American Decades Primary Sources: 1930-1939

The United States in the 1930s was dominated by the economic difficulties of the Great Depression, which impacted life on all levels for much of the population. The Depression spurred federal programs in business and industry and investment in the arts and humanities, generating a heretofore unparalleled support for and public interest in literature, architecture, photography, and other ventures. At the same time, the countrys economic woes did not discourage crime or social debate. The 1930s was a decade rich in new cultural and social programs, as well as political debate and legal challenge.

The following documents are just a sampling of the offerings available in this volume:

Notes on a Cowboy Ballet, Aaron Coplands notes for Billy the Kid Progress in Michigan, newsletter of the Works Progress Administration Land of the Spotted Eagle, by Luther Standing Bear
A Century of Progress Exposition: Official Pictures in Color, exposition booklet Whats the Matter with Congress? by Senator Lester J. Dickinson Text facsimile of Al Capones indictment Eleanor Roosevelts letter of resignation from the Daughters of the American Revolution Will the New Deal Be a Square Deal for the Negro? by Jesse O. Thomas Saga of the CCC, by John D. Guthrie Are We Going Communist? A Debate, by Everett Dean Martin and Earl Browder Photography of the Great Depression: Dorothea Lange,