The Role of The Radio During the 1930s

During the decade of the Depression the radio achieved a very important position in the lives of American families. During this period and the 1940s the radio obtained a position which can not be compared to the position which radio holds in modern lives.

During the 1930s the radio was one of the central features of a family home. After the creation of the Rural Electrification Administration, a radio was more easily available to those Americans in rural areas because in many areas electricity was now available. This made it easier to listen to the radio than when you than had to have batteries. The REA (Rural Electrification Administration) was set up by Roosevelt in the New Deal, it was aimed at; providing electricity to the majority of rural residents; providing immediate employment and an increased demand for manufactured electical appliances.

Radio were relatively expensive during these Depression years, therefore the purchase of it was a major family expense, it was also regarded as a '‘symbol of victory in the family budget wars'’(1) The family radio purchase was also a test of financial stability. By the late 1930s some people regarded the radio as a family necessity, particularly in rural areas where this could be the only means of family entertainment. The radio also performed the role of being a lifeline to the outside world. A couple of the original inhabitants of Greenbelt recalled that it was through the radio that they learnt of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, and therefore the American entrance to the Second World War.(2)

The radio was generally placed in a central place within the house, usually the living / dining space in order that it was easily accessible. For example in the Greenbelt Museum the main radio is next to the dining table in the dining / living room. From the position it is in it would also be possible to listen to it in the kitchen, therefore providing entertainment to the person working in the kitchen.