Sara Lamog

An Exposé of Daily Life

Daily Life in the United Sates, 1920-1940: How Americans Lived through the ‘Roaring Twenties’ and the Great Depression relays its subject matter’s entirety simply through its title. In this book, author and historian David E, Kyvig uses a micro-macro approach to history by probing the day-to-day American lifestyle in order to analyze larger-scale national trends that unfolded during the two decades between the World Wars. Kyvig’s emphasis on this uncommon historical viewpoint stems from a belief he presents early on—studying daily life does not narrow our view of our predecessors, it enhances our perception of the past. To Kyvig, “understanding the routines of daily life for the many not only…illuminates the reality…it [also] clarifies what makes so extraordinary the lives of the few who receive the lion’s share of attention” (xi). Tied to Kyvig’s emphasis on daily life is the importance of his selected time period. According to Kyvig, the 1920s and 1930s reflected the evolving nature of America and especially showed how its citizens adjusted to change not through wide ranging and rapid movements, but rather in small daily lifestyle shifts. Although Kyvig acknowledges differential experiences aside from the general ones he presents, he traces the step-by-step process Americans undertook during these decades to forge a standardized national culture. This process, in turn, touches upon Kyvig’s underlying theme of piecing together the minor occurrences of the past in order to grasp the full picture of the present and perhaps gauge the future.

Kyvig organizes Daily Life’s chapters topically (i.e. automobiles, electricity, cinema), but the book also acts as a historical flow chart of events.

In chapter one, “The Circumstances of American Life in 1920,” Kyvig paints the picture of “ordinary” America by drawing extensively from census data. Focusing mostly on population statistics, income figures, and ethnic demographics, Kyvig recounts what life was like for the average American. He also sets the scene by depicting a nation and its people on the precipice of change, specifically because of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments. Indeed, Kyvig declares that “no other government actions during the 1920s [had] nearly as much immediate impact on the daily lives of ordinary citizens” than these two amendments. He then explores how they affected various aspects of daily life (5).

Chapter two continues to pursue the theme of a transforming nation as Kyvig examines how automobiles emerged as a “new central factor in the everyday lives of ordinary Americans” (27). At first, Kyvig narrates the early history of Ford and General Motors, but then goes beyond that to show how their innovations catalyzed widespread change. Placing automobiles at the top of this chapter’s flow chart, Kyvig demonstrates how this one machine altered the economic landscape, buying habits, advertising, employment and labor practices, gas companies, infrastructure plans, agricultural practices, family life, and leisure time.

The next chapter focuses on electricity. Once again, Kyvig traces how the new found accessibility to this innovation affected various other aspects to life, mainly workforce productivity, the standardization of accessory appliances, home design, education, and domestic work. Overall, Kyvig reveals that the biggest change electricity brought to daily life was Americans’ new ability to manipulate their schedules and arrange daily routines without the hindrance of darkness.

Chapter four centers on the radio’s power to produce a common culture (71). Kyvig points out that radio provided entertainment one could enjoy without leaving the confines of one’s home. Moreover, it also established a connection between listeners, for they all tuned in to the same broadcast at the same time. Through its coverage of news, sports, politics, religious services, and music, radio “reduced the sense of personal isolation and [instead] allowed people a chance to feel that they were connected to others in a vast unseen audience” (90).

Chapter five covers the effects of cinema on American daily life. Like radio, the movies connected individual lives to a larger national culture. According to Kyvig, cinema did so both by appealing to larger audiences (often through easily understandable plots) and in presenting more realistic portrayals of life. Cinema’s overall lasting effect on Americans proved to be in its “break down of provincialism, increased awareness of the unfamiliar, and the creation of a national community with a specific set of shared experiences” (91).

Daily Life’s next two chapters are closely related and focus on how small lifestyle changes signaled large national changes in ideas, attitudes, and mindset. Chapter six explores shifts in short-term practices: dietary patterns, body image, concepts of dress and beauty, and personal hygiene. Chapter seven centers on longer-lasting patterns: courtship, marriage, divorce, childbearing, education, religious practices, and leisure activities. Thus, in both chapters, Kyvig delves into practices that proved to be more than mere routine activities, but instead central elements of people’s lives.

Chapter eight shines light on the negative aspects of life at this time. Kyvig focuses on controversial racial and cultural issues such as the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Klan and lynching. He then explores disputes over immigration and recounts the headline-grabbing Sacco and Vanzetti case. Kyvig also cites natural disasters such as boll weevil swarms, floods, droughts, and windstorms that plagued the daily lives of many Americans.

Chapter nine –“Culture of the Masses: the Standardizing of Daily Life” – once more shows the movement toward unifying the American culture into a national culture. Calling attention to the rise of newspapers and magazines at this time, Kyvig explores the growing emphasis on achieving personal satisfaction through mainstream products. He also highlights new popular dance crazes and the Harlem Renaissance. Kyvig concludes by explaining that this shift toward standardization of products and practices precipitated a standardization of tastes and values.

Chapter ten dissects the causes and consequences of the Great Depression. Here Kyvig probes Americans’ feelings of insecurity and vulnerability, traces the financial crisis’s effects on the family unit and on the individual, and ultimately observes that “daily life for the American people had been reduced to barter, subsistence, and worry” (230).

The following chapter focuses on the New Deal, mainly exploring the changing relationship between the federal government and its citizens. Kyvig emphasizes the more active role Washington played in the lives of average Americans through the implementation of New Deal programs. Having demonstrated how these programs “made ordinary citizens’ lives more visible to the government” and vice-versa, Kyvig maintains that Americans’ expectations for their government also changed—its importance and duty was now thought to be derived from its individual citizens’ daily lives.

In the book’s final chapter, Kyvig offers several case studies of American life on the eve of World War II, exploring the differences and similarities in six locales. Drawing on statistical data, he paints a portrait of each town’s population, sense of community, family ties, and overall way of life in order to show that although they all were distinct, they had a commonality—a “shared national culture” (298).