Hair In The 1930s Essay

What do Adolf Hitler, women’s hairstyles, television, and the Olympics have in common? They were all big parts of the 1930s. It was a time of amazing accomplishments, style, and new and amazing inventions. It was also a time of political unrest and tragedies. Some of the styles, people, life, events, and inventions that took place in the 1930s have continued to impact our lives into the twenty-first century.

There are many people from the 1930s who have contributed to well known events. “Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany then granted dictatorial powers by Germany’s Enabling Law” (Dvorak and Paul 2). Germans could not have known what would happen after Hitler was granted dictatorial powers. Appointing Hitler as the Chancellor of

Germany and granting him dictatorial powers was one of their worst mistakes in history. “Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic” (Dvorak and Paul 2). This is important because most women would not attempt to do something as daring as this back then. This could be very dangerous and she was very brave to want to accomplish something like this alone. “Amelia Earhart disappears during her flight across the pacific” (Dvorak and Paul 3). This was a devastating event because a well known and accomplished woman went missing doing what she loved. She knew how dangerous this would be but she risked her life doing it anyway. Multiple people in the 1930s, such as Hitler and Amelia Earhart, contributed to popular events.
Hairstyles were very different in the 1930s and have changed dramatically since then.

“Hair was smooth, soft, and feminine” (Turudich 244). Many girls preferred and liked looking more feminine, especially in this time period. Women might have been expected look that way, so it was popular to style their hair more feminine. For many people, “Hair was often shoulder length, straight at top, but softly curled or waved toward the bottom” (Turudich 24). Soft hairstyles appeared to be very popular back in this time and was worn by many girls. Short hair also seemed to be a favored way to have hair styled and was seen on many women. “As the decade wore on, waves became looser and fluffier” (Turudich 24). As years go by styles can change, and what might have been popular then is not anymore. Women were tired of styling their hair so much so they went to a looser look. The style changed and “Braids of hair around the head became very popular along with various other more conventionally feminine styles” (Turudich 24). They found other ways to style their hair that they thought looked nice, so many began to style their hair in braids. Style changed again and “Towards the later part of the decade, slightly longer hair would be worn piled up on the head in a mass of curls” (Turudich 24). The style had changed a lot and the way women wore their hair became very different from the beginning of the decade. As the years went on, girls were introduced to many ways to style their hair and this

was one of them. As the decade went on, ways to style hair had changed many times.
There are many new inventions created in the 1930s that benefit our lives today. “Robert Watson Watts builds radar equipment to detect aircraft” (Dvorak and Paul 2). This invention can be very beneficial, especially in times of war and terrorist attacks. Many peoples’ lives may have been saved thanks to this invention. “Insulin first used to control diabetes” (Dvorak and Paul 3). Insulin became very popular to use to help people if they had diabetes. The invention of insulin became very useful for doctors when they diagnosed people with diabetes. “Television introduced at New York’s World fair” (Dvorak and Paul 3). Television was an amazing invention and it is a great source of entertainment in the twenty-first century. This invention is now used frequently among millions of people around the world. “Russian American inventor Igor Sikorsky constructs the first helicopter” (Dvorak and Paul 3). Helicopters have been used a lot especially in medical transportation. They can also be used in other important ways like fighting fires and transporting people. “By the 1930s medical science has discovered new treatments, but hospitals were still rare in many parts of the United States” (Lindenmeyer 32). Hospitals may have been rare because they were expensive to build and money was scarce since the Depression was happening. Another reason for hospitals being rare might be that their were not enough doctors. Many inventions that were created in the 1930s have an impact and benefit our lives in the twenty-first century.
There were many events that happened and new creations during the 1930s. “To slash welfare lists, public officials repatriates thousands of Mexicans and their U.S. born children” (“Civil Engineering” 2). Mexican families were upset that they were forced to leave. They wanted a better life for their families and they were sent back home and couldn’t make a better life in America. “Los Angeles built facilities for and hosted the 1932 Olympic Summer Games as planned” (“Civil Engineering” 2). This was a big deal for the Olympics to happen especially during the Depression. Los Angeles may not have hosted the Summer Olympic Games due to money problems. “Hoover Dam originally called Boulder Dam, is completed making Lake Mead the largest reservoir in the world” (“Civil Engineering” 3). It took awhile to complete the dam, and it was an accomplishment to make Lake Mead the largest reservoir in the world. With much hard work and effort, they were able to build a very large dam. There are many new creations and events that took place in the 1930s.
In the 1930s life was much different that it is today.

“According to the U.S. Department of Labor figures, the average middle class family in 1935 had an annual income of $1,348 of which it spent 35 percent on food, 33 percent on housing, but 0.4 percent on taxes” (Westin 2). Life was very different in the 30s because incomes today are much larger than this. This may have been why families were so poor; they didn’t make much money. “In the 1930s, as part of an effort to attract adolescents who found little practical value in the classical liberal education offered in American High Schools, urban districts added vocational and business courses to the curriculum” (Lindenmeyer 115). Kids did not find education valuable and only wanted to learn about important information that would help them with jobs. They did not think that a classical liberal education was valuable or worth their time and money. “Throughout the 1930s the unemployment rate of sixteen-to-twenty-year-olds climbed to twice that of adults” (Westin 81). Unemployment in this age group may have been high because they were uneducated. Unemployment was also high because employers did not have enough money to employ inexperienced workers. “House and public facilities were segregated and job discrimination was widespread” (“Civil Engineering” 2). Even though the 1930s was a long time after the Civil War, many people still discriminated blacks. Some people might have thought that if whites and blacks were separate,

things would be easier. Life was a lot more different in the 1930s than in the twenty-first century.
We are impacted by many of the styles, people, life, events, and inventions of the 1930s. There were many new styles and inventions, people and life, and many events that have influenced us today in the twenty-first century. During the 1930s, many people had broken the traditional roles for this time period and because of their bravery we have become more advanced today.