Beginning in the early 30’s, young people across the country could revel, weekly, in the tales of The Aldrich Family on the radio. Artistic and intellectual pursuits were considered “distractions” or “phases,” and wastes of time that little Johnny and Sally would surely just simply “grow out” of. The expectation, economically, for the young man, was to apprentice at the same jobs that their fathers were doing, or to grow up being groomed to take over the family-farm. Before this, teenagers were viewed as “better to be seen and not heard” by the adult establishment. In general, after The Great War there was a pervasive loosening of attitudes toward sex and economic independence that swept infectiously through America - and these mores eventually trickled down to the teenagers. People, especially teenagers, loved these stories they were inspiring and represented what would shortly be called “The American Dream.” Alger’s books, which were immensely popular in the latter quarter of the 1800’s, often featured a juvenile protagonist of modest means that through sheer hard-work, ingenuity and force of intellect, rose above their station and made themselves into “somebody.” That is, successful at whatever it is that they may have chosen to do, despite the odds and obstacles against them. The rise of teenage culture can be traced back to the 19th Century novels by Horatio Alger.
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