Federal Writers' Project – Life Histories/2020/Fall/105/Section059/Don Washburn

Overview

The interview of Don Washburn a man who lived in Asheville, North Carolina, was conducted in 1939 and highlighted his time in World War I and opening his own business.

Biography

Don Washburn, born June 29th, 1893, was a white American born in an adjacent county of Asheville, North Carolina. Don’s family was all farmers, so he spent his early life farming. He then pursued an education and attended a junior college in the mountains. However, he discovered that education was not for him and dropped out. He then went to Colorado to “seek his fortune”. While living in Colorado with his aunt and uncle, he attempted numerous jobs but was never truly happy. Things changed on July 5th, 1918 when he was drafted into the war despite his dislike for the war. In 1919, he was placed in a medical unit and treated the Spanish Flu at Camp McClellan in Anniston, Alabama. He was then sent to France for a few weeks until his unit was sent back to New York where he was honorably discharged. His next job was shucking corn until he got a job at a rubber factory in Ohio. Here he took advantage of his opportunity to familiarize himself with the tire business by taking the night classes they offered. He then opened up a tire store with someone he met from class, in his hometown of Asheville. He got married in 1923 and had 3 kids: two boys and one girl. His partner left the tire business, but Don kept it running and lived a successful life. In his later years, he was a “perfect” member of the American Legionnaire, a non-profit for veterans where he advocated against fighting in World War II.

American Dream and Cars in the 1920s.

1928 Model T

The American Dream is a founding principle in America's culture that is derived from the Declaration of Independence in the pursuit of protecting opportunities for citizens. However, “In the Roaring 20s, the Founders' dream of protecting opportunities receded in favor of acquiring material things.” To be successful in this new society you had to have many things, this was highlighted in the Great Gatsby which displayed the new American Dream as purely materialistic. At the same time as this movement, cars were becoming cheaper than ever after the invention of the assembly line by Henry Ford in 1913. For example, the Model-T cost $850 in 1908, and in 1920 the Model-T cost only $260. With prices going down and the new pursuit for material items, the car industry saw an enormous increase in the number of cars purchased and on the street. In 1914, only 1.7 million cars were registered in the US and by the end of 1929, there were 26.5 million cars registered in the US. This led to many new industries booming such as gasoline and tire industries, more specifically: gas stations, rubber factories, tire, and car shops.

World War I and the Spanish Flu

Spanish Flu Hospital

World War I, also known as “the war to end all wars”, occurred from 1914-1918. The war originally broke out in Europe while the United States originally took the stand of neutrality. The United States was so against the war that their president, Woodrow Wilson, won re-election with the trademark phrase “He kept us out of war.” However, after the sinking of Lusitania and the Zimmerman telegram, the United States was thrown into World War 1. During the war, over 53,000 U.S. soldiers died in combat. Yet that was not the only common cause of death for soldiers at this time. During the war, the Spanish Flu broke out and wreaked havoc on the U.S. Army. “The virus traveled with military personnel from camp to camp and across the Atlantic, and at the height of the American military involvement in the war, September through November 1918, influenza and pneumonia sickened 20% to 40% of the U.S. Army and Navy personnel.” Not only did the disease spread to many soldiers but it was deadly, resulting in about 45,000 American Soldiers dying of influenza and related pneumonia by the end of 1918. Nobody knew how to treat the disease, “medical officers generally tried “all preventive measures which seemed logical” yet they could find no cure. Not only did the Spanish Flu wreak havoc on the soldiers but American citizens as well, “More than 675,000 Americans died of influenza in 1918. Based on today's population, that would be the equivalent of 2.16 million Americans dying.” In the end, the U.S. won the war but it came at a large cost largely due to the Spanish Flu.

The Great Debate and World War II

Portrait of FDR

World War II started in Europe in 1939 and the United States began with a neutral stance in the war. However, as the war progressed, a debate rose on whether or not the United States should enter the war. This debate became known as the Great Debate and consisted of two sides: the isolationists and the interventionists. The isolationists believed that was just a dispute between foreign nations and that the U.S. should not get involved. This was a common belief throughout America in January of 1940, “one poll found that 88% of Americans opposed the idea of declaring war against the Axis powers in Europe.” One of the biggest reasons for this belief was the growing isolationism in the 1930s. They had already seen how many had died in World War I and after the Great Depression (the worst economic depression in American history), Americans wanted to focus on their own country, not others. However, some debated otherwise: the interventionists. They believed that the U.S. had a great reason to join the war. Their belief was based on their theory that if the US was not involved in the war, Hitler would become the sole dictator of the world and the US would be the only country left. Ultimately, the United States joined the war in December of 1941 and won the war in September of 1945.