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Period: to
Great Depression/Dust Bowl
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Works Progress Administration
This vibrant poster, created by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the 1930s, urges residents of New York City's tenement housing to help improve their neighborhoods by keeping their premises clean. The imagery of tight buildings that are word down represents the poor sanitation and public health concerns of crowded urban environments during the great depression. As part of the broader New Deal programs directed by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. -
WPA Example
these posters were created to foster responsibility in the community and challenge/encourage individuals to maintain a clean and healthy environment. Even with the extensive economic downturn, the poster promotes bolds coloring with simple, practical messages, illustrating how government programs tried to engage with citizens improving overall quality of life.This WPA initiative was a part of broader efforts to combat declining public health conditions in urban areas to improve living conditions -
Al Capone's Soup Kitchen
America had been hit by the Great Depression and it was now a cruel winter in the city of Chicago. Thousands of jobless lined up in the newly opened soup kitchen promising ,"Free Soup, coffee, and donuts for the unemployed." The intriguing host was none other than public enemy #1 Al Capone, an infamous mobster who terrorized the streets turned soup kitchen philanthropist reportedly proposed providing 1000 turkeys for thanksgiving till a local heist occurred, and he switched to beef stew. -
Migrant Mother
This historic photograph, titled "Migrant Mother," was captured in 1936 by Dorothea Lange, a photographer for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). It portrays Florence Owens Thompson, a mother of seven, during the Great Depression, a time of severe economic hardship in the United States. Taken at a pea-pickers camp in Nipomo, California, this image symbolizes the widespread suffering of migrant workers displaced by the Dust Bowl and agricultural collapse. -
Greifers Grief
The first document is an excerpt from an interview with Mr. Greifer, a farmer from Spring Valley, New York, conducted on December 20, 1938. In this transcript, Greifer shares his experiences as a farmer and former candy store owner, discussing the financial struggles of both professions during the economic crisis. He reflects on how he navigated bankruptcies and health challenges due to long working hours, and his reliance on a doctor who believed in natural remedies. -
Additional Grief
The second document is a form detailing the circumstances of the interview, conducted by WPA worker Emanuel Verschleiser. This form provides context for the interview, identifying the subject and highlighting the personal connection between rural life and urban struggles in the Depression. Together, these records provide a firsthand account of the personal toll of the Great Depression on both rural and urban small business owners. -
Farm Worker Communities
The second image depicts young boys and girls standing by a sign for an FSA managed “farm workers community.” These camps gave shelter, food, and basic education for displaced families, many of whom were fleeing the Dust Bowl and searching for agricultural work in California. Both images show the efforts of government programs addressing the toll of the economic and environmental downturn with material support and documentation of migrant communities. -
Charles Todd and the FSA
The first image depicts a group of young immigrant farmers listening to a field recording session, mostly documenting the songs, stories, or daily experiences of migrant communities. This reflected the FSA’s efforts to employ artists and folklorists like Charles Todd and Robert Sonkin, to capture the cultural essence of these overlooked populations during the great depression.