Other
National Council for the Social Studies: The Great Depression Mystery
Delve into the causes of the Great Depression with this lesson that simulates how unemployment in one part of the economy can cause unemployment in other parts of the economy. Extensive background on the economic causes of the Depression...
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
Univ. Of California: Calisphere: Great Depression: Everyday Life in Hard Times
Original photos that look at housing, employment, and unemployment during the hard times of the Great Depression and the changing role of the federal government with the New Deal.
US Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics: Compensation From Before Wwi Through Great Depression [Pdf]
This interesting article from the Bureau of Labor Statistics discusses how working conditions and low pay prior to World War I led to the increase in union membership. Read how the government viewed labor and labor unions during World...
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: The Wpa: Antidote to the Great Depression?
[Free Registration/Login Required] A good assessment of the Works Progress Administration and its contribution not only of providing jobs for the unemployed during the Great Depression, but for the lasting improvements it made in the...
University of Washington
The Great Depression in Washington State: Hoovervilles and Homelessness
Information about the Hoovervilles in Seattle, Washington, and surrounding cities during the Great Depression. Find maps that show the locations of shack towns around the city, and follow hyperlinks that give a deeper look at...
Curated OER
History Matters: Deaf and Unemployed in Dubuque
Read this poignant interview, transcribed by a WPA worker, in which a deaf couple describes the hardships they encountered during the Great Depression, compounded because of their disability.
OpenStax
Open Stax: The Great Depression 1929 1932: The Stock Market Crash of 1929
Discusses what caused the 1929 stock market crash and why the American economy went so rapidly and dramatically downhill. Also explains how a stock market crash can have such a far-reaching impact.
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: Where Did All the Money Go? The Great Depression Mystery
Use this lesson plan to have students investigate how the American economy went from boom to bust in the 1920s. Find the resources needed for the lesson plan as well as important discussion questions for individual and class consideration.
A&E Television
History.com: How the Great Depression Became the Golden Age for Monopoly
When times got tough during the Great Depression, people played board games -- especially the game that's all about making money. The success of Monopoly befuddled many. Why, in a time of great financial despair, would families and...
Curated OER
History Matters: Donners Recall the Great Depression
This description of a family in Dubuque, Iowa was part of a 1935 WPA sponsored project devoted to documenting the experiences of people during the Depression. From the book, The Great Depression, by David Shannon.
PBS
The First Measured Century: Measurements and Myths of the Great Depression
This fascinating transcript from a PBS special about numbers in the 20th century focuses on people and how they were affected by the Great Depression in terms of employment, agriculture, and even marriage rates. Be sure to click on the...
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission
Expore Pa History: Pa and the Great Depression: Public Works and Organized Labor
A good look at how the Great Depression affected Pennsylvania. See how New Deal legislation brought relief to the unemployed in Pennsylvania after 1936.
Other
University of California: Hard Times
Lesson in which students analyze primary source photos and answer questions based on photos and informational text to learn about life during the Great Depression.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: Mac Arthur: The Bonus March (May July, 1932)
As part of the American Experience film on General MacArthur, this article explains the plight of the World War I veterans who marched on Washington in 1932 to claim their war bonus--which they needed due to the Great Depression--only to...
Digital History
Digital History: The Depression [Pdf]
Take this interesting look at life during the Great Depression. Find data about unemployment, bank failures, the Bonus Army, and the ways the depression affected ordinary individuals. [pdf]
Wessels Living History Farm
Living History Farm: Farming in the 1930s: Crash!
A multi-page site that focuses on the effects of the Great Depression primarily in rural America in the early days before the election of Franklin Roosevelt. Find videos interviews with those who lived through the trying times.
University of Washington
University of Washington: Economics and Poverty
Each state felt the ramifications of the Great Depression in different ways. Learn how Washington dealt with the unemployed in their state and how the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped in...
George Washington University
Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project: National Youth Administration
A good overview of the National Youth Administration and its goals in helping young people during the Great Depression. Of interest is the information on how invested Eleanor Roosevelt was in the development of the program.
Other
Michigan.gov: Roosevelt's Tree Army: Michigan's Civilian Conservation Corps
Lengthy text history of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Michigan. Includes details of the lives and activities of the young men who enrolled, as well as historical photos.
Digital History
Digital History: Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, and Welfare [Pdf]
After reading a brief history of Social Security and its inception in the United States during the Great Depression, find out about the various programs that provide a social safety net to its citizens. See how these programs are funded,...
Curated OER
History Matters: Unemployed Councils of the 1930s
This account by Communist activist Anna Taffler details her activities working with the Communist-led Unemployment Councils of the 1930s. These organizations worked in hundreds of local communities to demand jobs and better treatment...
Digital History
Digital History: The Human Toll
The Great Depression took a terrible toll on individuals and families. Read about the massive unemployment, ways people tried to survive, and the subtle change in people's attitudes toward the role of government in helping its citizens.
Curated OER
History Matters: The Bum as Con Artist
History Matters reprints a 1929 newspaper article by journalist Tom Kromer, who contended that the beggar was a con man in the beginning of the Great Depression. It seems that Mr. Kromer became unemployed himself within the year, so...
Historica Canada
Historica Canada: Heritage Minutes: Maple Leaf Gardens
During the Great Depression, to create work, an icon of hockey was built. This dramatization of the building of Maple Gardens gives a great background to the Depression as well as other links to digital sources. The resource is available...