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World War 1 began
World War 1 initially started due to the political tensions between the European powers, leading to distrust and the formation of complicated alliances. Once Austro-Hungary struck Serbia for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, to which the other European countries reacted by going to war and pulling in their allies after them, forming two sides; the Central Powers of Germany and Austro-Hungary empire and the Allied Powers of Great Britain, France, and Russia. -
World War 1 ends
World War 1 ended with Armistice Day, were Germany agreed to a cease fire and the Allied Powers won the war. The general dislike of war that arose after World War 1 in the United States caused it to become more isolationist and depend on itself more, rejecting immigrants, thus rejecting a large portion of the labor force. -
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Prohibition of alcohol in the US
The drinking of alcohol was seen as an unsavory and corrupt practice by many. To enforce the notion of prohibition, the U.S. government passed the 18th amendment that prohibited alcohol. After it was repealed in 1933, the sale of alcohol became popular again, though not as high as pre-Prohibition levels. The sale of alcohol was a large commodity workers wasted their money on as relief from stress, which George himself does in the book, wasting precious money needed to buy the land. -
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Roaring Twenties
Also known as the jazz age, the Roaring Twenties was a period of cultural flourish as new styles of music was made, such as jazz, women changed fasion as flappers came about, and everyone enjoyd a period of economic prosperity due to the stock market and the rise of debit, allowing people to buy fancy things now and pay for them later. -
the film "The Toll of the Sea" premiered
It was one of the first all-color feature films of the decade, and displays the darker,emotional part of the culture of this era, telling a tale of two lovers who never got to be together. -
"The Great Gatsby", by F. Scott Fitzgerald, was published
The book, releashed during the Roaring Twenties, tells of the journey of Nick Carraway in the West Egg and the many interactions he has with its inhabitants, namely Tom Buchanan, Myrtle Wilson, and Jay Gatsby. -
"The Sun Also Rises", by Ernest Hemingway, was published
The book, published during the Roaring Twenties, is about a large love affair between many men and one woman named Brett, spanning from the U.S. to Paris, and delves into the new liberal freedoms women gain during this era. -
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Herbert Hoover's time in office
He was the president during the beginning of the Great Depression, and while he did attempt to help fix it, such as passing the Emergency Relief and Construction Act, it was of no avail. He was blamed for most of the eras problems henceforth, even having the poor towns of the Hoovervilles being mockingly named in his honor. -
Stock Market Crash of 1929
The stock market crash is what initially caused the Great Depression. This was caused by everyone with stocks selling their stocks at the same time, causeing the prices of stocks to dramatically plummet. This affected George and Lennie for this is what probably caused them to loose all their money and place them in poverty, forcing them to travel the country to find jobs for money. -
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The Great Depression Era
The Great Depression was the Dark Age of the U.S. and world wide economy, riveted with poverty. With buisnesses out of buisness, goods being to high to buy, and jobs low wage and scarce, this caused many workers to travel around the country to find jobs to survive. George and Lennie belonged to this group of people, having nearly nothing but their clothes and their dream to save up enough money to buy a piece of land for themselves. -
The Dust Bowl begins
The Dust Bowl began due to the exploitation of the west praries the decade before. The resulting dust storms for which this event was named for destroyed crops, lifestock, and any buisnesses, further worsening the conditions of the Great Depression, and left thousands homeless. This affected George and Lennie by closing off a venue of work that could have been available if the event never occured, and brought about more competition for work, as many workers migrated out of the area to find work. -
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Franklin D. Roosevelt's time in office
The president during the later half of the Great Depression, FDR was credited with helping easing the effects of the Great Depression, mainly by introducing the New Deal. This program introduced public work projects, producing jobs for workers to fill. George and Lennie would have benefited from these jobs, had Lennie stopped getting them into trouble in each job they found. -
"Miss Lonelyhearts", by Nathaniel West, was published
The book, released during the Great Depression, is about the unnamed male newspaper columnist who stuggles with life at every turn, being filled heavily with depression because of his work, the events in his life, and the people he knows. -
The movie "The Black Legion" premiered
The movie, produced during the Great Depression, is about a factory worker named Frank Taylor who, stuggling with work, joins an anti immigrant society group named the Black Legion to cope with his life.This film explores the hopelessness and xenophobic tendencies that existed during the Great Depression. -
Passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act was an act passed to set rules on the age and conditions a child can work, stating that the age of 16 was required for work during school hours, 14 for certain jobs after school, and 18 for dangerous work. Effectively, this affected George and Lennie by eliminating many child workers from the competition, opening new jobs for them. -
Thursday
George and Lennie are on their way to their new jobs at the ranch after their fiasco at their last job at Weed. The trek takes a while, due to the fact the bus driver was to lazy to drive them there and it was several miles to the ranch. Once they are nearly there, they make a stop at the river in a forest to freshen up for the next day. During their rest they reminice about their dream to save up enough money to buy a plot of their own one day. -
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The events of "Of Mice and Men", by John Steinbeck, occur
The events last over a 4 day time span, beginning with George and Lennie on their way to the ranch on Thursday the 19th and ending on Sunday the 22nd when George kills Lennie. -
Friday afternoon
The other workers at the ranch, tired of the smell of Candy's dog, convince Candy to let them put it out of its misery and shoot it. While the other workers were out disposing of the dog, George and Lennie discuss their dream, and Candy, hearing their dream, wants to join in on it, having already a some money for the cause. Afterwards, Curly comes in looking for his wife and picks a fight with Lennie because he wanted to establish dominance, which ended with Lennie breaking Curly's hand. -
Friday morning
George and Lennie arrive at the ranch and recieve their new jobs, despite being late. While they are waiting to start their jobs in the afternoon they get aquainted with the inhabitants of the ranch; Candy, the one handed cripple with his old dog, Curly, the bratty child of the ranch owner who cant keep track of his wife, Curley's wife, a woman who longs for attention, and Slim, the hard, caring fellow worker. -
Saturday night
Lennie wanders in on Crook's living space in the barn while George was out in the cathouse with the other workers, and while Crooks pretends to be miffed by this, he is glad to have some human contact. Lennie goes on to tell Crooks about his and George's dream, to which Crooks asks if he can join too, maybe work as a helping hand. But along comes Curley's wife, looking for attention, and denounces any notions Crooks had on the basis he was a lowly crippled black person, crushing his spirits. -
Sunday afternoon
Lennie killed one of the pups by petting it too hard while the other workers were outside. After he hid the body Curly's wife walks in the barn and begins a conversation. After seeing the corpse, she goes on how she planned on becoming a movie star, yet ended up getting stuck with Curly. George then tells her his dream and desire to pet soft things, and at this she lets him pet her hair, but when he starts doing it to hard she began to freak and Lennie accidentally killed her to keep her quiet. -
Sunday Night
Lennie runs away to the secret spot in the woods George told him to go to if he ever gets into any sort of toruble. During the commotion to go hunt down Lennie back at the ranch, George takes Carlson's pistol and races to the clearing. Upon finding Lennie, George reminices their dream together one more time before shooting Lennie in the back of the head, ending their unfortunate series of events at the ranch. -
The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck, was published
The book, published during thr Great Depression, describes a story about Tom Joad, a farmer on parole who struggles with the doily trials of the society he lives in, which makes life desperately hard for farmers due to the state forclosing their farms and destroying any surlplus crops. -
World War II began
World War II officialy started with Germany's invasion of Poland. After this attack, the world divided into the Allied powers, England, the U.S., and China, and the Axis powers, Germany, Italy, and Japan. -
The Dust Bowl ends
The Dust Bowl ended after trees were planted to solve the problem of soil displacement and severe winds, lessening the durability of the dust storms. After rain finally fell after the 6 year drought, the Dust Bowl was officially over, -
World War II ends
World War II officialy ends when Japan agreed to surrender after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.By this time Nazi Germay was defeated.