Curated OER
America in the 1930s: The Great Depression
Well-rounded and succinctly-worded site that focuses on how the Great Depression affected the more vulnerable segments of society, particularly working families, women, and minorities. A good site for giving students a quick overview of...
The History Place
The History Place: Dorothea Lange: Migrant Farm Families
Learn about the history of migrant workers in America by viewing the work of Dorothea Lange, one of the most famous photographers of the Great Depression.
Digital History
Digital History: Why It Happened
How did a country with such a booming economy in the 1920s sink into economic disaster in the 1930s? Prosperity was just an illusion. See the many causes of the Great Depression, and find out how all the signs were missed or disregarded.
Wessels Living History Farm
Living History Farm: Bank Failures
The bank runs and bank failures of the 1930s are described here, as well as personal interviews with people who experienced the Great Depression.
Digital History
Digital History: Wagner Act
Read about the growth of labor unions during the 1930s as the Great Depression continued, due to the passage of the Wagner Act. Find out about the strikes and the conflict between labor and management, as well as conflict within the...
Other
Woody Guthrie: The People's Troubador
The story of Woody Guthrie, the folk musician who wrote the score for the 1930s and the Great Depression.
US National Archives
Nara: Picturing the Century: The Great Depression and the New Deal
The National Archives and Records Administration, provides this article with historic photographs of people and places in the 1930s.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Picture Review of the 1930's
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart can be used to introduce or review the major aspects of the 1930's, including the Stock Market Crash, Hoover's presidency, the Bonus Army, the Dust Bowl, FDR and his New Deal Programs.
Other
Kingwood Library: American Cultural History: 1930 1939
Excellent website offering information about life in the 1930s. Learn about art, literature, books, literature, fashion, people, music, education, and radio of the era of the Depression and the New Deal.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: Modern American Poetry: A Photo Dossier on Sharecropping
Photographs from the 1930s of both black and white sharecroppers, with some accompanying explanation.
Other
Lincoln City Libraries: Nebraska's Federal Writers Project
Rudolph Umland's writing, correspondence, and scrapbooks offer revealing portraits of life in Depression era Nebraska, and a uniquely well-documented insider's view of the local literary community and the Nebraska Federal Writers' Project.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: About the Dust Bowl
Thorough discussion of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s with accompanying map, photos, and timeline that describe it in detail.
Library of Congress
Loc: Bound for Glory
A fascinating look at American life from 1939 to 1943 through photographs. The buildings, cars, clothing, and stores are very different from today. This is an excellent way to get a feel for the turn of the decade -- from the Depression...
Digital History
Digital History: National Recovery Administration
Resource provides an overview of the codes set by the National Recovery Administration that helped industry and labor in the 1930s and their positive and negative affects.
Other
Amistad Digital Resource: The Scottsboro Trial
Narrative examines the notorious trials of the Scottsboro Boys from 1931 through 1937 giving details about the prosecution, in Scottsboro, Alabama, of nine young African Americans charged with the rape of two white women. The trials...
Library of Congress
Loc: Voices of the Dust Bowl: Scrapbook
Explore this online scrapbook filled with articles and ephemera relating to the 1930s migrant farm issue in California.
US Department of State
Info Usa: Foreign Trade and Global Economic Policies
U.S. foreign trade and global economic policies have changed direction dramatically during the more than two centuries that the United States has been a country. In the early days of the nation's history, government and business mostly...
Smithsonian Institution
National Air and Space Museum: America by Air: Airline Expansion and Innovation
Air travel grew in the 1920s and 1930s despite the Great Depression. Read about the new commercial airlines of the time and what it was like to fly at the dawn of commercial passenger flight.
Department of Defense
Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 7: Facing Challenges at Home and Abroad
This extensive learning module examines the role of economic fluctuations in creating new demands on the government to design reforms and how the United States became a dominant military, political, cultural, and economic force in the...
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Fbi: Famous Cases and Criminals: Bonnie and Clyde
A detailed account of the background, crimes and capture of famous criminals Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker. Links to the FBI's archives featuring remarkable primary documents relating to the couple's misdeeds.
Curated OER
America in the 1930s: The Bonus Army
Vivid and succinct account of the efforts and struggles of WWI veterans who marched on Washtington D.C. to demand their veterans' benefits. Article does a nice job describing their forced dispersement by the army, which strained the...
Curated OER
America in the 1930s: The Bonus Army
Vivid and succinct account of the efforts and struggles of WWI veterans who marched on Washtington D.C. to demand their veterans' benefits. Article does a nice job describing their forced dispersement by the army, which strained the...
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: The Road to Emerald City Is Paved With Good Intentions
'The Wizard of Oz' is perhaps the most popular film ever made. Generations of families have enjoyed this classic tale of Dorothy's struggle to return home from a faraway land. What is not well known, however, is that 'The Wonderful...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Us History: 1890 1945: Quiz 3
Take this five-question quiz that checks comprehension over parts of US history between 1890-1945.