THE 1940's

THE STYLES

WOMEN

• Victory rolls
• Omelette fold
• Chignon
• Queue curl

CLOTHES

• Square shouldered shirts
• Skirts that ended just below the knees
• Narrow hips
• Most dresses had a tie around the middle
• Big sweaters were popular among teenagers

MEN

• Most men were in the army, so a lot of guys had shorter hair cuts or buzz cuts.
• Hats were very popular among men in the 1940's
• Men also tended to dress less classy, but still very formal. They mostly wore suits

CLOTHES

• The 1940's kicked off with more if an elegant, classy and formal style
• This was because of the war that was going on, and there was a very large lack in material
• The 1949's ended with more extravagant colorful styles to signify the end of strict rationing.
• There were lots of suits and hats were VERY popular

ARTISTS/ART ICONS

• Norman Rockwell
• Mark Tobey
• Rosie The Riveter was an iconic piece of artwork that empowered women during WW2

ENTERTAINMENT

GAMES

• Scrabble
• Candy Land
• Clue
• Model Airplanes
• Bubbles

GENERAL GIRL ACTIVITIES

• Music- Vinyl records
• Sewing
• Knitting

GENERAL BOY ACTIVITIES

• Sports
• Tinkering
• Once boys were of age, many of them enlisted in the army

ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE GENERAL AUDIENCE

• New 'pop' music. People preferred single artists over bands
• Movies- e.x. It's A Wonderful Life and Casablanca
• Books- e.x. Goodnight Moon and Animal Farm
• Listening to stories being read aloud on the radio was also a choice pastime

THE ECONOMY

In the 1940's, because the Second World War was going on, there were rations on certain foods so that families had enough to eat and the government had money to spend on the war, and there was extra food for soldiers.

The New Deal
The new deal was a group of various organizations created to help the economy get out of AND recover from the Great Depression.

During the forties, women had to leave their domestic jobs in order to participate in the war effort. Some women were able to continue working as a stay at home mom, but they would still contribute by planting victory gardens and recycling. The majority of women ended up working in factories to take over their husbands jobs while they were away.

POLITICS

PRESIDENTS

• Franklin Rooselvelt: March 4th, 1933- April 12th, 1945
• Harry Truman: April 12th, 1945- January 20th, 1953
• President Truman was President Roosevelt's Vice President for one of his three terms

Untitled Slide

• Both President Roosevelt and President Truman were Democrats
• The Democrats had the majority in congress during the 1940's
• There were no constitutional amendments passed in the 1949's

INVENTIONS

Jeep, Atomic reactions, Atomic bomb, Polaroid camera, Electric guitar, Color tv, Slinky, Silly putty, Computers, Velcro, Penicillin, Kitty litter