The Depression and New Deal: A History in Documents (Pages from History) - Hardcover

McElvaine, Robert S.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195104935 ISBN 13: 9780195104936

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2000

Synopsis

The Depression and New Deal is a collection of primary sources documenting American life during the longest and deepest economic collapse in American history. From the prosperity and rampant consumerism of the 1920s, the book moves forward to cover the double shock of the stock market crash and dust bowl and then on to the recovery efforts of Roosevelt's New Deal. Some of the most revealing testaments to the times-including songs by Woody Guthrie, articles from sources as diverse as Fortune magazine and the communist periodical New Masses, murals and posters sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, excerpts from literary classics such as The Grapes of Wrath and selections from Eleanor Roosevelt's "My Day" column-have been assembled to provide a well-rounded portrait of the age.
The battle among conflicting political and economic forces is brought to life with political cartoons, Roosevelt's "Forgotten Man" radio address and first inaugural address, Supreme Court decisions, newspaper editorials, text from the National Labor Relations Act, and many other documents. Some of the most compelling elements of this history record the impact of the depression on ordinary people. The experiences of Americans of both sexes, all ages, and various racial and ethnic groups are explored through documents such as Farm Security Administration photographs, interviews, letters to the Roosevelts, and the memoirs of a "southern white girl." A special section of Hollywood film stills demonstrates how the changing values of the nation were reflected in popular culture. Renowned historian Robert McElvaine provides expert commentary linking the documents into a fascinating and seamless narrative.

Textbooks may interpret history, but the books in the Pages from History series are history. Each title, compiled and edited by a prominent historian, is a collection of primary sources relating to a particular topic of historical significance. Documentary evidence including news articles, government documents, memoirs, letters, diaries, fiction, photographs, and facsimiles allows history to speak for itself and turns every reader into a historian. Headnotes, extended captions, sidebars, and introductory essays provide the essential context that frames the documents. All the books are amply illustrated and each includes a documentary picture essay, chronology, further reading, source notes, and index.

About this title

About the Author:

Robert McElvaine is a professor at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. His other books include Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the 'Forgotten Man' and The Great Depression: America, 1929-41

From School Library Journal:

Grade 10 Up-A vast assortment of diary entries, newspaper articles, campaign memos and speeches, political cartoons, songs, poetry, art, advertisements, photographs, and personal letters provide students with a political, economic, and social picture of this nation during the Depression. McElvaine first explains the significance of a primary document and advises how best to read one, e.g., understanding how its origin might be a source of bias. He prefaces each of the 14 chapters with a brief explanation and then allows the pieces, whether text or illustration, to speak for themselves. Every aspect of the economic collapse is portrayed, including breadlines, riding the rails, the bank panic, the dust bowl, Hoovervilles, Roosevelt's attack on the Supreme Court and big business, and the First Lady's identification with the common man. The important voices are here, too-Father Coughlin, Huey Long, Frances Perkins, and Lorena Hickok are represented as are John Steinbeck, Langston Hughes, Woody Guthrie, Irving Berlin, Harry Gottlieb, Philip Guston, and Kindred McLeary. Frequent black-and-white photographs and reproductions evoke the people and hardships of the era. Jacqueline Farrell's The Great Depression (Lucent, 1996), Don Nardo's The Great Depression (Greenhaven, 1997), Victoria Sherrow's Hardship and Hope (21st Century, 1995), Stewart Ross's The Great Depression (RSVP, 1998), and Dennis Nishi's Life During the Great Depression (Lucent, 1997) are all fine sources. However, libraries will still want McElvaine's title as it provides a balanced, inclusive picture of the period through the senses of the people who lived it.
Joanne K. Cecere, Highland High School, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0195104935
• ISBN 13: 9780195104936
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192