practice.
Young women began to have more choices in education. Although
there had been many ‘‘finishing’’ programs available, professional programs
for women grew in the 1910s. Activists took on the cause of child labor
in the long fight to protect children from the often hazardous and fatigu-
ing factory work in which many of them were employed.
Women won the right to vote in 1920, and many of them chose to
delay marriage and children. More often couples were choosing marriage
for love over arranged marriages. Families became more affectionate and
nuclear. Pregnancy was less of a risk, and families were eager to have more
control over the spacing of their children. The divorce rate climbed as the
social stigma of ending a marriage began to erode and the expectations of
a loving marriage rose.
People were more open about sexuality in the 1920s than they were in
previous decades. The period was characterized by the sexually open flap-
per who went to parties and night clubs unchaperoned. Cars provided a
way for young couples to get away from the prying eyes of parents and
chaperones.
For children growing up in the 1920s, multigenerational households
were less frequent. Grandparents lived in their own households, and older
siblings moved out once they married or established themselves. More
children attended school than in previous times.
The Great Depression from 1929 to about 1941 colored the lives of
many young couples and families. Marriages were often postponed or pre-
ceded by long engagements. It was common for newly married couples to
live with their parents to save on expenses. Multigenerational households
became more common again, and women often picked up extra jobs to
supplement the family’s income.
116
THE INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY
In some ways, the Depression dampened people’s sexual appetites.
Couples still engaged in premarital sex, and pregnancy continued to be a
stimulus for marriage. The Hayes Code enforced a strict morality on
motion pictures, which forced studios away from nudity and
sensationalism.
Despite the frugality and malnutrition of the Depression, people of
the 1930s had a greater life expectancy than before. More children went
to school and fewer of them worked.
In the 1940s, the marriage rate increased in part because of the men
who went off to serve in the war. Women held up the home front by
working in factories and contributing to all of the government campaigns.
The baby boom began as the war was ending.
Sexual messages conflicted during the 1940s. Women were urged to
avoid provocative dress when they worked in the factories. At the same
time, servicemen ogled at scantily clad ‘‘pinup’’ girls as motivation while
overseas. Then the government issued literature to servicemen warning of
the dangers of sexually transmitted disease.
Children of the 1940s may have experienced the new child-rearing
techniques espoused by Dr. Benjamin Spock. He exhorted parents to treat
their children with affection, a strange notion to parents who were raised
in an era when affection was thought to warp a child. Children partici-
pated in the war effort just as their parents did. Adolescent boys enlisted
in the services, and adolescent girls often married right after high school.
THE
1900S
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
Women in the early 1900s lived life much as their ancestors did. The lives
of women who were born into wealthy families were somewhat easier
than the lives of women born into poorer families, but all women tended
to share some of the same problems.
It was not uncommon for a girl to be married, sometimes against her
will, at a very early age. Girls were, in some cases, considered a drain on
the family’s budget. Boys were able to get jobs and produce income.
Although some urban girls were forced to work almost as soon as they
could walk, they rarely earned the salary that their brothers did. It was
easier to marry them to a young man who wanted to start a family of his
own. He, then, had the responsibility of caring for his wife.
The 1900s
117
Marriage was part of the ideal for women. Divorce remained scandal-
ous, but women found that marriage was not an equitable arrangement.
Before 1900, many states would not allow women to own property in
their own name. Any proper ty they had became the husband’s property.
Although the laws that allowed women to keep property were advances,
there were other laws that reinforced their inferior position. In 1907, a
law was passed that mandated that all women take on their husband’s
nationality upon marriage. Women continued to struggle for equal rights.
Girls from the upper-middle class and their wealthier sisters would be
chaperoned when they reached a marriageable age. Group activities were
the norm. ‘‘Proper’’ young ladies were not to be alone with any male.
Daughters were expected to marry a suitor of the parents’ choice. A lot of
marriages were arranged many years before the young people were old
enough to be interested in marriage. Marriages were to maintain or
to improve the social standing of a family. Males were not expected to
‘‘marry down,’’ but females were expected to ‘‘marr y up,’’ preferably to a
man who had a good income. Few women were allowed any choice in
their mate. The higher up the social ladder their parents were, the less
choice a girl had in her marriage.
The families of the working poor had few such restrictions. Many girls
were allowed to meet a variety of eligible males, and the couple was fre-
quently able to make their own decision about marriage. In many cases, a
marriage might be ‘‘forced’’ because the girl was pregnant, but a poor girl
with a child and no husband did not have the same stigma that her
wealthier sister would have in the same situation.
A marriage proposal, once accepted, carried with it the force of a
signed contract for the man. Once an announcement was made about
a wedding, a man could not change his mind. Some states, usually in the
south, had laws that would allow a man to be prosecuted for breaking an
engagement. This was one situation in which women had more freedom
than men because women could change their minds. Society, perhaps,
granted a woman this option because she was usually forced to remain in
a marriage once it was performed.
Marriage for immigrant families was often difficult. Once a family
had come to the United States, they not onl y had to earn a living, but
they had to manage with a different set of social customs. Although
women in the early 1900s might seem to have been restricted by the
standards that were prevalent even sixty years later, they were freer than
the women in Europe or Asia. Men and women who came to America
learned that many of their cherished beliefs were not shared by their new
country.
118
THE INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY
An Asian woman, for example, would have learned not to look any
man directly in the eyes. Possibly she would have learned to obey her Jap-
anese husband in all matters. Once in America, she realized that her
behaviors were not as limited as they had been in Japan. Other women
who had been told since childhood that they had to accept their husband’s
drunkenness or physical abuse learned that they had options. If a man was
known to be physically violent or could not support his family because of
alcoholism, a woman was permitted to divorce him. She might leave the
area in search of a new life and call herself a widow, but it was an option
that she would not have had in her native country.
Blacks, af ter the Civil War, adopted most of the rules of the southern
white culture. Women would get wedding dresses and follow the ‘‘tradi-
tional’’ southern wedding ceremony. Former slaves brought with them one
tradition: that of stepping over a broom. The couple might have been
married by a preacher, but the marriage was not really final until they
stepped over a broom handle as they entered the house in which they
would live. Some couples, especially in areas without a preacher, would
simply step over the broom. Once it was known that a couple had done
that, they were considered legally married.
According to the accepted philosophy of the day, women’s work was
primarily to produce and raise children; therefore, the lives of women
deviated sharply from the lives of the men in their families. Women
remained in the house, running the household and raising the children.
The men would be expected to work outside the home. As fathers, men
were supposed to establish the rules of the home and provide the financial
support, but otherwise, men were not expected to have much to do with
the daily operations of the household.
Southern women were not supposed to need any skills other than
managing a home and raising children. Occasionally, however, a woman’s
husband would die or become unable to manage the work of a plantation.
Women, somehow, were expected to step in and manage, and many
women did. Some women, however, found they had so few skills that they
would have to remarry or depend on some male to oversee the work of
the plantation. Women who were able to assume the responsibilities of
their dead or incapacitated husbands were allowed much more freedom
than other women. Although some people still expected a woman to have
a man be responsible for her, a widow was allowed more latitude than her
single or married sisters.
Men worked outside the home; therefore, they developed an extensive
set of social contacts outside the home as well. Men generally engaged in
leisure activities that excluded their wives and children. Men could engage
The 1900s
119