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...
University of Washington
University of Washington: Unemployed Citizens League Branches, Seattle
The Unemployed Citizens League (UCL) was formed in Washington as a political organization for the unemployed that the government could not ignore. This google map shows the addresses for the branches of the UCL in Washington.
University of North Carolina
Documenting the American South: North Carolina Emergency Relief Administration
An electronic edition of a very interesting, though dense, book written in 1936 as a record of the activies of the Emergency Relief Adminstration in North Carolina. The book begins with a look at how relief for the indigent was provided...
Digital History
Digital History: The Dispossessed
A brief look at those most affected by the unemployment crisis during the Great Depression. Read about the unemployment of African-Americans, and the deportation of Mexican-Americans.
PBS
Pbs: American Experience: President Franklin D. Roosevelt
This companion to the PBS series surveys the career of the longest-serving president in U.S. history and leader through the Great Depression and World War II.
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Sinking Deeper and Deeper
Read about the creeping descent into depression in the United States upon the crash of the stock market. Find out how the economy collapsed, and how that affected employment and the lives of millions.
Digital History
Digital History: Bonus Army
Read about the government's reaction to the unemployed World War I veterans who comprised the Bonus Army encamped in Washington, D.C. See what the the veterans were asking for, and see how their treatment assured the election of Franklin...
Wisconsin Historical Society
Wisconsin Historical Society: A Brief Explanation of the Social Security Act
The Social Security Act was brought into law in 1935. This booklet was published by the government in 1935 to explain how the Act worked.
Utah Education Network
Uen: Utah History Encyclopedia: Civilian Conservation Corps
This resource discusses specifically the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the state of Utah.
Curated OER
Wikipedia: National Historic Landmarks in Minnesota: Rabideau Ccc Camp
The Rabideau CCC Camp was a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota. The camp was established in 1935 as a project of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal program. The camp, one of 2650...
Council for Economic Education
Econ Ed Link: The Economics of the New Deal
The stock-market crash of 1929 is generally seen as the start of The Great Depression, the worst economic downturn in the history of the United States. The Depression had devastating effects on the country. But it also served as a...