Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #626786 in Books
• Published on: 2003-06-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

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.

From Booklist
The latest volume in the excellent Oxford University Press Pages from History series does an admirable job of communicating the profound emotional and psychological impact of the Great Depression on the collective psyche of the American people. One of the most prolonged and politically and economically significant events of the twentieth century, the Depression represented a crucial turning point in the history of the U.S. Utilizing a wealth of primary sources, McElvaine charts the course of the Depression, permitting the documents he has gathered to tell the bulk of the story. The documents presented include government papers, diaries, songs, poetry, art, photographs, political cartoons, radio addresses, and newspaper articles. Although sidebars and a unifying narrative are provided, the author wisely allows the primary sources to speak poignantly and eloquently for themselves. A vivid reconstruction of a seminal era that will allow readers to become personally involved in the Depression experience. Margaret Flanagan

Review

"The latest volume in the excellent Oxford University Press Pages from History series does an admirable job of communicating the profound emotional and psychological impact of the Great Depression on the collective psyche of the American people.... Utilizing a wealth of primary sources, McElvaine charts the course of the Depression, permitting the documents he has gathered to tell the bulk of the story....A vivid reconstruction of a seminal era that will allow readers to become personally involved in the Depression experience."--Booklist
"Every aspect of the economic collapse is portrayed, including breadlines, riding the rails, the ban panic, the dust bowl....The important voices are here, too.... A balanced, inclusive picture of the period through the senses of the people who lived it."--School Library Journal
"A strong collection of primary source materials.... Government documents, articles, speeches, letters, memoirs, song lyrics, cartoons, photographs, and posters are annotated by a specialist in this period."--Horn Book Guide
"Engaging, insightful, and provocative....What really sets this work above the others is the careful selection of incredibly interesting documents accompanied by straightforward, astute explanations of their significance."--OAH Magazine of History
"Almost all history teachers believe that the best way for students to 'catch' history is to read prime sources, not just textbook summaries. [This] fulfills that purpose superbly!The author's commentaryis readable, helpful, and connects the documents well.I'd buy the whole set for middle or high school libraries."--Library Materials Guide

Customer Reviews

A Good primer on the Great Depression
McElvaine's book is a good overview of the Great Depression. In the book are letters, poems and brief stories of the years leading up to the Great Depression and the many lives affected when the Great Depression hit the nation.

The book is more of a supplement to more detailed reading about the 1920s and 1930s, but it's an interesting book with some interesting stories and information about the politics, the people, the economic hard times, the literature, the poetry and the culture of the times.

Super, Super source book
This book gives you all the sources you will need on the Great Depression. Really engaging, all the entries are fun to read. Lots of variety in the types of sources. I can't recommend it highly enough.