During the Great Depression, people turned towards various forms of entertainment to escape the financial struggles they were facing. One such man was Charles Darrow, who is often hailed as the inventor of the board game, Monopoly.
According to
The Monopoly Book, Strategy and Tactics, by Maxine Brady, which is regarded as the definitive book on Monopoly, Darrow was an unemployed salesman and inventor during the early years of Depression. As a result, he was forced to work odd jobs in order to support his family. In his free time, he drew maps of Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he used to spend many of his summers. Not long after, Darrow would start "buying" and "selling", different property on his maps with his friends and family. In time, this game would come to be known as Monopoly. Due to its popularity, Darrow would later start selling his game to neighbors for $4.
Word of the game started to spread, and demand soon exceeded Darrow's ability to make copies of it. As a result, Darrow decided to sell the game to a pre-existing manufacturer as opposed to running the risky investment of creating his own factory. He would eventually sell the rights to his game to Parker Brothers and become the first inventor to ever be a millionaire.
It is important to note that, contrary to popular belief, Darrow was not the sole creator of the game. There is evidence to suggest that the game Darrow made was based on a game by Lizzie Magie called "The Landlord's Game", which was meant to teach Americans about income inequality. However, Darrow's version of the game, created as a byproduct of the Great Depression, was the first to gain national success.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/monopoly-was-designed-teach-99-about-income-inequality-180953630/
https://www.thoughtco.com/monopoly-monopoly-charles-darrow-4079786
Wow this was a really cool post. Apparently the game was used to smuggle money to prisoners of war during World War II. Apparently Magie and Darrow both got joint credit for Monopoly, but her story has been lost to history. Especially after her death, Darrow got most of the credit. Personally, I'm not surprised that she didn't get some of the credit that she deserved. Even though women had the vote already, I'm sure many Americans still perceived women as inferior to men.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-scandalous-history-of-monopoly/
I did some further research into Lizzie Magie and her connection to "The Landlord's Game." Some interesting points made include how Magie's family had connections with Abraham Lincoln and this may have impacted the Magie's political views. Additionally, Lizzie Magie worked several jobs that were usually unheard of for women to do. This included going into the engineering field. Her board game creation only earned her, reportedly, $500.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.biography.com/news/monopoly-history-lizzie-magie
Maybe you could do a blog on that
DeleteThis is a really fascinating post, as monopoly is a game that most Americans are very familiar with and many children learn to play at a young age. I had never thought about the time at which it was created or the fact that it actually gained popularity because of the Great Depression. It is ironic that at a time when many people were extremely frustrated with the economy, a game that was all about the economy could end up serving as an escape for people. When Roosevelt became president during the Great Depression, he intended to regulate the economy in an effort to bring people out from the extreme poverty that many were suffering from throughout the country. Roosevelt did not like monopolies, and this board game was teaching people, even young children, that monopoly was a goal to try and achieve, which seems like it would have been contradictory to what Roosevelt probably wanted. It is very interesting to think about the kinds of messages that come from the things we consider escapes. Sometimes, we may think they are mindless and do not have an impact on us; however, there tend to be hidden messages in the forms of entertainment that continue to surround us on a daily basis today.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20170728-monopoly-was-invented-to-demonstrate-the-evils-of-capitalism
A very interesting insight on a game nearly every home has today. Something that originated out of darkness nearly one hundred years ago. Today it is often thought of as a "never ending game" and "a game to break up friendships and families". It is hard to believe that what is now a game was a seemingly reality to the Tycoons of America. The stress that is felt by that game was heavily amplified during the real times, illustrating the heavy implications the Great Depression had on people. It is interesting to note that the game was invented by a person that lost everything, like most people during the Depression. The game was clearly a success to act as an escape for the people who could no longer afford food. Being able to hold a stack of paper monopoly money, easily purchasing territories and landmarks, had to feel like the dream.
ReplyDelete