The films The Public Enemy and The Roaring Twenties give an accurate representation of the values and attitudes of Americans during the Great Depression. The film The Public Enemy showed exactly how Americans saw their President Herbert Hoover and their outlook on the future. The film The Roaring Twenties also reflected how viewers saw the impact of The New Deal and how they viewed Franklin Roosevelt as President. The two movies feature main characters played by the same actor and are portrayed in the same manner. However, as the films were created in different time periods the films give different perspectives of what was happening during that period of the Great Depression. The Public Enemy gave a much more pessimistic and bleak tone for …show more content…
In Herbert Hoover’s Financing Relief Efforts the President told the country that “There is no such paralysis in the United States, and I am confident that our people have the resources, the initiative, the courage and kindliness of spirit to meet this situation in the way they have met their problems over generations.” (Financing Relief Efforts, 1931) Hoover essentially denied the country welfare as he believed it was a disastrous system and instead told his citizens that they are in fact on their own. The denial of welfare caused Hoover’s popularity to plummet as many believed their president abandoned them in their time of need. However, when Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to office there was a change in the attitude in the nation. Roosevelt brought back hope to the American people and it was exemplified in his inauguration speech, when he stated: “Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation is asking for action, and action now.” (Inauguration Speech 1933) In the same speech Roosevelt also stated “I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require.” (Inauguration …show more content…
The film the Public Enemy ends in the prohibition era and does not touch on the market collapse. However, in The Roaring Twenties Eddie loses everything in the market collapse in 1929 as many Americans did and the film also shows the end of prohibition putting bootleggers out of business. The audience sees Eddie crash down to Earth after being on top of the world causing many to identify with him as many experienced the same thing. In the film, Eddie confronts his former partner and kills him protecting his friend and the girl he loves redeeming himself for everything that he had done in his life. This scene is powerful to audiences watching in the year 1939 in the Post-New Deal world. The Roaring Twenties ends on a somewhat positive note compared to The Public Enemy as the main character doesn’t simply die at the end but instead rights his wrongs and puts others before himself. This ending coincides with the Post-New Deal United States. Eddie does the right thing at the end and goes through a character transformation as he puts others in front of himself. The ending showed hope that was lost from the first movie. During this time, American’s were much more hopeful for the future under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt which allowed the film to portray a sad but hopeful and inspiring ending to the
Hoover’s nation was coming out of a war and was facing an economy plummeting into an unknown Great Depression. Hoover proclaimed a need for reform of the criminal justice system, the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment, cooperation of government and businesses, the development of education, organization of the public health services, and maintaining the integrity of the He called for restoration with action, and promised solutions to the economic crisis, unemployment, world policy. He however, does remind the people, “We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt once asserted “I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people,” in belief for a change, for a better nation, and for guidance to those who have lost all faith in humanity. During the Great Depression, the United States faced many different scenarios in which it caused people to doubt and question the “American Dream.” The Great Depression began in 1929 and ended in 1939. In these ten years, people went through unemployment, poverty, banks failed and people lost hope. President Herbert Hoover thought it wasn’t his responsibility to try and fix such issues in the nation.
As the United States became engulfed in the hardships of the Great Depression, a controversy regarding the Federal Government’s involvement with charity and relievement of suffering became apparent. Was it the Government’s responsibility to aid in relieving Americans of such misery? Or, was it the job of the People to work together to reach a solution? An analysis of the two presidents who took turn in office during the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover, reveals their opposing perspectives and philosophies regarding this controversy, and subsequently, Roosevelt’s and Hoover’s contradicting views played a fundamental role in America’s rise out of the Great Depression and the nature of government in today’s society.
Millions of people lost all they had in the matter of a few months and were plunged into poverty. President Roosevelt tried his best to restore America and bring relief to the hungry families and unemployed. Opinions on his New Deal programs varied greatly across the political and social classes. This led to much criticism directed at President Roosevelt and his New Deal policies. Critics on the left end of the political spectrum begged for relief and expressed the hardships they faced and on the other end, Conservatives felt that their money was being wasted on supporting the poor and that the poor were taking advantage of New Deal relief
Most people spend their time watching movies like gangster films, musicals and comedies, like Modern Times and The Public Enemy and get away from the bad times of the Great Depression. Each film showed the Great Depression in different ways, but both ways worked.
As a society, we often judge people solely by what is said of them or by them; but not by what they did. We forget to take into account the legacy that one leaves behind when they sometimes fail at completing the current task. Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the charismatic man who stood at the helm of American government during the most trying decade in our brief history, the 1930s, set out to help the “common man” through various programs. Many historians, forgetting the legacy of the “alphabet soup” of agencies that FDR left behind, claim that he did not fix the Great Depression and therefore failed in his goal. What this essay desires to argue is that those historians are completely right. Through his many programs designed to help the economy, laborers, and all people lacking civil rights, President Roosevelt did not put an end to the Great Depression; however he did adapt the federal government to a newly realized role of protector for the people.
The 1920s was a time of conservatism and it was a time of great social change. From the world of fashion to the world of politics, forces clashed to produce the most explosive decade of the century. It was the age of prohibition, it was the age of prosperity, and it was the age of downfall.
“I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people,” was the famous slogan of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. After long periods of continuous downfall, the people of the nation were consumed with negative feelings due to the lack of effort put forth by President Hoover during the Great Depression. Not only were the people agitated with his poor effort, but more with his method to resolve the situation they were in. Hoover believed in the concept of rugged individualism. This was a term he used during his presidency in the stages of the depression. The idea of rugged individualism was created in order so that the government would be less depended on and that the people of the nation should fend for themselves more in times of distress. It would be obvious that during this era, a majority of the United States would not appreciate or accept the concept of rugged individualism. In fact, there was much tension and turmoil that was set out against President Hoover in the later stages of his presidency due to this factor. It was more so that the people were ready for a change. The nation needed the help and support of a dedicated government. It was more of a need that they longed for to be put out of the economic and social depression that they were in. It was certain that Hoover was not the right man to help them get out of it (Kingsbury). Luckily, the nation soon did find that there was someone out there who would be dedicated enough to get it out of its distress. There was no greater man for the job than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Being a Democratic politician, Roosevelt would not only win the nation over with his social tactics, but more so with his political party. With...
The American people began to view Hoover’s ideas of the ideal small government as conservative, while Roosevelt’s progressive policies became the representation of liberalism. Therefore, it can be said that the Great Depression was a major contributing factor in changing the way in which Americans differentiated between liberalist and conservative beliefs. As a result of this shift in America’s perception of these policies, Roosevelt became a liberal in the eyes of the people, whereas Hoover gained the reputation of a conservative. However, these former presidents are noted for occasionally supporting similar policies. The Great Depression hit the United States while Hoover was serving his first and only term as president.
Within a minute of his address, Roosevelt begins talking about all of America’s “common difficulties.” He says, “They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunk to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen. . .” (5). Roosevelt delivered this speech in 1933, when the Great Depression was at its peak. The public knew how awful conditions were nationwide; however, the president declaring they were bad is incredibly important. Instead of brushing off reality, Roosevelt sides with his audience, thus making him a more reliable and trustworthy figure in the eyes of the American people. By building that trust right away, the public has the ability to see Roosevelt as someone they can relate to, and strengthens the points he makes throughout the rest of his address. It is said that honesty is the best policy, and Roosevelt does a remarkable job of sharing the truth with his audience during his Inaugural
In response to the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt was ready for action unlike the previous President, Hubert Hoover. Hoover allowed the country to fall into a complete state of depression with his small concern of the major economic problems occurring. FDR began to show major and immediate improvements, with his outstanding actions during the First Hundred Days. He declared the bank holiday as well as setting up the New Deal policy. Hoover on the other hand; allowed the U.S. to slide right into the depression, giving Americans the power to blame him. Although he tried his best to improve the economy’s status during the depression and ‘pump the well’ for the economy, he eventually accepted that the Great Depression was inevitable.
The Roaring Twenties was America’s golden age. F. Scott Fitzgerald once said,“The parties were bigger, the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper” (“People” PBS). The cultural undertone of the twenties was very different from the times before and during World War I. “ For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms…people from coast to coast bought the same goods…listened to the same music, did the same dances, and even used the same slang” (“Roaring” History). The Twenties was a time of social and cultural change. During this time, things like the automobile and jazz became more popular and mainstream. These things were possible because America
The 1920s were known as carefree and relaxed. The decade after the war was one of improvement for many Americans. Industries were still standing in America; they were actually richer and more powerful than before World War I. So what was so different in the 1930’s? The Great Depression replaced those carefree years into ones of turmoil and despair.
President Herbert Hoover was the conservative republican president of America when the great depression occurred, and was given the burden of rebuilding the economy. He believed the federal government should not intervene, and instead believed that helping the needy was the obligation of private organizations and donors, whom he pressured. In addition, Hoover granted loans to big businesses, hoping that the money would “trickle down” and that more employees would be hired. Still, during...
Because the economy was doing so well during the “Roaring 20s”, there wasn’t much of a dispute over this type of leadership. While President Hoover kept that same mindset in his approach to economic recovery, his successor President Franklin Delano Roosevelt took a completely different and pragmatic approach, willing to think outside of what was accepted at the time. President Hoover continually reminded Americans that things would get better if they kept working hard and pushed through. “Franklin D. Roosevelt introduced programs between 1933 and 1938, designed to help America pull out of the Great Depression by addressing high rates of unemployment and poverty. An array of services, regulations, and subsidies were introduced by FDR and Congress, including widespread work creation programs.