photo essay on the great depression

The Story of the Great Depression in Photos

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This collection of pictures of the Great Depression offers a glimpse into the lives of Americans who suffered through it. Included in this collection are pictures of the dust storms that ruined crops, leaving many farmers unable to keep their land. Also included are pictures of migrant workers—people who had lost their jobs or their farms and traveled in the hopes of finding some work. Life was not easy during the 1930s, as these evocative photos make plain.

Migrant Mother (1936)

George Eastman House Collection/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

This famous photograph is searing in its depiction of the utter desperation the Great Depression brought to so many and has become a symbol of the Depression. This woman was one of many migrant workers picking peas in California in the 1930s to make just enough money to survive.

It was taken by photographer Dorothea Lange as she traveled with her new husband, Paul Taylor, to document the hardships of the Great Depression for the Farm Security Administration. 

Lange spent five years (1935 to 1940) documenting the lives and hardships of the migrant workers, ultimately receiving the Guggenheim Fellowship for her efforts.

Less known is that Lange later went on to photograph the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II .

The Dust Bowl

Picture from the FDR Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration 

Hot and dry weather over several years brought dust storms that devastated the Great Plains states, and they came to be known as the Dust Bowl . It affected parts of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas. During the drought from 1934 to 1937, the intense dust storms, called black blizzards, caused 60 percent of the population to flee for a better life. Many ended up on the Pacific Coast.

Farms for Sale

Picture from the FDR Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

The drought, dust storms, and boll weevils that attacked Southern crops in the 1930s, all worked together to destroy farms in the South.

Outside the Dust Bowl, where farms and ranches were abandoned , other farm families had their own share of woes. Without crops to sell, farmers could not make money to feed their families nor to pay their mortgages. Many were forced to sell the land and find another way of life.

Generally, this was the result of foreclosure because the farmer had taken out loans for land or machinery in the prosperous 1920s but was unable to keep up the payments after the Depression hit, and the bank foreclosed on the farm.

Farm foreclosures were rampant during the Great Depression. 

Relocating: On the Road

Picture by Dorothea Lange, from FDR Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

The vast migration that occurred as the result of the Dust Bowl in the Great Plains and the farm foreclosures of the Midwest has been dramatized in movies and books so that many Americans of later generations are familiar with this story. One of the most famous of these is the novel " The Grapes of Wrath " by John Steinbeck, which tells the story of the Joad family and their long trek from Oklahoma's Dust Bowl to California during the Great Depression. The book, published in 1939, won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize and was made into a movie in 1940 that starred Henry Fonda.

Many in California, themselves struggling with the ravages of the Great Depression, did not appreciate the influx of these needy people and began calling them the derogatory names of "Okies" and "Arkies" (for those from Oklahoma and Arkansas, respectively).

The Unemployed

In 1929, before the crash of the stock market that marked the beginning of the Great Depression, the unemployment rate in the United States was 3.14 percent. In 1933, in the depths of the Depression, 24.75 percent of the labor force was unemployed. Despite the significant attempts at economic recovery by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal , real change only came with World War II.

Breadlines and Soup Kitchens

Because so many were unemployed, charitable organizations opened soup kitchens and breadlines to feed the many hungry families brought to their knees by the Great Depression.

Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps was part of FDR's New Deal. It was formed in March 1933 and promoted environmental conservation as it gave work and meaning to many who were unemployed. Members of the corps planted trees, dug canals and ditches, built wildlife shelters, restored historic battlefields and stocked lakes and rivers with fish.

Wife and Children of a Sharecropper

Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration 

At the beginning of the 1930s, many living in the South were tenant farmers, known as sharecroppers. These families lived in very poor conditions, working hard on the land but only receiving a meager share of the farm's profits.

Sharecropping was a vicious cycle that left most families perpetually in debt and thus especially susceptible when the Great Depression struck.

Two Children Sitting on a Porch in Arkansas

Photo courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum 

Sharecroppers, even before the Great Depression, often found it difficult to earn enough money to feed their children. When the Great Depression hit, this became worse.

This particular touching picture shows two young, barefoot boys whose family has been struggling to feed them. During the Great Depression, many young children got sick or even died from malnutrition.

A One-Room Schoolhouse

Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

In the South, some children of sharecroppers were able to periodically attend school but often had to walk several miles each way to get there.

These schools were small, often only one-room schoolhouses with all levels and ages in one room with a single teacher.

A Young Girl Making Supper

For most sharecropping families, however, education was a luxury. Adults and children alike were needed to make the household function, with children working alongside their parents both inside the house and out in the fields.

This young girl, wearing just a simple shift and no shoes, is making dinner for her family.

Christmas Dinner

For sharecroppers, Christmas did not mean lots of decoration, twinkling lights, large trees, or huge meals.

This family shares a simple meal together, happy to have food. Notice that they don't own enough chairs or a large enough table for them all to sit down together for a meal.

Dust Storm in Oklahoma

Franklin D. Roosevelt Library/National Records and Archives Administration

Life changed drastically for farmers in the South during the Great Depression. A decade of drought and erosion from over-farming led to huge dust storms that ravaged the Great Plains, destroying farms.

A Man Standing in a Dust Storm

The dust storms filled the air, making it hard to breathe, and destroyed what few crops existed. These dust storms turned the area into a " Dust Bowl ."

Migrant Worker Walking Alone on a California Highway

Picture by Dorothea Lange, courtesy of Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

With their farms gone, some men struck out alone in the hopes that they could somehow find somewhere that would offer them a job.

While some traveled the rails, hopping from city to city, others went to California in the hopes that there was some farm work to do.

Taking with them only what they could carry, they tried their best to provide for their family -- often without success.

A Homeless Tenant-Farmer Family Walking Along a Road

While some men went out alone, others traveled with their entire families. With no home and no work, these families packed only what they could carry and hit the road, hoping to find somewhere that could provide them a job and a way for them to stay together.

Packed and Ready for the Long Trip to California

Those fortunate enough to have a car would pack everything they could fit inside and head west, hoping to find a job in the farms of California.

This woman and child sit next to their over-filled car and trailer, packed high with beds, tables, and much more.

Migrants Living Out of Their Car

Photo courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Having left their dying farms behind, these farmers are now migrants, driving up and down California searching for work. Living out of their car, this family hopes to soon find work that will sustain them.

Temporary Housing for Migrant Workers

Some migrant workers used their cars to expand their temporary shelters during the Great Depression.

Arkansas Squatter Near Bakersfield, California

Photo courtesy the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Some migrant workers made more "permanent" housing for themselves out of cardboard, sheet metal, wood scraps, sheets, and any other items they could scavenge.

A Migrant Worker Standing Next to His Lean-to

Picture by Lee Russell, courtesy of the Library of Congress

Temporary housing came in many different forms. This migrant worker has a simple structure, made mostly from sticks, to help protect him from the elements while sleeping.

18-Year-Old Mother From Oklahoma Now a Migrant Worker in California

Life as a migrant worker in California during the Great Depression was hard and rough. Never enough to eat and tough competition for every potential job. Families struggled to feed their children.

A Young Girl Standing Next to an Outdoor Stove

Picture by Lee Russell, courtesy the Library of Congress

Migrant workers lived in their temporary shelters, cooking and washing there as well. This little girl is standing next to an outdoor stove, a pail, and other household supplies.

View of a Hooverville

Picture by Dorothea Lange, courtesy the Library of Congress

Collections of temporary housing structures such as these are usually called shantytowns, but during the Great Depression, they were given the nickname "Hoovervilles" after President Herbert Hoover .

Breadlines in New York City

Picture from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library

Large cities were not immune to the hardships and struggles of the Great Depression. Many people lost their jobs and, unable to feed themselves or their families, stood in long breadlines.

These were the lucky ones, however, for the breadlines (also called soup kitchens) were run by private charities and they did not have enough money or supplies to feed all of the unemployed.

Man Laying Down at the New York Docks

Sometimes, without food, a home, or the prospect of a job, a tired man might just lay down and ponder what lay ahead.

For many, the Great Depression was a decade of extreme hardship, ending only with the war production caused by the start of World War II.

• Great Depression Pictures
• A Short History of the Great Depression
• History of the Dust Bowl
• Great Depression in Canada Pictures
• The Dust Bowl: The Worst Environmental Disaster in the United States
• The 1930's Dust Bowl Drought
• Complete List of John Steinbeck's Books
• Top 5 Causes of the Great Depression
• Hoovervilles: Homeless Camps of the Great Depression
• Woody Guthrie, Legendary Songwriter and Folk Singer
• Dorothea Lange
• The Great Depression, World War II, and the 1930s
• 9 Books From the 1930s That Resonate Today
• Selected Quotes from The Grapes of Wrath
• Biography of Bonnie and Clyde, Notorious Depression-Era Outlaws
• 7 New Deal Programs Still in Effect Today

These photographs capture the American struggle during The Great Depression, 1929-1940

A cotton sharecropper with his family at their home in Hale County, Alabama, 1935.

Nobody could tell exactly when it began and nobody could predict when it would end. At the outset, they didn’t even call it a depression. At worst it was a recession, a brief slump, a “correction” in the market, a glitch in the rising curve of prosperity.

Only when the full import of those heartbreaking years sank in did it become the Great Depression – Great because there had been no other remotely like it.

In retrospect, we see it as a whole – as a neat decade tucked in between the Roaring Twenties and the Second World War, perhaps the most significant ten years in American history, a watershed era that perhaps scarred and transformed the nation.

But it hasn’t been easy for later generations to comprehend its devastating impact. The Great Depression lies just over the hill of memory; after all, it has been such a long time.

Crowd of men at Employment Office Desk.

The Great Depression began in August 1929, when the economic expansion of the Roaring Twenties came to an end. A series of financial crises punctuated the contraction. These crises included a stock market crash in 1929, a series of regional banking panics in 1930 and 1931, and a series of national and international financial crises from 1931 through 1933.

The downturn hit bottom in March 1933, when the commercial banking system collapsed and President Roosevelt declared a national banking holiday. Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession.

Although the Great Depression was relatively mild in some countries, it was severe in others, particularly in the United States, where, at its nadir in 1933, 25 percent of all workers and 37 percent of all nonfarm workers were completely out of work.

Some people starved; many others lost their farms and homes. Homeless vagabonds sneaked aboard the freight trains that crossed the nation.

Dispossessed cotton farmers, the “Okies,” stuffed their possessions into dilapidated Model Ts and migrated to California in the false hope that the posters about plentiful jobs were true. By 1933, industrial production declined by 50 percent, international trade plunged 30 percent, and investment fell 98 percent.

A struggling family during the Great Depression.

Cities around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few alternative sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most.

Drought persisted in the agricultural heartland, businesses and families defaulted on record numbers of loans, and more than 5,000 banks had failed. Hundreds of thousands of Americans found themselves homeless, and began congregating in shanty towns – dubbed “Hoovervilles” – that began to appear across the country.

In most countries of the world, recovery from the Great Depression began in 1933. In the U.S., recovery began in early 1933, but the U.S. did not return to 1929 GNP for over a decade and still had an unemployment rate of about 15% in 1940, albeit down from the high of 25% in 1933.

There is no consensus among economists regarding the motive force for the U.S. economic expansion that continued through most of the Roosevelt years (and the 1937 recession that interrupted it).

The common view among most economists is that Roosevelt’s New Deal policies either caused or accelerated the recovery, although his policies were never aggressive enough to bring the economy completely out of recession.

An unemployed man lies down on the New York docks. 1935.

Some economists have also called attention to the positive effects from expectations of reflation and rising nominal interest rates that Roosevelt’s words and actions portended. It was the rollback of those same reflationary policies that led to the interruption of a recession beginning in late 1937.

One contributing policy that reversed reflation was the Banking Act of 1935, which effectively raised reserve requirements, causing a monetary contraction that helped to thwart the recovery. GDP returned to its upward trend in 1938.

The common view among economic historians is that the Great Depression ended with the advent of World War II. Many economists believe that government spending on the war caused or at least accelerated recovery from the Great Depression, though some consider that it did not play a very large role in the recovery, though it did help in reducing unemployment.

Unemployed men line up in front of a Chicago soup kitchen, which was operated by Al Capone.

The Great Depression transformed the American political and economic landscape. It produced a major political realignment, creating a coalition of big-city ethnics, African Americans, organized labor, and Southern Democrats committed, to varying degrees, to interventionist government.

It strengthened the federal presence in American life, spawning such innovations as national old-age pensions, unemployment compensation, aid to dependent children, public housing, federally-subsidized school lunches, insured bank depositions, the minimum wage, and stock market regulation.

It fundamentally altered labor relations, producing a revived labor movement and a national labor policy protective of collective bargaining. It transformed the farm economy by introducing federal price supports. Above all, it led Americans to view the federal government as an agency of action and reform and the ultimate protector of public well-being.

The memory of the Depression also shaped modern theories of economics and resulted in many changes in how the government dealt with economic downturns, such as the use of stimulus packages, Keynesian economics, and Social Security. It also shaped modern American literature, resulting in famous novels such as John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men .

Arkansas cotton pickers. 1935.

Two young boys sit on the porch in Arkansas, 1935.

Public health nurses from the Child Welfare Service visit a shanty home for a checkup.

A poor mother stands with her two children in Oklahoma. 1936..

The family of an unemployed man sits around a wood stove in their empty home, 1937.

Children from the homes of unemployed miners gather together for nursery school in March of 1937 in Scott’s Run, West Virginia.

The Central Park of New York City became Hooverville, a shanty town for the newly impoverished (named for President Herbert Hoover, in office during the market crash and widely blamed for it). 1933.

An old woman receives her Thanksgiving ration of food as other hungry people wait in line. 1930s.

Unemployed men sit outside their makeshift homes in lower Manhattan, 1935.

A large group of New Yorkers waits on a food line, 1932.

Unemployed men smoke cigarettes amid their shantytown in lower Manhattan, 1935.

Men wait on a breadline in New York, 1932.

Unemployed single women march to demand jobs, 1933.

A family of migrant workers fleeing from the drought in Oklahoma camp by the roadside in Blythe, California, 1936.

An unemployed man during the Great Depression.

Men looking for work hold up signs. 1930s.

Children from Oklahoma staying in a migratory camp in California. 1936.

The children of a migrant family living in a trailer in the middle of a field south of Chandler, Arizona, 1940.

Thirty-two-year-old Florence Owens Thompson with three of her seven children at a pea pickers’ camp in Nipomo, California, 1936. The picture is famously known as “The Migrant Mother” .

Crowd gathering at the intersection of Wall Street and Broad Street after the 1929 crash.

Crowd at New York’s American Union Bank during a bank run early in the Great Depression.

Crowds outside the Bank of United States in New York after its failure in 1931.

Buried machinery in a barn lot; South Dakota, May 1936. The Dust Bowl on the Great Plains coincided with the Great Depression.

Greek migratory woman living in a cotton camp near Exeter, California, ca. 1935.

Unemployed coal miner’s daughter carrying home can of kerosene. Company housing, Scotts Run, W. Va., 1938.

Farmer walking in dust storm. Cimarron County, Oklahoma circa 1936.

Government agent interviewing a prospective resettlement client in Garrett County, Maryland circa 1938.

Prospective homesteaders in front of the post office at United, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. 1935.

Power farming displaces tenants from the land in the western dry cotton area. Childress County, Texas, 1938.

Farm foreclosure sale. 1930s.

Toward Los Angeles, California.

Schoolchildren line up for the free issue of soup and a slice of bread during the Depression. 1934.

Unemployed workers sleeping in the bandstand at a park. 1938.

Interior of Ozark cabin housing six people,” Carl Mydans, Missouri, May 1936.

Lewis Hunter with his family, Lady’s Island, Beaufort,” Carl Mydans, South Carolina, June 1936.

Interior of a rural home, Greene County, Georgia.

Family of migrant packinghouse workers in their quarters, Homestead, Florida. 1939.

Tenant farmer moving his household goods to a new farm, Hamilton County, Tennessee. 1937.

(Photo credit: Library of Congress / Wikimedia Commons).

Updated on: January 5, 2022

Any factual error or typo?  Let us know.

• The Great Depression

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The Great Depression Photo Gallery

While the Great Depression was a time of tremendous poverty and suffering, it was also a period in which the arts flourished. Much of that art served to document the devastation of the Depression. The artists’ documentary spirit shines clearly through the photographs taken as part of the Historical Section of the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration.

The iconic photography used throughout the Great Depression Curriculum is available through the Library of Congress .

Tap a thumbnail image below.

Supplementary Photos & Art

• ThoughtCo: 20th Century History – Photographs of the Great Depression.
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library Photos – Copyright-free photos.
• Library of Congress: “America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA – OWI, 1935-1945” – These are the famous photographs that you know (Dorothea Lange, etc.)
• Library of Congress: “Voices from the Dust Bowl” – Audio and photographs from the Library of Congress.
• Picturing the Century: The Great Depression and the New Deal – Online photos from a small collection at the National Archives and Records Administration.
• Works Progress Administration Posters at the Library of Congress
• FDR Cartoon Archive – Political cartoons from the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The Great Depression

“Regarding the Great Depression, … we did it. We’re very sorry. … We won’t do it again.” —Ben Bernanke, November 8, 2002, in a speech given at “A Conference to Honor Milton Friedman … On the Occasion of His 90th Birthday.”

In 2002, Ben Bernanke , then a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, acknowledged publicly what economists have long believed. The Federal Reserve’s mistakes contributed to the “worst economic disaster in American history” (Bernanke 2002).

Bernanke, like other economic historians, characterized the Great Depression as a disaster because of its length, depth, and consequences. The Depression lasted a decade, beginning in 1929 and ending during World War II. Industrial production plummeted. Unemployment soared. Families suffered. Marriage rates fell. The contraction began in the United States and spread around the globe. The Depression was the longest and deepest downturn in the history of the United States and the modern industrial economy.

The Great Depression began in August 1929, when the economic expansion of the Roaring Twenties came to an end. A series of financial crises punctuated the contraction. These crises included a stock market crash in 1929 , a series of regional banking panics in 1930 and 1931 , and a series of national and international financial crises from 1931 through 1933 . The downturn hit bottom in March 1933, when the commercial banking system collapsed and President Roosevelt declared a national banking holiday . 1    Sweeping reforms of the financial system accompanied the economic recovery, which was interrupted by a double-dip recession in 1937 . Return to full output and employment occurred during the Second World War.

To understand Bernanke’s statement, one needs to know what he meant by “we,” “did it,” and “won’t do it again.”

By “we,” Bernanke meant the leaders of the Federal Reserve System. At the start of the Depression, the Federal Reserve’s decision-making structure was decentralized and often ineffective. Each district had a governor who set policies for his district, although some decisions required approval of the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, DC. The Board lacked the authority and tools to act on its own and struggled to coordinate policies across districts. The governors and the Board understood the need for coordination; frequently corresponded concerning important issues; and established procedures and programs, such as the Open Market Investment Committee, to institutionalize cooperation. When these efforts yielded consensus, monetary policy could be swift and effective. But when the governors disagreed, districts could and sometimes did pursue independent and occasionally contradictory courses of action.

The governors disagreed on many issues, because at the time and for decades thereafter, experts disagreed about the best course of action and even about the correct conceptual framework for determining optimal policy. Information about the economy became available with long and variable lags. Experts within the Federal Reserve, in the business community, and among policymakers in Washington, DC, had different perceptions of events and advocated different solutions to problems. Researchers debated these issues for decades. Consensus emerged gradually. The views in this essay reflect conclusions expressed in the writings of three recent chairmen, Paul Volcke r, Alan Greenspan , and Ben Bernanke .

By “did it,” Bernanke meant that the leaders of the Federal Reserve implemented policies that they thought were in the public interest. Unintentionally, some of their decisions hurt the economy. Other policies that would have helped were not adopted.

An example of the former is the Fed’s decision to raise interest rates in 1928 and 1929. The Fed did this in an attempt to limit speculation in securities markets. This action slowed economic activity in the United States. Because the international gold standard linked interest rates and monetary policies among participating nations, the Fed’s actions triggered recessions in nations around the globe. The Fed repeated this mistake when responding to the international financial crisis in the fall of 1931. This website explores these issues in greater depth in our entries on the stock market crash of 1929 and the financial crises of 1931 through 1933 .

An example of the latter is the Fed’s failure to act as a lender of last resort during the banking panics that began in the fall of 1930 and ended with the banking holiday in the winter of 1933. This website explores this issue in essays on the banking panics of 1930 to 1931 , the banking acts of 1932 , and the banking holiday of 1933 .

One reason that Congress created the Federal Reserve, of course, was to act as a lender of last resort. Why did the Federal Reserve fail in this fundamental task? The Federal Reserve’s leaders disagreed about the best response to banking crises. Some governors subscribed to a doctrine similar to Bagehot’s dictum, which says that during financial panics, central banks should loan funds to solvent financial institutions beset by runs. Other governors subscribed to a doctrine known as real bills. This doctrine indicated that central banks should supply more funds to commercial banks during economic expansions, when individuals and firms demanded additional credit to finance production and commerce, and less during economic contractions, when demand for credit contracted. The real bills doctrine did not definitively describe what to do during banking panics, but many of its adherents considered panics to be symptoms of contractions, when central bank lending should contract. A few governors subscribed to an extreme version of the real bills doctrine labeled “liquidationist.” This doctrine indicated that during financial panics, central banks should stand aside so that troubled financial institutions would fail. This pruning of weak institutions would accelerate the evolution of a healthier economic system. Herbert Hoover’s secretary of treasury, Andrew Mellon, who served on the Federal Reserve Board, advocated this approach. These intellectual tensions and the Federal Reserve’s ineffective decision-making structure made it difficult, and at times impossible, for the Fed’s leaders to take effective action.

Among leaders of the Federal Reserve, differences of opinion also existed about whether to help and how much assistance to extend to financial institutions that did not belong to the Federal Reserve. Some leaders thought aid should only be extended to commercial banks that were members of the Federal Reserve System. Others thought member banks should receive assistance substantial enough to enable them to help their customers, including financial institutions that did not belong to the Federal Reserve, but the advisability and legality of this pass-through assistance was the subject of debate. Only a handful of leaders thought the Federal Reserve (or federal government) should directly aid commercial banks (or other financial institutions) that did not belong to the Federal Reserve. One advocate of widespread direct assistance was  Eugene Meyer , governor of the Federal Reserve Board, who was instrumental in the creation of the  Reconstruction Finance Corporation .

These differences of opinion contributed to the Federal Reserve’s most serious sin of omission: failure to stem the decline in the supply of money. From the fall of 1930 through the winter of 1933, the money supply fell by nearly 30 percent. The declining supply of funds reduced average prices by an equivalent amount. This deflation increased debt burdens; distorted economic decision-making; reduced consumption; increased unemployment; and forced banks, firms, and individuals into bankruptcy. The deflation stemmed from the collapse of the banking system, as explained in the essay on the  banking panics of 1930 and 1931 .

The Federal Reserve could have prevented deflation by preventing the collapse of the banking system or by counteracting the collapse with an expansion of the monetary base, but it failed to do so for several reasons. The economic collapse was unforeseen and unprecedented. Decision makers lacked effective mechanisms for determining what went wrong and lacked the authority to take actions sufficient to cure the economy. Some decision makers misinterpreted signals about the state of the economy, such as the nominal interest rate, because of their adherence to the real bills philosophy. Others deemed defending the gold standard by raising interests and reducing the supply of money and credit to be better for the economy than aiding ailing banks with the opposite actions.

On several occasions, the Federal Reserve did implement policies that modern monetary scholars believe could have stemmed the contraction. In the spring of 1931, the Federal Reserve began to expand the monetary base, but the expansion was insufficient to offset the deflationary effects of the banking crises. In the spring of 1932, after Congress provided the Federal Reserve with the necessary authority, the Federal Reserve expanded the monetary base aggressively. The policy appeared effective initially, but after a few months the Federal Reserve changed course. A series of political and international shocks hit the economy, and the contraction resumed. Overall, the Fed’s efforts to end the deflation and resuscitate the financial system, while well intentioned and based on the best available information, appear to have been too little and too late.

The flaws in the Federal Reserve’s structure became apparent during the initial years of the Great Depression. Congress responded by reforming the Federal Reserve and the entire financial system. Under the Hoover administration, congressional reforms culminated in the  Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act and the Banking Act of 1932 . Under the Roosevelt administration, reforms culminated in the  Emergency Banking Act of 1933 , the  Banking Act of 1933 (commonly called Glass-Steagall) , the  Gold Reserve Act of 1934 , and the  Banking Act of 1935 . This legislation shifted some of the Federal Reserve’s responsibilities to the Treasury Department and to new federal agencies such as the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. These agencies dominated monetary and banking policy until the 1950s.

The reforms of the 1930s, ’40s, and ’50s turned the Federal Reserve into a modern central bank. The creation of the modern intellectual framework underlying economic policy took longer and continues today. The Fed’s combination of a well-designed central bank and an effective conceptual framework enabled Bernanke to state confidently that “we won’t do it again.”

• 1  These business cycle dates come from the National Bureau of Economic Research . Additional materials on the Federal Reserve can be found at the website of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Bibliography

Bernanke, Ben. Essays on the Great Depression . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.

Bernanke, Ben, “ On Milton Friedman's Ninetieth Birthday ," Remarks by Governor Ben S. Bernanke at the Conference to Honor Milton Friedman, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, November 8, 2002.

Chandler, Lester V. American Monetary Policy, 1928 to 1941 . New York: Harper and Row, 1971.

Chandler, Lester V. American’s Greatest Depression, 1929-1941 . New York: Harper Collins, 1970.

Eichengreen, Barry. “The Origins and Nature of the Great Slump Revisited.” Economic History Review 45, no. 2 (May 1992): 213–239.

Friedman, Milton and Anna Schwartz. A Monetary History of the United States: 1867-1960 . Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963.

Kindleberger, Charles P. The World in Depression, 1929-1939 : Revised and Enlarged Edition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986.

Meltzer, Allan. A History of the Federal Reserve: Volume 1, 1913 to 1951 . Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Romer, Christina D. “The Nation in Depression.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 7, no. 2 (1993): 19-39.

Temin, Peter. Lessons from the Great Depression (Lionel Robbins Lectures) . Cambridge: MIT Press, 1989.

Written as of November 22, 2013. See disclaimer .

Essays in this Time Period

• Bank Holiday of 1933
• Banking Act of 1933 (Glass-Steagall)
• Banking Act of 1935
• Banking Acts of 1932
• Banking Panics of 1930-31
• Banking Panics of 1931-33
• Stock Market Crash of 1929
• Emergency Banking Act of 1933
• Gold Reserve Act of 1934
• Recession of 1937–38
• Roosevelt's Gold Program

Federal Reserve History

Learning Resources

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Key Vocabulary

Backstory - a story that tells what led up to the main story or plot

Billboard - a very large board where advertisements are shown, especially on the side of a road or highway

Black Tuesday - the day the New York Stock Exchange crashed (October 29th, 1929)

Boll Weevil - a snout beetle, Anthonomus grandis, that attacks the bolls of cotton

Bread Line - (also written as breadline) - a line of people waiting for free food, often at a public space referred to as a soup kitchen as soup and bread were distributed frequently to those in need.

Calamity - an event that causes great harm and suffering

Contemporary - marked by characteristics of the present time period 

Default - a failure to fulfill an obligation to repay a debt

Depopulation - the reduction of the number of persons in a place

Dust Bowl - an area of the southern Great Plains that suffered from a lack of rain (drought), poor farming practices, and damaging dust storms

Eviction - the dispossession of a tenant of leased property by force or legal process

Federal Reserve - a federal agency that regulates banking policies and practices

Food Insecurity - inability to consistently access or afford adequate food

Great Depression - the severe economic crisis that took place in the 1930s

Hoovervilles - shanty towns (built out of boxes, tents, etc.) during the Great Depression named for President Hoover because of his administration’s failure to provide relief 

Irony -   a figure of speech, or use of words with an interesting or surprising result than what one would normally expect, or what the real thing or situation is, often presented in a humorous or dramatic way

Migrant Worker - a person who moves from place to place to find work, often working seasonally in agriculture 

Out-migration - the action of leaving one place to settle in another, especially within a country.

Propaganda - information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view, especially that of a government

Public Works - government-funded infrastructure projects that include  highways, parks, and libraries 

Recovery - the process of returning to a normal or usual state

Reform - changes to a law, social system, or institution

Relief - help for the needy, including financial assistance, food, clothing, or shelter 

Stock - shares of ownership in a company that can be bought and sold 

Tag - a label attached to someone or something for the purpose of identification or to give other information

The New Deal - President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program to help solve the economic problems triggered by the Great Depression

Treemap - a visual representation of data, usually expressed as rectangles. Each grouping is represented by a rectangle with an area proportional to its value. (see context as used in the learning resources.)

White-collar - relating to people who work in administrative, managerial, and other office capacities 

Works Progress Administration (WPA) - President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s work program, engineered as part of the New Deal for the purpose of providing jobs for millions of unemployed Americans during the Great Depression

Work Relief - programs designed under the New Deal to create jobs for the unemployed

Read for Understanding

This Learning Resource includes language in the body of the text to help adapt to a variety of educational settings, including remote learning environments, face-to-face instruction, and blended learning.

If you are teaching remotely, consider using videoconferencing to provide opportunities for students to work in partners or small groups. Digital tools such as Google Docs or Google Slides may also be used for collaboration. Rewordify helps make a complex text more accessible for those reading at a lower Lexile level while still providing a greater depth of knowledge.

For in-person learning, you may use Turn and Talk to allow students to work with an “elbow partner” for brief collaborations. In addition, this Learning Resource uses “Thinking Routines” from Project Zero , a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education that has developed learning strategies that encourage students to add complexity to their thought processes.  For an overview of Project Zero’s methodology, you may want to read its Exploring Complexity Bundle .  Specifically for this lesson, students will use the See, Think, Wonder thinking routine, with a student template , a Venn Diagram , and the Great Depression Photo Series slides template provided.

The Library of Congress Primary Source Analysis Tool is used to examine political cartoons from the New Deal era.  You may wish to provide a paper copy to your students or use a fillable .pdf version for students working in a digital learning environment. 

These Learning Resources follow a variation of the 5Es instructional model , and each section may be taught as a separate learning experience, or as part of a sequence of learning experiences. We provide each of our Learning Resources in multiple formats, including web-based and an editable Google Doc for educators to teach and adapt selected learning experiences as they best suit the needs of your students and local curriculum. You may also wish to embed or remix them into a playlist for students working remotely or independently.

For Students:

The Great Depression is often considered the worst economic event in American history. The Great Depression started with the stock market crash of 1929 and lasted until 1946 and the end of World War II. You will explore these events through powerful images, audio content, interactive maps, and political cartoons.

How do images from the Great Depression show conflicting realities of life in America?

In this lesson, you will learn about a period of American history known as the Great Depression. For many Americans, this economic disaster was a time of great despair and loss. Many people lost jobs, property, homes, and a sense of identity. Despite massive recovery efforts, like President Roosevelt’s New Deal , many Americans continued to suffer. Billboard advertising originated in the late 19th century and became a more popular form of advertising as more families began to travel by automobile in the 20th century.  Advertisements showcasing the American idea were popular, but it was not an ideal that many people could realistically attain. During the Great Depression, billboards such as the one below provided a sharp contrast to the reality of many who were unemployed, near starving, waiting in bread lines for their next meal.. 

Use your observational skills to analyze and reflect on this famous photograph from 1937.  

Look closely at the photograph, taken by Margaret Bourke-White in 1937. Turn and talk to an elbow partner to answer the questions below about this image. If working remotely, your teacher may let you work using a collaborative document such as Google Docs or Google Slides , or meet virtually via videoconferencing:

• What do you notice?
• What are the people wearing? 
• How are they presenting themselves? 
• What words come to mind as you look at them?
• What do the words on the sign tell you about this image?
• What surprises you about this image? 
• What confirms what you already knew?
• What are you curious about? 
• What questions do you have?
• How might you find out more?

Visit the Whitney Museum of American Art website to read the backstory of Margaret Bourke-White’s iconic image.

Margaret Bourke-White |

In striking contrast to their grim faces, the billboard for the National Association of Manufacturers above them depicts a smiling white family of four riding in a car, under a banner reading “World’s Highest Standard of Living. There’s no way like the American Way.” As a powerful depiction of the gap between the propagandist representation of American life and the economic hardship faced by minorities and the poor,

whitney.org

Read the following article to learn more about how billboards were used as a form of propaganda during the Great Depression .

Photos: Depression-era billboards sold and celebrated the “American way”

Meanwhile, homeless families huddled under their shadows

timeline.com

Turn and talk to an elbow partner to discuss the following prompts about the article once you’ve both read it independently. If working remotely, your teacher may allow you to collaborate using a collaborative document such as Google Docs or Google Slides or meet virtually via videoconferencing.

• How do the images of the billboards align with the everyday life of Americans during this era?
• Do the billboards reflect the lived experience of all Americans?
• What message might you create to add to a contemporary billboard representative of present-day families’ views about America? 

Your teacher may ask you to record your answers on an exit ticket. 

How can we use visual imagery and geography to examine life during the Great Depression?

To begin answering these questions, you will explore a famous collection of 170,000 photos that documented life in America from 1935 to 1944. This documentary project was part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s government relief, recovery, and reform efforts during the Great Depression. Under the direction of the Resettlement Administration and the Farm Security Administration, photographers were sent to all corners of America to capture visual representations of everyday life during the Great Depression. Many photographs reveal the beauty and resilience of the American people in the face of calamity, and others show the suffering and injustice that many people faced. Photogrammar is a digital mapping tool used to geographically tag thousands of these photos. Visit the Introduction page to read about this archive and its background. Explore the other tabs at the top of the page to browse images by photographer, theme, and location. A treemap is a visual way of representing data, or content, where the size of each rectangle correlates with the amount of information it represents. Notice how the photographs in Photogrammar have been categorized by themes in a treemap to support inquiry into specific areas of interest.

Reflect on: 

• Which images stand out to you the most? 
• What new information did you learn from the images? 
• What surprised you? 

Tip : Use the “ Theme ” tab to view the treemap of sub-collections of photographs. For example, by choosing the tags “Homes and Living Conditions” you can navigate to “Food Preparation” or “Eating” to examine photographs tagged in these categories. 

Hunger and food insecurity were a constant threat for many families during the Great Depression. 

In this learning activity, you will examine four images from the Great Depression: two photographs and two posters. Each image has something to do with the relationship Americans had with food during the Great Depression. It is your job to use prior knowledge and observational skills to analyze each image and extract meaning. You will complete a See, Think, Wonder graphic organizer to aid you in organizing your thinking and making connections. Your teacher may share a copy with you or have you make your own digital copy.

NAH See-Think-Wonder Multi-Image Graphic Organizer

Student template - make a copy.

docs.google.com

The Works Progress Administration , known as the WPA, was a job program created in response to unemployment during the Great Depression, as part of the New Deal recovery package. Through the WPA, millions of Americans benefited from work opportunities that resulted in both infrastructure and artwork. The poster images you will use are part of the WPA Poster Collection at the Library of Congress, where you can read more about the history of this collection. The photograph images created by the “Historic Section” of the Resettlement Administration are archived at the Library of Congress and mapped here using Photogrammar .

Practice your observation skills by analyzing the following four images created during the Great Depression. Each image will share important details and insight on the topics of food and hunger during this time period.

Notice the original captions included above the images. What do you notice about the way the photographs are explained in the captions? How is the language different from today?

For each image, complete the See, Think, Wonder graphic organizer to record your thinking . Be ready to contribute your observations to a group discussion. 

• What is this poster promoting?
• Why do you think the government made this poster?
• Where might the government hang this poster for the public to view?
• What do you notice most about the objects in this photograph? 
• What do you notice about the child in this photograph? 
• What agencies or organizations help families in need of food assistance and support today?
• Do you live on or know someone who lives on a working farm?
• Do you have a garden or orchard in your backyard or at your school?
• Do you get your food from a grocery store or a farmers' market? 
• Do you have experience with canning and preserving food?
• Why do you think the government wanted to communicate this message in this poster? 
• How might growing your own food be good for you in more ways than nutritionally? 

To gain an even deeper visual understanding of life during the Great Depression, use the Great Depression Photo Series slides linked below to analyze a series of four photographs taken by Carl Mydan of the same subject as image #2. Your teacher may provide a link to the slides, or ask you to make your own copy of the link provided.

Spend some time examining the images. Select one of the images from the series that stands out to you. Then, on the fifth slide, share your thoughts as you follow the prompts. Your teacher will instruct you on how and where to share your response.

NAH Great Depression Photo Series

Template for student interactive slides - Make a copy.

How did the Great Depression change childhood and family life for Americans? 

With massive unemployment, the Great Depression drastically changed the lives of American workers and those who depended upon them. Housing, clothing, food, schooling, and medical care were altered for many families during this time period. The trauma from this sudden change would have long-lasting effects on those growing up during the Great Depression. 

To learn more, watch the video Childhood Lost: An Overview of the Great Depression .

Reflect on your own experiences after viewing the video. 

• Has there been a time when you have experienced hardship? 
• What connections can you make from your own experiences to the hardships faced by families during the Great Depression?

For many young people and families, the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic was a time when normal routines and a sense of security were suddenly altered. Many families struggled with school closings, childcare, feelings of isolation, loss of wages food insecurity, the threat of eviction , illness, and other worries. 

Explore Lessons from the Great Depression for Today , a Bunk Collection of articles and videos.  Choose one of the three resources to read/watch carefully.

Lessons from the Great Depression for Today

A Bunk Collection, Visualizing the Great Depression

www.bunkhistory.org

Use the Venn Diagram provided by your teacher, or make a digital copy to compare and contrast the COVID-19 pandemic’s influence on children and families with that of the Great Depression. Your teacher will direct you if you may work in partners of small groups, or if working remotely, your teacher may let you work using a collaborative document such as a Google Doc or Google Slides or meet via video conferencing.

NAH VennDiagram

• In what ways are these two events similar? 
• In what ways are they different? 

Using the information you have sorted in the diagram, complete the reflection on the second page to communicate the similarities and differences between the Covid pandemic and the Great Depression on children and families. Your reflection should be completed independently. 

Your teacher may ask you to record your answers on an exit ticket.

In the midst of a crashing economy, how were the lives of Americans living in the Great Plains region changed by the Dust Bowl storms of the 1930s?

One contributing factor to the Great Depression, and subsequent depopulation of the Great Plains region, was the Dust Bowl catastrophe of the 1930s. This was both a human and environmental disaster of massive proportions caused by years of drought and poor agricultural practices..

Explore this event by reading The Dust Bowl segment of this timeline from the Library of Congress. 

The Dust Bowl  | Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945  | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline

  Library of Congress

www.loc.gov

Visit The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and New Deal in Oklahoma at the Oklahoma Historical Society to view a map of states impacted by the Dust Bowl.

The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and New Deal in Oklahoma

Oklahoma Historical Society

www.okhistory.org

Read the description and listen to this brief audio recording from musician/poet Flora Robertson, an Oklahoman who lived through the Dust  Bowl.

Interview with Flora Robertson about Dust Storms in Oklahoma, August 5, 1940, Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Transcript of Flora Robertson's Interview about Oklahoma Dust Storms Citation Information  Robertson, Flora, "Interview about dust storms in Oklahoma," 5 August 1940. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

iowaculture.gov

View the maps of both white and Black population changes for 1930-40 and the map of the spread of the boll weevil from the Southern Journey StoryMap. Be sure to view the maps in the online StoryMap, carefully reading all captions.

Southern Journey: The Restless South, 1860-1940

storymaps.arcgis.com

Use the images, audio content, and maps you have explored about the Dust Bowl to help you reflect on the following questions:

•  What geographic patterns do you notice on the Southern Journey population maps?
• How do the maps of the Dust Bowl and Boll Weevil contribute to your understanding of this place?
• How did the physical landscape contribute to the hardships faced by families living in the Great Plains?
• Give an example of how the Dust Bowl created hardships for families and animals. Cite specific evidence to support your claim.

The Great Depression gave birth to art in many forms as Americans looked for outlets to express their experiences. Earlier you listened to an interview with Flora Robertson, a Dust Bowl survivor who turned to music to express her feelings about experiences. Read and reflect on Flora Robertson’s song lyrics from Why We Come To California to better understand the perspectives of people migrating from the Dust Bowl region to start new lives. 

"Why We Come to California," 1940, State History Society of Iowa

Lyrics by Flora Robertson Shafter

Return to the Photogrammar map to select a photograph of the Dust Bowl that you think best represents the perspective communicated in the lyrics of Why We Come To California . Follow the directions on the slide provided . You will need to make a copy of the slide or use one provided by your teacher. Be sure to communicate what evidence you used to demonstrate how your selected image accurately represents this perspective. 

Your teacher will direct you if you may work in partners of small groups, or if working remotely, your teacher may let you work using a collaborative document such as a Google Doc , Google Slides , or a Jamboard , or meet virtually via videoconferencing.

NAH Dust Bowl Visualization Template - Make a copy

Visualizing "Why We Come to Californy"

Your teacher may ask you to share your slide or record your answers on an exit ticket.

Did all Americans benefit from the New Deal? 

Editorial cartoons have been used since the colonial era in America to comment on current events. When analyzing an editorial cartoon, it is important to decipher whose perspective is being shared to correctly understand the cartoon’s message. 

Working with a partner, you will analyze three editorial cartoons from the Great Depression that illustrate various perspectives about President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. Examine each cartoon and verbally reflect on the questions provided using the Library of Congress graphic organizer for analyzing political cartoons provided by your teacher. Choose one of the cartoons to determine perspective and message by answering the questions in writing, using a digital copy of the response sheet or a hard copy provided by your teacher. 

Primary Source Analysis Tool - Political Cartoons

Your teacher will provide a digital copy or hard copy for you to record your responses.

Digital Response Template - LOC Primary Source Analysis Tool

Enter your responses and download a copy to share with your teacher.

Using the same skills you practiced to analyze the political cartoon, turn your attention to a more recent debate. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, there were already many debates across the United States and other countries about the safety of vaccines. Take a few minutes to explore a few articles on the subject here using Bunk.

Bunk Tag: Vaccination

Rewiring American History

Observe the selected editorial cartoon by Marshall Ramsey, included in U.S. News and World Report’s publication Political Cartoons on the Coronavirus . Reflect on these using the same Library of Congress graphic organizer previously provided. 

Political Cartoons on the Coronavirus

Marshall Ramsey, illustrator.

www.usnews.com

Your teacher will provide directions on how to share your observations. This may be in the form of a small or whole group discussion, or perhaps a gallery walk. 

If working remotely, your teacher may let you work using a collaborative document such as a Google Doc or Google Slides or meet virtually via videoconferencing.

Now it is your turn ...

Create an editorial cartoon of your own that has to do with life during the coronavirus pandemic. You may need to complete additional research to make sure your cartoon topic and perspective are well communicated in your image. You will need to include your own experiences of the pandemic or the experiences of someone who felt the effects of the pandemic. 

Your teacher can advise you on what options you have to create your cartoon. Google Slides and Canva provides two digital options for creating your cartoon. You may wish to create a hand-drawn cartoon and your teacher will advise you on how to share your final product. For example, if you are working remotely, you may be advised to take a picture of your cartoon and submit it digitally using a collaborative doc such as a Google Doc , Google Slides , or SeeSaw . 

We’d love to see your cartoon!  If your teacher or a trusted adult allows it, please share it with us via email: [email protected] or via social media (links on our pages). Be sure to tag us as you share! 

“About This Collection  :  Posters: WPA Posters:  Digital Collections:  Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress. Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/collections/works-progress-administration-posters/about-this-collection/ .

Ayers, Edward L., Justin Madron, and Nathaniel Ayers. “The Restless South, 1860-1940.” ArcGIS StoryMaps. Digital Scholarship Lab, July 28, 2021. https://dsl.richmond.edu/southernjourney / https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/3623b54371434be0b7612c87b8cc3f1f .

Childhood Lost: An Overview of the Great Depression . ASHP CML, 2010. https://youtu.be/pNOT4fWPOSc .

“Collection: Lessons From the Great Depression For Today.” Bunk History. Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.bunkhistory.org/collections/p7spe8 .

Dundon, Rian. “Photos: Depression-Era Billboards Sold and Celebrated the ‘American Way.’” Medium. Timeline, May 14, 2018. https://timeline.com/great-depression-billboards-were-false-advertising-973ffbee981c .

Greaves (Unidentified Artist )."The King Can Do No Wrong" 1940, Princeton University, Princeton NJ USA. Mudd Manuscript Library, Political Cartoon Collection. https://paw.princeton.edu/article/bonus-cartoon-slideshow

“Teacher's Guides and Analysis Tool:  Getting Started with Primary Sources:  Teachers:  Programs:  Library of Congress.” Getting Started with Primary Sources - Teacher's Guides and Analysis Tool. The Library of Congress, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/programs/teachers/getting-started-with-primary-sources/guides /. 

 Parrish. Joseph L. . (1905 – 1989) in the Chicago Tribune, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oliver_twist.gif .

“The Dust Bowl:  Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945:  U.S. History Primary Source Timeline:  Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress:  Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress. Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/dust-bowl/ .

“The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and New Deal in Oklahoma.” The Great Depression, the Dust Bowl, and New Deal in Oklahoma. Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.okhistory.org/learn/depression2 .

“Political Cartoons on the Coronavirus | US News.” Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.usnews.com/news/cartoons/2020/02/28/political-cartoons-on-the-coronavirus .

“Robertson, Flora. Why We Come to California. Shafter FSA Camp, CA, 1940. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/Item/toddbib000522/ .,” n.d.

Sexton, Robby. “World's Highest Standard of Living .” The Art Institute of Chicago. Photography and Media, May 7, 2014. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/121186/world-s-highest-standard-of-living .

“Todd, Charles L, Robert Sonkin, Flora Robertson, and Flora Robertson. Why We Come To California. Shafter FSA Camp, August 5, 1940. Audio. https://www.loc.gov/Item/toddbib000092/ .,” n.d.

“Vaccination.” Bunk History. Accessed March 29, 2022. https://www.bunkhistory.org/tags/ideas/3254 . 

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Course: US history   >   Unit 7

• The presidency of Herbert Hoover

The Great Depression

• FDR and the Great Depression
• The New Deal
• The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in US history. It began in 1929 and did not abate until the end of the 1930s.
• The stock market crash of October 1929 signaled the beginning of the Great Depression. By 1933, unemployment was at 25 percent and more than 5,000 banks had gone out of business.
• Although President Herbert Hoover attempted to spark growth in the economy through measures like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, these measures did little to solve the crisis.
• Franklin Roosevelt was elected president in November 1932. Inaugurated as president in March 1933, Roosevelt’s New Deal offered a new approach to the Great Depression.

The stock market crash of 1929

Hoover's response to the crisis, what do you think.

• David M. Kennedy, Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 37-41, 49-50.
• T.H. Watkins, The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America (New York: Henry Holt, 1999), 44-45; Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 87.
• Louise Armstrong, We Too Are the People (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1938), 10.
• On bank failures, see Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 65.
• See Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 87, 208; Robert S. McElvaine, ed., Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the “Forgotten Man” (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1983), 81-94.
• John A. Garraty, The Great Depression: An Inquiry into the Causes, Course, and Consequences of the Worldwide Depression of the Nineteen-Thirties, as Seen by Contemporaries and in the Light of History (New York: Doubleday, 1987).
• Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 83-85.
• On Hoovervilles and Hoover flags, Kennedy, Freedom from Fear , 91.

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Great Depression History

By: History.com Editors

Updated: October 20, 2023 | Original: October 29, 2009

The Great Depression was the worst economic crisis in modern history, lasting from 1929 until the beginning of World War II in 1939. The causes of the Great Depression included slowing consumer demand, mounting consumer debt, decreased industrial production and the rapid and reckless expansion of the U.S. stock market. When the stock market crashed in October 1929, it triggered a crisis in the international economy, which was linked via the gold standard. A rash of bank failures followed in 1930, and as the Dust Bowl increased the number of farm foreclosures, unemployment topped 20 percent by 1933. Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to stimulate the economy with a range of incentives including Roosevelt’s New Deal programs, but ultimately it took the manufacturing production increases of World War II to end the Great Depression.

What Caused the Great Depression?

Throughout the 1920s, the U.S. economy expanded rapidly, and the nation’s total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, a period dubbed “ the Roaring Twenties .”

The stock market, centered at the New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street in New York City , was the scene of reckless speculation, where everyone from millionaire tycoons to cooks and janitors poured their savings into stocks. As a result, the stock market underwent rapid expansion, reaching its peak in August 1929.

By then, production had already declined and unemployment had risen, leaving stock prices much higher than their actual value. Additionally, wages at that time were low, consumer debt was proliferating, the agricultural sector of the economy was struggling due to drought and falling food prices and banks had an excess of large loans that could not be liquidated.

The American economy entered a mild recession during the summer of 1929, as consumer spending slowed and unsold goods began to pile up, which in turn slowed factory production. Nonetheless, stock prices continued to rise, and by the fall of that year had reached stratospheric levels that could not be justified by expected future earnings.

Stock Market Crash of 1929

On October 24, 1929, as nervous investors began selling overpriced shares en masse, the stock market crash that some had feared happened at last. A record 12.9 million shares were traded that day, known as “Black Thursday.”

Five days later, on October 29, or “Black Tuesday,” some 16 million shares were traded after another wave of panic swept Wall Street. Millions of shares ended up worthless, and those investors who had bought stocks “on margin” (with borrowed money) were wiped out completely.

As consumer confidence vanished in the wake of the stock market crash, the downturn in spending and investment led factories and other businesses to slow down production and begin firing their workers. For those who were lucky enough to remain employed, wages fell and buying power decreased.

Many Americans forced to buy on credit fell into debt, and the number of foreclosures and repossessions climbed steadily. The global adherence to the gold standard , which joined countries around the world in fixed currency exchange, helped spread economic woes from the United States throughout the world, especially in Europe.

Bank Runs and the Hoover Administration

Despite assurances from President Herbert Hoover and other leaders that the crisis would run its course, matters continued to get worse over the next three years. By 1930, 4 million Americans looking for work could not find it; that number had risen to 6 million in 1931.

Meanwhile, the country’s industrial production had dropped by half. Bread lines, soup kitchens and rising numbers of homeless people became more and more common in America’s towns and cities. Farmers couldn’t afford to harvest their crops and were forced to leave them rotting in the fields while people elsewhere starved. In 1930, severe droughts in the Southern Plains brought high winds and dust from Texas to Nebraska, killing people, livestock and crops. The “ Dust Bowl ” inspired a mass migration of people from farmland to cities in search of work.

In the fall of 1930, the first of four waves of banking panics began, as large numbers of investors lost confidence in the solvency of their banks and demanded deposits in cash, forcing banks to liquidate loans in order to supplement their insufficient cash reserves on hand.

Bank runs swept the United States again in the spring and fall of 1931 and the fall of 1932, and by early 1933 thousands of banks had closed their doors.

In the face of this dire situation, Hoover’s administration tried supporting failing banks and other institutions with government loans; the idea was that the banks in turn would loan to businesses, which would be able to hire back their employees.

FDR and the Great Depression

Hoover, a Republican who had formerly served as U.S. secretary of commerce, believed that government should not directly intervene in the economy and that it did not have the responsibility to create jobs or provide economic relief for its citizens.

In 1932, however, with the country mired in the depths of the Great Depression and some 15 million people unemployed, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt won an overwhelming victory in the presidential election.

By Inauguration Day (March 4, 1933), every U.S. state had ordered all remaining banks to close at the end of the fourth wave of banking panics, and the U.S. Treasury didn’t have enough cash to pay all government workers. Nonetheless, FDR (as he was known) projected a calm energy and optimism, famously declaring "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”

Roosevelt took immediate action to address the country’s economic woes, first announcing a four-day “bank holiday” during which all banks would close so that Congress could pass reform legislation and reopen those banks determined to be sound. He also began addressing the public directly over the radio in a series of talks, and these so-called “ fireside chats ” went a long way toward restoring public confidence.

During Roosevelt’s first 100 days in office, his administration passed legislation that aimed to stabilize industrial and agricultural production, create jobs and stimulate recovery.

In addition, Roosevelt sought to reform the financial system, creating the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ( FDIC ) to protect depositors’ accounts and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to regulate the stock market and prevent abuses of the kind that led to the 1929 crash.

The New Deal: A Road to Recovery

Among the programs and institutions of the New Deal that aided in recovery from the Great Depression was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) , which built dams and hydroelectric projects to control flooding and provide electric power to the impoverished Tennessee Valley region, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) , a permanent jobs program that employed 8.5 million people from 1935 to 1943.

When the Great Depression began, the United States was the only industrialized country in the world without some form of unemployment insurance or social security. In 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act , which for the first time provided Americans with unemployment, disability and pensions for old age.

After showing early signs of recovery beginning in the spring of 1933, the economy continued to improve throughout the next three years, during which real GDP (adjusted for inflation) grew at an average rate of 9 percent per year.

A sharp recession hit in 1937, caused in part by the Federal Reserve’s decision to increase its requirements for money in reserve. Though the economy began improving again in 1938, this second severe contraction reversed many of the gains in production and employment and prolonged the effects of the Great Depression through the end of the decade.

Depression-era hardships fueled the rise of extremist political movements in various European countries, most notably that of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime in Germany. German aggression led war to break out in Europe in 1939, and the WPA turned its attention to strengthening the military infrastructure of the United States, even as the country maintained its neutrality.

African Americans in the Great Depression

One-fifth of all Americans receiving federal relief during the Great Depression were Black, most in the rural South. But farm and domestic work, two major sectors in which Black workers were employed, were not included in the 1935 Social Security Act, meaning there was no safety net in times of uncertainty. Rather than fire domestic help, private employers could simply pay them less without legal repercussions. And those relief programs for which African Americans were eligible on paper were rife with discrimination in practice since all relief programs were administered locally.

Despite these obstacles, Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet,” led by Mary McLeod Bethune , ensured nearly every New Deal agency had a Black advisor. The number of African Americans working in government tripled .

Women in the Great Depression

There was one group of Americans who actually gained jobs during the Great Depression: Women. From 1930 to 1940, the number of employed women in the United States rose 24 percent from 10.5 million to 13 million Though they’d been steadily entering the workforce for decades, the financial pressures of the Great Depression drove women to seek employment in ever greater numbers as male breadwinners lost their jobs. The 22 percent decline in marriage rates between 1929 and 1939 also created an increase in single women in search of employment.

Women during the Great Depression had a strong advocate in First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt , who lobbied her husband for more women in office—like Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins , the first woman to ever hold a cabinet position.

Jobs available to women paid less but were more stable during the banking crisis: nursing, teaching and domestic work. They were supplanted by an increase in secretarial roles in FDR’s rapidly-expanding government. But there was a catch: over 25 percent of the National Recovery Administration’s wage codes set lower wages for women, and jobs created under the WPA confined women to fields like sewing and nursing that paid less than roles reserved for men.

Married women faced an additional hurdle: By 1940, 26 states had placed restrictions known as marriage bars on their employment, as working wives were perceived as taking away jobs from able-bodied men—even if, in practice, they were occupying jobs men would not want and doing them for far less pay.

Great Depression Ends and World War II Begins

With Roosevelt’s decision to support Britain and France in the struggle against Germany and the other Axis Powers, defense manufacturing geared up, producing more and more private-sector jobs.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 led to America’s entry into World War II, and the nation’s factories went back into full production mode.

This expanding industrial production, as well as widespread conscription beginning in 1942, reduced the unemployment rate to below its pre-Depression level. The Great Depression had ended at last, and the United States turned its attention to the global conflict of World War II.

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THE DEPRESSION

Everyone was so shocked and panicky. No one knew what was ahead. — Dorothea Lange

THE DEPRESSION Topics

Discovering a Purpose: Early Documentary Work

The Dust Bowl

On the Road

In the Camps

In the Fields

Deep South: Picturing Race and Power

An American Exodus: A New Kind of Book

Migrant Mother: Birth of An Icon

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EARLY WORK / PERSONAL WORK

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WORLD WAR II AT HOME

21 April 2024

The depression era photography of dorothea lange.

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Bourdain’s picks, photo essays.

West Virginia

A lost vision of West Virginia

During the Great Depression, the Farm Security Administration dispatched photographers across the United States to document poverty in America. The images they captured are some of the most iconic photos in history .

In West Virginia were two of the project’s most illustrious names: Marion Post Wolcott and Ben Shahn . Their best-known images of the state depict the hardscrabble life of coal miners there. These images have come to define West Virginia in the public eye, contributing to a persisting impression of a state full of hillbillies and hicks, a fact which Anthony Bourdain notes during his visit to McDowell County for “Parts Unknown.” 

But those images dominate only because Wolcott’s and Shahn’s bosses wanted them to. Roy Stryker, the FSA photo editor in Washington, intended the photos to reinforce New Deal ideals and persuade Americans that the government needed their tax dollars to relieve the suffering of the poor.

But the West Virginia that Wolcott and Shahn witnessed was far deeper and more rounded than the selected images suggest. The photographers didn’t put their cameras down when poverty and suffering weren’t manifest. The two documented communities that brim with life, celebration, pride, and hard work.

The images rejected in Washington were, thankfully, never discarded. Tens of thousands of them survive, but for most of the 20th century it was necessary to travel to the Library of Congress to see them. In 2010 the library restarted the process of scanning the project’s 175,000 black-and-white negatives. The public can now browse the lion’s share of the collection with just a few mouse clicks. Here are a few of the many that speak to a different West Virginia from the one popularized by the FSA.

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Pictures That Tell Stories: Photo Essay Examples

Like any other type of artist, a photographer’s job is to tell a story through their pictures. While some of the most creative among us can invoke emotion or convey a thought with one single photo, the rest of us will rely on a photo essay.

In the following article, we’ll go into detail about what a photo essay is and how to craft one while providing some detailed photo essay examples.

What is a Photo Essay? 

A photo essay is a series of photographs that, when assembled in a particular order, tell a unique and compelling story. While some photographers choose only to use pictures in their presentations, others will incorporate captions, comments, or even full paragraphs of text to provide more exposition for the scene they are unfolding.

A photo essay is a well-established part of photojournalism and have been used for decades to present a variety of information to the reader. Some of the most famous photo essayists include Ansel Adams , W. Eugene Smith, and James Nachtwey. Of course, there are thousands of photo essay examples out there from which you can draw inspiration.

Why Consider Creating a Photo Essay?

As the old saying goes, “a picture is worth 1000 words.” This adage is, for many photographers, reason enough to hold a photo essay in particularly high regard.

For others, a photo essay allow them to take pictures that are already interesting and construct intricate, emotionally-charged tales out of them. For all photographers, it is yet another skill they can master to become better at their craft.

As you might expect, the photo essay have had a long history of being associated with photojournalism. From the Great Depression to Civil Rights Marches and beyond, many compelling stories have been told through a combination of images and text, or photos alone. A photo essay often evokes an intense reaction, whether artistic in nature or designed to prove a socio-political point.

Below, we’ll list some famous photo essay samples to further illustrate the subject.

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Famous Photo Essays

“The Great Depression” by Dorothea Lange – Shot and arranged in the 1930s, this famous photo essay still serves as a stark reminder of The Great Depression and Dust Bowl America . Beautifully photographed, the black and white images offer a bleak insight to one of the country’s most difficult times.

“The Vietnam War” by Philip Jones Griffiths – Many artists consider the Griffiths’ photo essay works to be some of the most important records of the war in Vietnam. His photographs and great photo essays are particularly well-remembered for going against public opinion and showing the suffering of the “other side,” a novel concept when it came to war photography.

Various American Natural Sites by Ansel Adams – Adams bought the beauty of nature home to millions, photographing the American Southwest and places like Yosemite National Park in a way that made the photos seem huge, imposing, and beautiful.

“Everyday” by Noah Kalina – Is a series of photographs arranged into a video. This photo essay features daily photographs of the artist himself, who began taking capturing the images when he was 19 and continued to do so for six years.

“Signed, X” by Kate Ryan – This is a powerful photo essay put together to show the long-term effects of sexual violence and assault. This photo essay is special in that it remains ongoing, with more subjects being added every year.

Common Types of Photo Essays

While a photo essay do not have to conform to any specific format or design, there are two “umbrella terms” under which almost all genres of photo essays tend to fall. A photo essay is thematic and narrative. In the following section, we’ll give some details about the differences between the two types, and then cover some common genres used by many artists.

⬥ Thematic 

A thematic photo essay speak on a specific subject. For instance, numerous photo essays were put together in the 1930s to capture the ruin of The Great Depression. Though some of these presentations followed specific people or families, they mostly told the “story” of the entire event. There is much more freedom with a thematic photo essay, and you can utilize numerous locations and subjects. Text is less common with these types of presentations.

⬥ Narrative 

A narrative photo essay is much more specific than thematic essays, and they tend to tell a much more direct story. For instance, rather than show a number of scenes from a Great Depression Era town, the photographer might show the daily life of a person living in Dust Bowl America. There are few rules about how broad or narrow the scope needs to be, so photographers have endless creative freedom. These types of works frequently utilize text.

Common Photo Essay Genres

Walk a City – This photo essay is when you schedule a time to walk around a city, neighborhood, or natural site with the sole goal of taking photos. Usually thematic in nature, this type of photo essay allows you to capture a specific place, it’s energy, and its moods and then pass them along to others.

The Relationship Photo Essay – The interaction between families and loved ones if often a fascinating topic for a photo essay. This photo essay genre, in particular, gives photographers an excellent opportunity to capture complex emotions like love and abstract concepts like friendship. When paired with introspective text, the results can be quite stunning. 

The Timelapse Transformation Photo Essay – The goal of a transformation photo essay is to capture the way a subject changes over time. Some people take years or even decades putting together a transformation photo essay, with subjects ranging from people to buildings to trees to particular areas of a city.

Going Behind The Scenes Photo Essay – Many people are fascinated by what goes on behind the scenes of big events. Providing the photographer can get access; to an education photo essay can tell a very unique and compelling story to their viewers with this photo essay.

Photo Essay of a Special Event – There are always events and occasions going on that would make an interesting subject for a photo essay. Ideas for this photo essay include concerts, block parties, graduations, marches, and protests. Images from some of the latter were integral to the popularity of great photo essays.

The Daily Life Photo Essay – This type of photo essay often focus on a single subject and attempt to show “a day in the life” of that person or object through the photographs. This type of photo essay can be quite powerful depending on the subject matter and invoke many feelings in the people who view them.

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Photo Essay Ideas and Examples

One of the best ways to gain a better understanding of photo essays is to view some photo essay samples. If you take the time to study these executions in detail, you’ll see just how photo essays can make you a better photographer and offer you a better “voice” with which to speak to your audience.

Some of these photo essay ideas we’ve already touched on briefly, while others will be completely new to you. 

Cover a Protest or March  

Some of the best photo essay examples come from marches, protests, and other events associated with movements or socio-political statements. Such events allow you to take pictures of angry, happy, or otherwise empowered individuals in high-energy settings. The photo essay narrative can also be further enhanced by arriving early or staying long after the protest has ended to catch contrasting images. 

Photograph a Local Event  

Whether you know it or not, countless unique and interesting events are happening in and around your town this year. Such events provide photographers new opportunities to put together a compelling photo essay. From ethnic festivals to historical events to food and beverage celebrations, there are many different ways to capture and celebrate local life.

Visit an Abandoned Site or Building  

Old homes and historical sites are rich with detail and can sometimes appear dilapidated, overgrown by weeds, or broken down by time. These qualities make them a dynamic and exciting subject. Many great photo essay works of abandoned homes use a mix of far-away shots, close-ups, weird angles, and unique lighting. Such techniques help set a mood that the audience can feel through the photographic essay.

Chronicle a Pregnancy

Few photo essay topics could be more personal than telling the story of a pregnancy. Though this photo essay example can require some preparation and will take a lot of time, the results of a photographic essay like this are usually extremely emotionally-charged and touching. In some cases, photographers will continue the photo essay project as the child grows as well.

Photograph Unique Lifestyles  

People all over the world are embracing society’s changes in different ways. People live in vans or in “tiny houses,” living in the woods miles away from everyone else, and others are growing food on self-sustaining farms. Some of the best photo essay works have been born out of these new, inspiring movements.

Photograph Animals or Pets  

If you have a favorite animal (or one that you know very little about), you might want to arrange a way to see it up close and tell its story through images. You can take photos like this in a zoo or the animal’s natural habitat, depending on the type of animal you choose. Pets are another great topic for a photo essay and are among the most popular subjects for many photographers.

Show Body Positive Themes  

So much of modern photography is about showing the best looking, prettiest, or sexiest people at all times. Choosing a photo essay theme like body positivity, however, allows you to film a wide range of interesting-looking people from all walks of life.

Such a photo essay theme doesn’t just apply to women, as beauty can be found everywhere. As a photo essay photographer, it’s your job to find it!

Bring Social Issues to Life  

Some of the most impactful social photo essay examples are those where the photographer focuses on social issues. From discrimination to domestic violence to the injustices of the prison system, there are many ways that a creative photographer can highlight what’s wrong with the world. This type of photo essay can be incredibly powerful when paired with compelling subjects and some basic text.

Photograph Style and Fashion

If you live in or know of a particularly stylish locale or area, you can put together an excellent thematic photo essay by capturing impromptu shots of well-dressed people as they pass by. As with culture, style is easily identifiable and is as unifying as it is divisive. Great photo essay examples include people who’ve covered fashion sub-genres from all over the world, like urban hip hop or Japanese Visual Kei. 

Photograph Native Cultures and Traditions  

If you’ve ever opened up a copy of National Geographic, you’ve probably seen photo essay photos that fit this category. To many, the traditions, dress, religious ceremonies, and celebrations of native peoples and foreign cultures can be utterly captivating. For travel photographers, this photo essay is considered one of the best ways to tell a story with or without text.

Capture Seasonal Or Time Changes In A Landmark Photo Essay

Time-lapse photography is very compelling to most viewers. What they do in a few hours, however, others are doing over months, years, and even decades. If you know of an exciting landscape or scene, you can try to capture the same image in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall, and put that all together into one landmark photo essay.

Alternatively, you can photograph something being lost or ravaged by time or weather. The subject of your landmark photo essay can be as simple as the wall of an old building or as complex as an old house in the woods being taken over by nature. As always, there are countless transformation-based landmark photo essay works from which you can draw inspiration.

Photograph Humanitarian Efforts or Charity  

Humanitarian efforts by groups like Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, and Doctors Without Borders can invoke a powerful response through even the simplest of photos. While it can be hard to put yourself in a position to get the images, there are countless photo essay examples to serve as inspiration for your photo essay project.

How to Create a Photo Essay

There is no singular way to create a photo essay. As it is, ultimately, and artistic expression of the photographer, there is no right, wrong, good, or bad. However, like all stories, some tell them well and those who do not. Luckily, as with all things, practice does make perfect. Below, we’ve listed some basic steps outlining how to create a photo essay

Steps To Create A Photo Essay

Choose Your Topic – While some photo essayists will be able to “happen upon” a photo story and turn it into something compelling, most will want to choose their photo essay topics ahead of time. While the genres listed above should provide a great starting place, it’s essential to understand that photo essay topics can cover any event or occasion and any span of time

Do Some Research – The next step to creating a photo essay is to do some basic research. Examples could include learning the history of the area you’re shooting or the background of the person you photograph. If you’re photographing a new event, consider learning the story behind it. Doing so will give you ideas on what to look for when you’re shooting.  

Make a Storyboard – Storyboards are incredibly useful tools when you’re still in the process of deciding what photo story you want to tell. By laying out your ideas shot by shot, or even doing rough illustrations of what you’re trying to capture, you can prepare your photo story before you head out to take your photos.

This process is especially important if you have little to no control over your chosen subject. People who are participating in a march or protest, for instance, aren’t going to wait for you to get in position before offering up the perfect shot. You need to know what you’re looking for and be prepared to get it.

Get the Right Images – If you have a shot list or storyboard, you’ll be well-prepared to take on your photo essay. Make sure you give yourself enough time (where applicable) and take plenty of photos, so you have a lot from which to choose. It would also be a good idea to explore the area, show up early, and stay late. You never know when an idea might strike you.

Assemble Your Story – Once you develop or organize your photos on your computer, you need to choose the pictures that tell the most compelling photo story or stories. You might also find some great images that don’t fit your photo story These can still find a place in your portfolio, however, or perhaps a completely different photo essay you create later.

Depending on the type of photographer you are, you might choose to crop or digitally edit some of your photos to enhance the emotions they invoke. Doing so is completely at your discretion, but worth considering if you feel you can improve upon the naked image.

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Best Photo Essays Tips And Tricks

Before you approach the art of photo essaying for the first time, you might want to consider with these photo essay examples some techniques, tips, and tricks that can make your session more fun and your final results more interesting. Below, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best advice we could find on the subject of photo essays. 

⬥ Experiment All You Want 

You can, and should, plan your topic and your theme with as much attention to detail as possible. That said, some of the best photo essay examples come to us from photographers that got caught up in the moment and decided to experiment in different ways. Ideas for experimentation include the following: 

Angles – Citizen Kane is still revered today for the unique, dramatic angles used in the film. Though that was a motion picture and not photography, the same basic principles still apply. Don’t be afraid to photograph some different angles to see how they bring your subject to life in different ways.

Color – Some images have more gravitas in black in white or sepia tone. You can say the same for images that use color in an engaging, dynamic way. You always have room to experiment with color, both before and after the shoot.

Contrast – Dark and light, happy and sad, rich and poor – contrast is an instantly recognizable form of tension that you can easily include in your photo essay. In some cases, you can plan for dramatic contrasts. In other cases, you simply need to keep your eyes open.

Exposure Settings – You can play with light in terms of exposure as well, setting a number of different moods in the resulting photos. Some photographers even do random double exposures to create a photo essay that’s original.

Filters – There are endless post-production options available to photographers, particularly if they use digital cameras. Using different programs and apps, you can completely alter the look and feel of your image, changing it from warm to cool or altering dozens of different settings.

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If you’re using traditional film instead of a digital camera, you’re going to want to stock up. Getting the right shots for a photo essay usually involves taking hundreds of images that will end up in the rubbish bin. Taking extra pictures you won’t use is just the nature of the photography process. Luckily, there’s nothing better than coming home to realize that you managed to capture that one, perfect photograph. 

⬥ Set the Scene 

You’re not just telling a story to your audience – you’re writing it as well. If the scene you want to capture doesn’t have the look you want, don’t be afraid to move things around until it does. While this doesn’t often apply to photographing events that you have no control over, you shouldn’t be afraid to take a second to make an OK shot a great shot. 

⬥ Capture Now, Edit Later 

Editing, cropping, and digital effects can add a lot of drama and artistic flair to your photos. That said, you shouldn’t waste time on a shoot, thinking about how you can edit it later. Instead, make sure you’re capturing everything that you want and not missing out on any unique pictures. If you need to make changes later, you’ll have plenty of time! 

⬥ Make It Fun 

As photographers, we know that taking pictures is part art, part skill, and part performance. If you want to take the best photo essays, you need to loosen up and have fun. Again, you’ll want to plan for your topic as best as you can, but don’t be afraid to lose yourself in the experience. Once you let yourself relax, both the ideas and the opportunities will manifest.

⬥ It’s All in The Details 

When someone puts out a photographic essay for an audience, that work usually gets analyzed with great attention to detail. You need to apply this same level of scrutiny to the shots you choose to include in your photo essay. If something is out of place or (in the case of historical work) out of time, you can bet the audience will notice.

⬥ Consider Adding Text

While it isn’t necessary, a photographic essay can be more powerful by the addition of text. This is especially true of images with an interesting background story that can’t be conveyed through the image alone. If you don’t feel up to the task of writing content, consider partnering with another artist and allowing them tor bring your work to life.

Final Thoughts 

The world is waiting to tell us story after story. Through the best photo essays, we can capture the elements of those stories and create a photo essay that can invoke a variety of emotions in our audience.

No matter the type of cameras we choose, the techniques we embrace, or the topics we select, what really matters is that the photos say something about the people, objects, and events that make our world wonderful.

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• Great Depression Essays

The Great Depression Essay

The recession of the American economy led to the greatest depression that has never been experienced in the American economic history. The Great Depression, experienced between 1929 and 1932, was a period of extreme hardship in America as it forced Americans to experience an economic crisis which left many jobless and hopeless. It was the worst and longest difficult situation in the country’s economic history that threw many hardworking people into poverty. People lost their homes, farms as well as their businesses (Gunderson 4). The Great Depression led to economic stagnation and widespread unemployment and also the depression was experienced in virtually all in every major industrialized country (Hall and Ferguson 2). The impact of the Great Depression was devastating as many individuals lost their homes because they had no work and a steady income and as a result, most of them were forced to live in makeshift dwellings with poor condition and sanitation. Many children dropped out of school and married women were forced to carry a greater domestic burden. More so, the depression widened the gap between the rich and the poor (Freedman 14) because many poor individuals suffered the hardships during this period while the rich remained unaffected. This paper discusses the period of Great Depression and it covers the life during this time and how the city dwellers, farmers, children and minority groups were affected. The Great Depression started following the occurrence of the Wall Street crash and rapidly spread in different parts of the world; however, some have argued that it was triggered by mistakes in monetary policy and poor government policy (Evans 15). Different hardships and challenges were experience by individuals in different parts of the world with many people left with no work. More so, individuals especially farmers suffered from poverty and low profits, deflation and they had no opportunity for personal and economic growth. Notably, different people were affected differently, for instance, unemployment affected men and they were desperate for work while children were forced to leave school and search for something to do so as to earn money for their family. Farmers were greatly affected because this period led to decrease in price in the prices of their crops and livestock and they still worked hard to produce more so as to pay their debts, taxes and living expenses. The period before this economic crisis, farmers were already losing money due to industrialization in cities and so most of them were renting their land and machinery. When the depression started, prices on food produced by farmers deflated leaving them incapable of making profit and so they stopped selling their farm products and this in turn affected the city dwellers that were unable to produce their own food. Undoubtedly, after the stock market crash, many firms declined and many workers were forced out of their jobs because there were really no jobs. Moreover, many people had no money to purchase commodities and so the consumer demand for manufactured goods reduced significantly. Sadly, individuals had to learn to do without new clothing. The prices dropped significantly leaving farmers bankrupt and as a result most of them lost their farms. Some farmers were angry and desperate proposing that the government should intervene and ensure that farm families remain in their respective homes. But again, farmers were better off than city dwellers because they could produce much of their own food. Many farm families had large gardens with enough food crops and in some families, women made clothes from flour and feed sacks and generally, these farm families learned how to survive with what they have and little money.

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Furthermore, the town and cities suffered too, for instance, as the factories were shutting down following the depression many industrial workers were left jobless. The life in the city was not easy as many individuals lived in overcrowded and unheated houses with poor sanitation. In addition, many firms closed and many individuals lost their jobs and had to deal with the reality of living in poverty. Town families were unable to produce their own food and so many city dwellers often went hungry during this period. During winter, they had hard times overcoming the cold because they had no money to buy coal to warm their houses. During the depression, the known role of women was homemaking because they had a difficult time finding jobs and so the only thing they were supposedly good at was preparing meals for their families and keeping their families together. Some women who managed to have jobs supported their families in overcoming this difficult time. Accordingly, many children were deprived their right to have access to quality education because many societies had to close down their schools due to lack of money. Some of them managed to be in schools but majority dropped out. More so, they suffered from malnutrition and those in rural areas were worse off because with the family’s low income, they were unable to purchase adequate nutritional food for all family members. Many children and even adults died from diseases and malnutrition (Gunderson 4). The minority groups in America especially the African American population who lived in rural areas working on the farms of white owners. Even though they lived in poverty, the Depression made the situation worse as their lived changed completely and remained extremely poor because the farmers they were working for had lost their land. All in all, many families struggled to leave on low incomes or no jobs with many children starving; lacked shelter and clothing as well as medical attention (Freedman 4).

In conclusion, the Great Depression was a tragic time in American history that left many people poor, unemployed or little pay, and children forced to work at a younger age. The Great Depression affected everyone from children to adults, farmers to city dwellers and so everyone’s lives changed drastically by the events experienced during this period. Many individuals were unemployed and remained desperate searching for better lives. In addition, children had no access to quality education as most of them left school and sadly they accompanied their mothers to look for work and search for a new life. However, some people particularly the employers and the wealthy were not affected during this period because they were protected from the depression with their position in the society.

Works Cited

Evans, Paul. “What Caused the Great Depression in the United States?” Managerial Finance 23.2 (1997): 15-24.

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Freedman, Russell. Children of the Great Depression. New York: Clarion Books, 2005. Print.

Gunderson, Cory G. The Great Depression. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub, 2004. Internet resource.

Hall, Thomas E, and Ferguson J D. The Great Depression: An International Disaster of Perverse Economic Policies. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998. Internet resource.

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Chronological Highlights of the Great Depression: Key Events and their Impact

This essay about the Great Depression portrays it as an orchestral masterpiece, where each historical event adds to a complex symphony of adversity and recovery during the 1930s. It starts with the catastrophic stock market crash of 1929 and moves through the impact of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff, the rise of Hoovervilles, and the transformative New Deal under Franklin D. Roosevelt. It highlights the resilience and unity that emerged from the era’s trials, concluding with the economic revival spurred by World War II.

How it works

The Great Depression unfolds like an elaborate orchestral piece, with every event contributing a unique note to the expansive composition that defined the 1930s. The dramatic overture began with the stock market collapse on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday, casting a long shadow over the globe. This day marked more than a financial catastrophe; it set the stage for a profound saga of adversity. Banks failed, businesses ceased operations, and countless dreams were dashed as America plunged into despair.

Following this upheaval, the U.

S. Congress introduced the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930, aiming to stabilize the domestic market. However, this act misfired, setting off international trade conflicts and deepening the global economic crisis. Nations floundered in this newly erratic economic environment, like performers struggling to maintain rhythm amidst a disruptive score.

In this environment of despair, makeshift communities known as Hoovervilles emerged, symbols of the broken promises of then-President Herbert Hoover. At the same time, the Bonus Army’s march on Washington provided a percussive beat of despair, met with a harsh response rather than aid, adding a tragic finale to their plea.

A shift in melody occurred in 1933 when Franklin D. Roosevelt assumed the presidency, initiating the New Deal. This suite of programs, from job creation efforts like the Civilian Conservation Corps to the Social Security Act, orchestrated a movement of hope and societal reform. The federal government assumed a newfound role as the maestro of relief, recovery, and reform.

Despite these efforts, the melody wavered again with the downturn of 1937, underscoring the non-linear path of recovery. This period reminded the populace of the enduring challenges ahead. However, throughout these trying times, flickers of perseverance and unity shone through, like distant stars piercing a dark sky.

The composition found its resolution with the onset of World War II in 1939, which ultimately quelled the economic strife of the Depression era. The war’s demands rejuvenated global economies through significant government expenditure, closing the somber chapter of the Great Depression.

Thus, the Great Depression transcended being a mere economic slump; it was a pivotal moment that redefined societal structures and underscored the vital themes of unity and endurance. As we reflect on this period, it’s crucial to honor the intricate tapestry of strife and resilience that left an indelible mark on the historical landscape.

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Chronological Highlights of the Great Depression: Key Events and Their Impact. (2024, May 12). Retrieved from https://papersowl.com/examples/chronological-highlights-of-the-great-depression-key-events-and-their-impact/

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Chronological Highlights of the Great Depression: Key Events and Their Impact . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/chronological-highlights-of-the-great-depression-key-events-and-their-impact/ [Accessed: 14 May. 2024]

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Chronological Highlights of the Great Depression: Key Events and Their Impact . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/chronological-highlights-of-the-great-depression-key-events-and-their-impact/ [Accessed: 14-May-2024]

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Latria Graham: Standing Her Ground

We talked to one of America’s best young writers about race and culture. The subject was an essay that helped fundamentally change our understanding of the challenges that historically marginalized people face in the outdoors.

Heading out the door? Read this article on the Outside app available now on iOS devices for members! >","name":"in-content-cta","type":"link"}}'>Download the app .

This story update is part of the Outside Classics , a series highlighting the best writing we’ve ever published, along with author interviews and other exclusive bonus materials. Read “We’re Here. You Just Don’t See Us,” by Latria Graham here .

After reading some of Graham’s writing on a friend’s recommendation, Tracy Ross knew she had to meet her. A Black writer from Spartanburg, South Carolina, Graham has experienced the kinds of racism and aggression that Ross, a white journalist who grew up in Idaho, had never known. Yet Graham fearlessly pushes forward, writing about charged topics of race, class, and social justice, drawing on a lifetime of experience. What emerges in her work are stories of a tragic American past and present, made relatable by an empathetic mind and shared vulnerability. Shortly after meeting Graham, Ross introduced her to Outside’ s editors, who quickly embraced her as an important new voice. In various publications, Graham, who is a visiting scholar at Augusta University in Georgia, has probed subjects ranging from a Black falconer who names his birds after people he loves, to Eartha Kitt, to the stigma of being Black and mentally ill, based on Graham’s own battle with depression. She also produced “We’re Here. You Just Don’t See Us,” a powerful essay about why Black Americans have a fraught relationship with the outdoors but still crave deep connections with adventurous settings and the natural world. This 2018 piece—and a follow-up, “Out Here, No One Can Hear You Scream,” published in 2020—led to a book deal for the memoir Uneven Ground, which will be published in late 2024 or early 2025 by Mariner, a division of HarperCollins.

OUTSIDE: Writing about the dynamics of race, class, and social justice for an outdoor magazine seems like a tough assignment. How did you find the balance? GRAHAM: This story addresses a mistaken idea many people have—that Black people don’t participate in the outdoors. I knew I could present a nuanced perspective based on my lived experience. I grew up in the outdoors. My father was a farmer; I worked at his farm stand. And I’m a hiker, snowshoer, backpacker, cyclist, and more. The data is there. Black people do things in the outdoors. It’s just that on the East Coast and in the South, where the majority of Black Americans live, there are fewer parks than in the West. I wanted people to know that. I refuse to live without sharing knowledge that I know could make someone’s life better.

You say you’ve been a “disciple of landscapes” for as long as you can remember. Disciple really stands out for me. Why did you choose that word? I think of nature as my life’s church. Nature has a lot to teach us, and it shapes my worldview. Everything in nature is connected. Humans love to forget it, but we’re part of that connection. A disciple is one who is studying, constantly learning. I’ve studied the outdoors for a long time, and even though the word has been claimed by Evangelical Christians, who are mostly Republicans, I wanted to take it back. As someone who has dealt with floods, fires, and tornadoes—all of which display the power and sheer magnitude of nature—I know there’s a higher power. It’s my teacher.

Your descriptions of your childhood home and the characters in it evoke joy for you. In a relatively dark essay, how did it feel to recall those happy things? “We’re Here” is about showing how my family has been a part of the outdoors for a long time. I wrote some of those passages as a way to celebrate people who aren’t with us anymore. They can no longer engage with this space—it’s a reliquary for them. But I’m going to take this little memory and make it real by putting it in the pages of a magazine. And the essay feels even more powerful to me now because, since I wrote it, I’ve lost the thing that brought me outside in the first place: my father’s farm. I had to auction it off.

I get very sad thinking about that. The farm rooted you to the land. Yeah. But for a moment in time, I was able to catch this comet in my hands. In the essay, I get to tell you what living and growing up there felt like. And I get to put the people from my life, like my grandma and my aunt, in the story. Their pictures, too. My grandmother had never seen a picture of herself in a magazine, and she died not long after the piece was published.

At one point, you write about your family being “shaped by the soil,” which you say is “red from the violence of southern history.” Is it hard to find beauty in such a horrifying past? I grew up in a region where a person can be killed for being the wrong color. That’s been the case since 1526, the year Spanish explorers brought the first enslaved people to a colony on the Atlantic coast. But the landscape where those things happened is beautiful and fertile. I’m talking aesthetics, music, food. It all goes back to that dirt, and being able to sustain life in a temperate climate. The South will never be just one thing, and as a writer I’m determined to hold both parts—this entropy—in my hands.

What was it like to write this for Outside ? Was there a part of you that thought these people will never get it? I’ve been doing this explanatory exploration of both social and geographical policy my whole life. For instance, in 2015, when police in North Charleston, South Carolina, killed Walter Scott—a Black man with a traumatic brain injury—no one in my family had ever protested before. I did, and I wrote about it as a way to try and figure out the world I’m in and how I fit. It was like that with Outside . I wanted readers to have a full, accurate picture of what’s going on with Black people and the outdoors. And for anybody who picked up the magazine and invested the time trying to puzzle through this with me, I have total regard.

Was it well received? Do you think people understood it? Yeah. But I also got death threats. Apparently, some people weren’t able to just take the magazine and throw it in the trash—they had to threaten me. But I’m willing to die standing by my truth, because I don’t think I’m doing anything wrong talking about these things.

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Stormy Daniels vs. Donald Trump

More from our inbox:, judge cannon’s ‘clear bias’, marjorie taylor greene’s mischief, r.f.k. jr.’s health history, the link between teen depression and smartphones.

To the Editor:

Re “ Daniels Details Sex With Trump, Which He Denies ” (front page, May 8):

I found Stormy Daniels’s detailed testimony about her one-night stand with Donald Trump, which he denies ever happened, to be very credible. Her admitted hatred of Mr. Trump felt like honesty, not a motive to have made up the story.

If the jury agrees, Mr. Trump is therefore the liar. It’s not far from there to make the reasonable inference that if he is lying about the event at the heart of the case, he will lie about everything that came after.

Stephanie Doba Brooklyn

You report that the judge during Stormy Daniels’s testimony objected to her description of the sexual positions with Donald Trump as veering in a “scurrilous direction.” It is too bad that no judge objected to the Kenneth Starr report on President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky, which was even more scurrilous in describing the sexual encounter.

“The prose, far from a dry, factual recitation, contained rich, erotic details of the sort we expect from a book-club romance,” Daniel M. Filler, a law professor, wrote in a California Law Review article, according to The Washington Post.

The truth then and now is that a sexual affair does not need any more description than “they had sex,” but we all like the details.

Stephen T. Schreiber Princeton, N.J.

We are living in a country where democracy is on trial. Yet New York’s restrictions on cameras in the courtroom deprive the public of live video coverage of Donald Trump’s hush money trial.

The public has to rely on details described by reporters, some sequestered in a different room with a video feed, others in the courtroom. Meanwhile, nuances like facial expressions, body language, interactions with legal teams and verbal outbursts are left to courtroom sketches shared with the public through the media.

While juror anonymity must be protected, there should be live audio-visual coverage. Mr. Trump’s trials are more critically important than any other in U.S. history. With a presidential election looming, citizens should be able to witness the courtroom activity through their own lens. It is not just Mr. Trump’s freedom at stake.

Cynthia Gardner Bruml Cleveland

Re “ We Are Talking About the Case Against Trump All Wrong ,” by Rebecca Roiphe (Opinion guest essay, May 5):

Ms. Roiphe’s guest essay reminds me of the Indian parable of the blind men who encounter an elephant for the first time and attempt to understand what it is like by touching different parts of its body and then arguing that their one perspective is the one truth.

Ms. Roiphe was an attorney at the D.A.’s office. For her the case is really about business ethics. Let’s say she’s holding an ear. That’s one component, but it’s not the whole story.

The Trump case in New York is also about election interference; let’s call that the tusks. Some say the case is about personal ethics; let’s call that the tail. Dismissing the trunk or the tail just because you are holding an ear does not help anyone.

The moral of the Indian parable is that individual perspectives can be limited. Her essay poses the danger of saying that the Trump case is only about one thing, thereby making it possible to dismiss the whole case as frivolous if you find fault with that one thing. The reality is the whole elephant.

Daniel O’Brien Lafayette, Ind.

Re “ Judge Postpones Start of Documents Trial ” (news article, May 8):

It was no great surprise to learn that the Trump documents trial was “indefinitely” postponed.

The federal judge on the case, Aileen Cannon, has done everything in her power to delay the trial, and possibly prevent it from ever occurring, showing clear bias in favor of the former president.

She should be removed not only from the case, but from the bench as well.

Gary L. Adler Lynbrook, N.Y.

Re “ Democrats Help Johnson Survive Bid to Oust Him ” (front page, May 9):

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s failed attempt to oust Speaker Mike Johnson may appear, on first blush, to be as unhinged as her theory of a wildfire caused by Jewish space lasers, but there is method in her mania.

Ms. Greene, described by a Republican colleague as a “ dumpster fire ,” is a performative politician who is playing to an audience of one: Donald Trump. Her talk of overthrowing the “uniparty” (Democrats and Republicans voting together) is red meat to the MAGA base.

Reasonable people may try earnestly to unhear and unsee Ms. Greene’s theater of the absurd, but she is functioning as Mr. Trump’s attack dog. Do not underestimate her capacity for mischief; she is not going away anytime soon.

Eric Radack Santa Fe, N.M.

Re “ Kennedy Says Doctors Found a Dead Worm in His Brain ” (news article, May 9):

It took “a 2012 deposition reviewed by The New York Times” to reveal Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s relevant health history. Voters should be less tolerant of the lack of medical disclosures, the failure to disclose tax returns, the sources of dark money funding campaigns and the unwillingness to participate in moderated debates and in-depth media interviews.

Jim Hoffmann Manchester, Mass.

Re “ Are Smartphones Driving Our Teens to Depression? ,” by David Wallace-Wells (Opinion, nytimes.com, May 1):

In questioning the relationship between smartphone use and the ongoing mental health crisis among our young people, Mr. Wallace-Wells ignores the extensive body of research documenting the conditions that contribute to children’s healthy development and well-being — and how social media provides the exact opposite conditions.

There is little debate that childhood trauma can have long-lasting psychological effects. Are we really to believe that repeated exposure to videos of car crashes, photos of dead bodies, memes about rape and posts glorifying eating disorders have had no effect on the mental health of the millions of children who have seen this content in their feeds?

At a time when suicide has become the second leading cause of death for 10- to 14-year-olds in the U.S., the need for urgent action cannot be overstated. While some argue over whether the current data constitutes causality, Big Tech is continuing to infiltrate our children’s brains with addictive algorithms and harmful content, all in the name of boosting profits.

Getting smartphones out of schools and policy safeguards that prevent social media companies from exploiting children are basic but crucial steps we can take to protect our kids and set them up for successful, healthy lives.

Julie Scelfo New York The writer is the founder and executive director of Mothers Against Media Addiction.

It’s not just teens who are negatively affected by smartphones. What about us older folks? It’s hard to keep up with this ever-changing digital world.

Ann Glasser Hamden, Conn.