Life in the 1930s
Russia
Communism- belief that everyone is equal. All wealth was owned
by the state along with all property.
Before 1917, Russia had been run by the Tsar, he was autocratic
and made all the decisions. He was a bad leader, many Russians
wanted democracy. Russian society was very unfair, the rich made up 3% of the
people, yet owned 90% of all the land and wealth. The Peasants and workers
lived terrible lives, their people suffered from food shortages and lived in
desperate poverty.
America
Capitalist- belief in freedom and democracy. People are free to
make lots of money or be in poverty. Belief in the idea of selfhelp and individualism.
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In 1917, Russia had a revolution. The Russian people had had enough. The Tsar
abdicated. A new government was formed, but it was quickly taken over by
Lenin and the Bolsheviks. They went about setting up a Communist government.
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How did Russia change after the revolution?
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Any rich people in 1917 lost their houses, land and money. They were
treated badly and forced to do the worst jobs. They had to share their
large houses with workers. They were given hardly any food. Many fled
Russia. Rich people were attacked in the streets after the revolution.
The state controlled all people and everything, there was no freedom
for people. No say in the government. Everything was strictly
controlled.
Some peasants resented having to give up their extra grain to Lenin for
no profit and rebelled by burning it all. This led to famine where 7
million died.
The Cheka arrested anyone that opposed and they were sent to Gulags.
Forced to do hard labour. Millions were killed.
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1920s USA were roaring and
millionaires went up by 500%,
more people were rich in the
USA than anywhere else and
workers were the best paid in
the world.
People had more money to spend- bought new goods like
radios, cars, fridges etc
Freer attitudes- flappers, time of having fun. Jazz music
and speakeasies.
Not everyone was rich and some people in the countryside
lived in poverty. Black
Americans were treated
terribly. They faced
segregation and the KKK.
They were second class
citizens and lived in poverty.
In 1929, the stock market crashed and many Americans became
poor, losing all their money.
How did the depression affect Americans lives?
 Some Americans committed suicide after losing all their
money. The suicide rate went up by 30%
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Equality for men and women and education for
all people. By the end of the 1920s all Russians
could read and write.
3.5 million people waited in line to attend
Lenin’s funeral when he died in 1924. This
started a cult of the leader who people hero
worshipped.
After Lenin’s death, Russia was led by Josef Stalin. He too was cruel
dictator and often purged
Russian society. Millions were
sent to the gulags.
Stalin modernised Russian
society creating cities and
ending the food shortages,
but people had no freedom.
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Americans were forced to leave their homes and live in
hoovervilles. These were shanty towns, with houses made
out of scraps
Americans queued for hours at soup kitchens to avoid
starving. Many scavenged for food in bins.
Some Americans became hobos- they travelled the railroad
in search of jobs.
14 million were unemployed
Many workers were forced to leave their homes in search
of jobs across the country. They were known as migrant
workers, they lived in terrible poverty withy badly paid
jobs.
85,000 businesses went bankrupt
9 million people lost all their savings
1n 1933, America elected a new president, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He promised the American people a ‘new deal’, he would end the
depression. He set up lots of government agencies known as the
alphabet agencies to help Americans find work and make lives
better. By 1941, there were 4 million unemployed but the
depression did not end until WW2 in 1941.
Revision Activities:
1) Write a definition for the following key words in Russia:
Tsar,
democracy,
revolution,
communism,
gulag,
cheka,
2) Write a definition for the following key words in America:
Capitalism
American dream
wall street crash
depression
hooverville
3) Explain 4 ways that life changed for people under communism after the Russian Revolution.
4) Did life get any better for the Russian people? Support your answer with two reasons.
5) What was life like in the USA in the 1920s? Why did people call them roaring? Refer to 4 points in your answer.
6) How did life change for Americans in the 1930s in the depression? Refer to 4 points in your answer.
7) Where was life better, Capitalism or Communism? Give 3 reasons to support.