Heather Moraru & Sonya Neilson
The enactment of the George-Reed Act of 1929 came about due to a need for additional funding in the areas of home economics and agriculture. This act furthers the funding originally specified by the Smith-Hughes Act of 1917.
“The parties were bigger…the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser…” F. Scott Fitzgerald (Rayburn, 2000).
The 1920’s, otherwise known as the Roaring 20’s, is a decade of firsts, a carefree lifestyle, jazz music and good spirits. The decade begins with the inauguration of Warren G. Harding as the 29th President and ends with the unforgettable Stock Market Crash that began the Great Depression.
American life sees an overwhelming number of inventions, discoveries and lifestyle changes. The first radio coverage of a major league baseball game, the first car radio, the first transatlantic telephone service, women competing in the Olympics, and the initial construction on the Empire State Building are just a few of the feats of the time period. Another characteristic of the decade involves the increasing use of credit. People were spending “at a pace that outraced their incomes” while play became as important as work (Rayburn, 2000). Flapper styles, bobbed hair and jazz music soared.
However, taking another look at the decade, after taking off the rose-colored glasses, there is quite another side to this ‘roaring’ decade. Statistics show that 60 percent of Americans had annual incomes of less than $2,000, which even in the 1920’s was poverty, just enough to survive (Time Line – 1921, 1999). Government officials were put to trial for bribery and the Ku Klux Klan increased in numbers from 2,000 to several million (Rayburn, 2000).
For most of the 1800s, it was the common belief that vocational education took place on the job and not in public schools (History). In the late 1800s, the movement towards vocationally oriented schooling finally began. A major landmark for vocational education came in 1917 with the enactment of the Smith Hughes Act. Also known as the Vocational Education Act, Smith Hughes represented the first national approval of vocational education in public schools. Vocational Education received federal funding for secondary education.
Following closely on the heals of Smith Hughes, the George-Reed Act furthered the funding for Vocational Education. Due to the increase in funding, this law allowed for an increase of over twenty percent in statewide vocational education enrollments (History). The act provided for Federal funds of $2,500,000 given annually over a period not to exceed five years (Legislation). The money was to be divided equally between home economics and agriculture based respectively on the rural population and the farm population in each state (Federal). However, these funds were specifically designated for the purpose of hiring subject matter specialists in Home Economics and Agriculture.
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