1

Historical Background

The Great Depression had an unprecedented impact on

America during the 1930s. Lives were changed forever as

breadwinners lost their jobs, families lost their homes,

banks collapsed, and people endured tremendous sacrifice

to make ends meet. Agricultural workers were arguably

affected most of all. In addition to the falling cost of crops,

farmers also had to manage their properties during “The

Dust Bowl” storms. These conditions meant that many

people could not pay their debts or mortgages and lost

their farms.

A number of circumstances contributed to the economic

crisis. Americans during the 1920s were used to a con-

sumer culture where they could purchase items on credit,

but once unemployment rose, purchasing decreased.

Businesses lost their value, banks failed, and the cycle con-

tinued. At the time, little government intervention was in

place to stop the crisis from snowballing.

During the 1930s, the federal government created dozens

of programs under The New Deal in order to put Ameri-

cans back to work, many of which are still in effect today.

A direct correlation can be drawn from many of the causes

of the Great Depression to the government programs of

the 1930s which of the have helped to prevent the occur-

rence of major economic depressions ever since.

Suggestions for Teachers

This primary source set is organized thematically

and focuses on causes of the Great Depression

including mechanization of farming, consumerism,

and unemployment. Encourage students to think

about how these aspects of American culture can

have a dramatic effect on the economy. Consider

asking students questions such as: Which cause is

most responsible for the depression?

What have we as a country learned from the Great

Depression? In what ways has the government

attempted to protect the public from future eco-

nomic crises?

Additional resources can be found in the

Horydczak Collection, which includes photo-

graphs from Washington, D.C. during the De-

pression period. Ask students to search for specific

automobiles such as Studebaker, Cadillac, or Jeep

to see how they compare with today’s popular

vehicles.

Teaching with Primary Sources — MTSU

PRIMARY SOURCE SET:

CAUSES OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Additional Links

Calvin Coolidge Papers: McNary-Haugen Bill

Lesson Plan: Hoover and the Bonus Marchers

Lesson Plan: The Great Depression

The Great Depression: Themed Resources

TPS– MTSU Primary Source Set: Depression and the New

Deal

Songs of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl Migrants

Migrant agricultural worker's family. Seven hungry chil-

dren. Mother aged thirty-two. Father is native Californian.

Nipomo, California [1936 Feb. or Mar.]

2

Mechanization of cotton [between 1935 and 1942]

Abandoned house in Carey, Texas. Mechanized

cotton farming and displacement of tenant families

is fast making Carey a ghost town [1937 May]

Abandoned tenant house seen across tractored

fields. Hall County, Texas. Many tenants who

have filled the land on the family-farm basis are

made landless, forced by the machine into the

towns, or reduced to day labor on the farms.

Large numbers who have gone to the towns have

fallen on relief, or even have sought refuge in dis-

tant parts. Not only is their security gone, but the

opportunity even to rise to ownership is dimin-

ished, for profitable operation of mechanized

farms requires more land and more capital equip-

ment per farm [1938 June]

Day laborers hoeing cotton. Many tenant farmers

become day laborers on mechanized farms. Near

Corsicana, Texas [1937 June]

Good housekeeping:

selected issue from

1926 [1926 February]

Automobiles. Automobiles in full parking lot

[ ca. 1920– ca. 1950]

Electric Institute of Washington. Woman with

washing machine [ ca. 1920– ca. 1950]

Electric Institute of Wash-

ington. Cooking and plan-

ning II [ ca. 1920– ca. 1950]

[Mass production by Henry Ford,] The Encyclopedia bri-

tannica; a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature & general

information. [v.30, 821-23.] [1926]

3

4

If you boys can agree you may get something from

Santy [1927 November 12]

The interview for unemployment compensa-

tion. San Francisco, California [1938 January]

[Crowd of people gather outside the New York Stock

Exchange following the Crash of 1929] [1929]

Text

Savage Blames Labor Unions for the Great

Depression

The Stock Market Fell to Its Lowest Point

During the Depression

Today in History: The Depths of Depression

The Migrant Experience

I’d rather not be on relief [1938]

[Two men in car at jammed intersection: "Listen -

- if those European financiers aren't careful there's

going to be a crash"; "Yeah -- that's what we gotta

look out for"] [1931 Oct 12]

CITATIONS

Teachers: Providing these primary source replicas without source clues may enhance the inquiry experience for students. This list of

citations is supplied for reference purposes to you and your students. We have followed the Chicago Manual of Style format, one of

the formats recommended by the Library of Congress, for each entry below, minus the access date. The access date for each of these

entries is September 15th, 2017.

Lange, Dorothea, photographer. Migrant agricultural worker's family. Seven hungry children. Mother aged thirty-two. Father

is native Californian. Nipomo, California. 1936. Feb. or Mar. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,

http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/071_fsab.html.

Lange, Dorothea, photographer. Abandoned house in Carey, Texas. Mechanized cotton farming and displacement of tenant

families is fast making Carey a ghost town. Carey Childress County Texas, 1937. May. Photograph. Retrieved from the

Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa2000001195/PP/.

Lange, Dorothea, photographer. Abandoned tenant house seen across tractored fields. Hall County, Texas.Many tenants who

have filled the land on the family-farm basis are made landless, forced by the machine into the towns, or reduced to day labor on

the farms. Large numbers who have gone to the towns have fallen on relief, or even have sought refuge in distant parts. Not only is

their security gone, but the opportunity even to rise to ownership is diminished, for profitable operation of mechanized farms re-

quires more land and more capital equipment per farm. Hall County Texas, 1938. June. Photograph. Retrieved from the

Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa2000001802/PP/.

Mechanization of Cotton. Memphis Shelby County Tennessee, None. [Between 1935 and 1942] Photograph. Re-

trieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa1998018941/PP/.

Lange, Dorothea, photographer. Day laborers hoeing cotton. Many tenant farmers become day laborers on mechanized farms.

Near Corsicana, Texas. Corsicana Navarro County Texas, 1937. June. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of

Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/fsa2000001271/PP/.

Horydczak, Theodor, Approximately, photographer. Automobiles. Automobiles in full parking lot. Washington D.C,

None. ca. 1920-ca. 1950. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/

thc1995012792/PP/.

Ford, Henry. “Mass production.” The Encyclopedia Britannica; a dictionary of arts, sciences, literature & general

information. [v.30, 821-23.] Retrieved from American Memory, https://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?

ammem/AMALL:@field(NUMBER+@band(amrlg+lg48)).

Good housekeeping: selected issue from 1926 [1926 February]

Horydczak, Theodor, Approximately, photographer. Electric Institute of Washington. Woman with washing machine.

Washington D.C, None. ca. 1920-ca. 1950. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://

www.loc.gov/item/thc1995004725/PP/.

Horydczak, Theodor, Approximately, photographer. Electric Institute of Washington. Cooking and planning II. Washing-

ton D.C, None. ca. 1920-ca. 1950. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/

item/thc1995005277/PP/.

5

Berryman, Clifford Kennedy, Artist. If you boys can agree you may get something from Santy. United States, 1927. Photo-

graph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2016678704/.

Hunter, Lester. “I’d rather not be on relief,” 1938. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/

primarysourcesets/dust-bowl-migration/pdf/relief.pdf.

Lange, Dorothea, photographer. The interview for unemployment compensation. San Francisco, California. California San Fran-

cisco San Francisco County, 1938. Jan. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/

item/fsa2000001831/PP/.

Block, Herbert, Artist. [Two men in car at jammed intersection: "Listen -- if those European financiers aren't careful

there's going to be a crash"; "Yeah -- that's what we gotta look out for"]. Europe, 1931. Photograph. Retrieved from

the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2009632455/.

[Crowd of people gather outside the New York Stock Exchange following the Crash of 1929]. New York, 1929. Photograph. Re-

trieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/99471695/.

Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945: Labor Unions During the Great Depression and New Deal. Savage

Blames Labor Unions for the Great Depression. Retrieved from http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/

presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/depwwii/unions/blame.html.

America’s Story from America’s Library. The Stock Market Fell to Its Lowest Point During the Depression, July 8, 1932. Re-

trieved from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/wwii/jb_wwii_stockmrkt_1.html.

Today in History: July 8. The Depths of Depression. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/july-

08/.

Fanslow, Robin A. American Folklife Center. Voices from the Dust Bowl: the Charles L. Todd and Robert Sonkin Mi-

grant Worker Collection, 1940 to 1941: The Migrant Experience. 1998 April 6. Retrieved from https://www.loc.gov/

collections/todd-and-sonkin-migrant-workers-from-1940-to-1941/articles-and-essays/the-migrant-experience/.

.

6