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Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s, beginning in the United States. The timing of the Great Depression varied across the world; in most countries, it started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. The Great Depression is commonly used as an example of how intensely the global economy can decline.

The Great Depression started in the United States after a major fall in stock prices that began around September 4, 1929, and became worldwide news with the stock market crash of October 29, 1929, (known as Black Tuesday). Between 1929 and 1932, worldwide gross domestic product (GDP) fell by an estimated 15%. By comparison, worldwide GDP fell by less than 1% from 2008 to 2009 during the Great Recession. Some economies started to recover by the mid-1930s. However, in many countries, the negative effects of the Great Depression lasted until the beginning of World War II.

The Great Depression had devastating effects in both rich and poor countries. Personal income, tax revenue, profits and prices dropped, while international trade fell by more than 50%. Unemployment in the U.S. rose to 23% and in some countries rose as high as 33%.

Cities around the world were hit hard, especially those dependent on heavy industry. Construction was virtually halted in many countries. Farming communities and rural areas suffered as crop prices fell by about 60%. Facing plummeting demand with few alternative sources of jobs, areas dependent on primary sector industries such as mining and logging suffered the most.

Great Depression Media

62,204 media by topic ∙ page 1 of 623
Saying grace before the barbeque dinner at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fair

Saying grace before the barbeque dinner at the Pie Town, New Mexico Fa...

Truck trailers line up at a freight house to load and unload goods from the Chicago and Northwestern railroad, Chicago, Ill.

Truck trailers line up at a freight house to load and unload goods fro...

Commuters, who have just come off the train, waiting for the bus to go home, Lowell, Mass.

Commuters, who have just come off the train, waiting for the bus to go...

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Group of miners playing cards

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Group of miners playin...

Great Dupont Ammonia Corp., Belle, West Virginia. General view of Great Dupont Ammonia Corp.

Great Dupont Ammonia Corp., Belle, West Virginia. General view of Grea...

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Miners ration line III

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Miners ration line III

Charleston, West Virginia. Shipyards at Charleston

Charleston, West Virginia. Shipyards at Charleston

West Virginia trip. Two small girls

West Virginia trip. Two small girls

West Virginia trip. Woman at gate on dirt road with car in background

West Virginia trip. Woman at gate on dirt road with car in background

Richardson department store, Charleston, West Virginia. Exterior of Richardson department store

Richardson department store, Charleston, West Virginia. Exterior of Ri...

Mine tipple in West Virginia. Typical mine tipple

Mine tipple in West Virginia. Typical mine tipple

Kanawha Bank, Charleston, West Virginia. Twenty-story building in Charleston

Kanawha Bank, Charleston, West Virginia. Twenty-story building in Char...

Kelly Creek, West Virginia. View of dirt road

Kelly Creek, West Virginia. View of dirt road

West Virginia trip. Three children

West Virginia trip. Three children

West Virginia trip. Cross-timbered structure supported by exterior logs

West Virginia trip. Cross-timbered structure supported by exterior log...

Charleston and Blaine Island, West Virginia. General view of Charleston I

Charleston and Blaine Island, West Virginia. General view of Charlesto...

Kelly Creek, West Virginia. Oil and gas wells

Kelly Creek, West Virginia. Oil and gas wells

George L. Coyle. Portrait of George L. Coyle at desk I

George L. Coyle. Portrait of George L. Coyle at desk I

Charleston, West Virginia. View of business section in Charleston

Charleston, West Virginia. View of business section in Charleston

Charleston and Blaine Island, West Virginia. General view of Charleston II

Charleston and Blaine Island, West Virginia. General view of Charlesto...

Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. factory no. 12, Clarksburg, West Virginia. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. factory interior

Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. factory no. 12, Clarksburg, West Virginia. ...

West Virginia trip. Small girl with hands behind back

West Virginia trip. Small girl with hands behind back

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Miners ration line I

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Miners ration line I

West Virginia trip. Mining buildings

West Virginia trip. Mining buildings

George L. Coyle. Portrait of George L. Coyle at desk II

George L. Coyle. Portrait of George L. Coyle at desk II

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Miners ration line II

Striking miners drawing rations, West Virginia. Miners ration line II

New Kanawha Power Co. tunnel construction. Construction of 16,250 ft. tunnel

New Kanawha Power Co. tunnel construction. Construction of 16,250 ft. ...

George L. Coyle. Portrait of George L. Coyle at desk III

George L. Coyle. Portrait of George L. Coyle at desk III

Kelly Creek, West Virginia. Coal mine tipple

Kelly Creek, West Virginia. Coal mine tipple

Mrs. Hoover presents cup to boy winner at National 4-H Club Camp. Mrs. Hoover presenting to John C. Jackson of East Baton Rouge Parish, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the cup known as the Secretary of Agriculture Trophy, at the National Boys' and Girls' 4-H Club Camp held on the grounds of the Department of Agriculture in Washington. This award is made to the biy and girl selected as best typifying 4-H club work of the 700,000 rural boys and girls enrolled in the 4-H farm and home making clubs in the 48 states and Hawaii. Secretary of Agriculture Arthur M. Hyde can be seen next to Mrs. Hoover

Mrs. Hoover presents cup to boy winner at National 4-H Club Camp. Mrs....

Nihkoyak, men's house at winter camp--Nunivak

Nihkoyak, men's house at winter camp--Nunivak

The big duo. Just before leaving for the presidential camp on the Rapidan, President Hoover and Premier MacDonald posed for this picture on the front steps of the White House

The big duo. Just before leaving for the presidential camp on the Rapi...

Uncle Sam shows how troops traveled 75 years ago and today in military pageant held at Camp Holabird, Maryland. Seventy-five years ago Uncle Sam's troops moved and carried their supplies by ox-cart and now today, they use high-powered tanks to carry them against the enemy. All this was shown to public at the Military Transportation Pageant held at Camp Holabird, Baltimore, Maryland, June 12, by the United States Army

Uncle Sam shows how troops traveled 75 years ago and today in military...

Locust plagues in Palestine. Methods of fighting the locust plague. Camp of the locust fighters. An evening scene at Shaluf

Locust plagues in Palestine. Methods of fighting the locust plague. Ca...

Colonel H.P. Sheldon, U.S. Game Commissioner, and Hon. R.W. Dunlap, Assist. Secretary of Agriculture, aboard the new speedboat recently purchased by the Department of Agriculture for use in enforcing the migratory bird law in the Potomac River. The boat is fully equipped, and will run 30 miles an hour

Colonel H.P. Sheldon, U.S. Game Commissioner, and Hon. R.W. Dunlap, As...

Scouts present president with buffalo horn as birthday gift. President Hoover will be 56 years old on Sunday, August 10. Representative Boy Scouts of the District of Columbia presented him with a buffalo horn as a birthday present today. Harold [...], Troop 33, Takoma Park, Md., is shown making the presentation. The horn was prepared by over 200 scouts at their summer camp, Camp Roosevelt on Chesapeake Bay [White House, Washington, D.C.]

Scouts present president with buffalo horn as birthday gift. President...

[Tents, military camp]

[Tents, military camp]

[Bonus Army camp, Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

[Bonus Army camp, Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

[Vacated Bonus Army camp?]

[Vacated Bonus Army camp?]

[Bonus Army camp, Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

[Bonus Army camp, Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

[Military camp]

[Military camp]

#42 B.E.F. Camp Anacostia D.C. 1932 ; Camp Marks, B.E.F. '32

#42 B.E.F. Camp Anacostia D.C. 1932 ; Camp Marks, B.E.F. '32

[Bonus Army camp "Who killed the bonus." Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

[Bonus Army camp "Who killed the bonus." Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

[Bonus Army camp, Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

[Bonus Army camp, Anacostia, Washington, D.C.?]

Mexican workers on strike. California

Mexican workers on strike. California

Drinking fountains are provided at engineering projects and recreational parks for visitors' convenience. This one was donated by the labor unions associated in the Tennessee Valley Workers' Council as a memorial to a labor relations official of the Authority after his death. The bronze dedication placque carries the favorite stanza of the deceased which reads as follows: "Mourn not the dead who in the cool earth lie, Dust unto dust, The calm sweet earth that mothers all who die, As all men must, But rather mourn the apathetic throng, The cowed and the meek, Who know the world's great anguish and its wrong, And dare not speak."

Drinking fountains are provided at engineering projects and recreation...

Demountable employee housing. Group of construction workers' houses, built on demountable principle, on a dam construction project in North Carolina. Some of these houses are on their third location since they were first built in Alabama and hauled approximately 300 miles in sections

Demountable employee housing. Group of construction workers' houses, b...

Camp site of striking Mexican workers. Corcoran, California

Camp site of striking Mexican workers. Corcoran, California

Picket line, Mexican workers. Corcoran, California

Picket line, Mexican workers. Corcoran, California

Dead Sea Album, prepared for the Palestine Potash Ltd. Houses in camp are open on both sides except for wire screening

Dead Sea Album, prepared for the Palestine Potash Ltd. Houses in camp ...

Children in front of their new home. Reedsville, West Virginia

Children in front of their new home. Reedsville, West Virginia

[Farm wagon, driven by an African American man, Reed Camp, South Carolina]

[Farm wagon, driven by an African American man, Reed Camp, South Carol...

Title devised by Library staff based on caption information and inventory lists. Handwritten on back: "2. Farm wagon, Reed Camp, SC Dec 1934." Forms part of: Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk music... More

[Prisoners breaking up rocks at a prison camp or road construction site]

[Prisoners breaking up rocks at a prison camp or road construction sit...

Title and date devised by Library staff based on caption information and inventory lists. Forms part of: Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk musicians, primarily in the southern United States and the Bahamas.

[Farm wagon, driven by an African American man, Reed Camp, South Carolina]

[Farm wagon, driven by an African American man, Reed Camp, South Carol...

Title devised by Library staff based on caption information and inventory lists. Handwritten on back: "Farm Wagon, Reed Camp, S.C.; 2; Dec. 1934." Forms part of: Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk m... More

[African American convicts working with axes, Reed Camp, South Carolina]

[African American convicts working with axes, Reed Camp, South Carolin...

Title devised by Library staff based on caption information and inventory lists. Handwritten on back: "Convicts Reed Camp, SC; Dec. 1934." Forms part of: Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk musicians... More

Prisoner in camp hospital, Darrington State Farm, Texas

Prisoner in camp hospital, Darrington State Farm, Texas

[Prisoners working outside Reed Camp, South Carolina; Portraits of Ernest and Paul, Jennings, Louisiana; Portrait of Sam Ballard, New Iberia, Louisiana; Views of a baptism near Mineola, Texas]

[Prisoners working outside Reed Camp, South Carolina; Portraits of Ern...

Title devised by Library staff based on caption information and inventory lists. Handwritten on back: "N54: Ernest and Paul Jennings, La. July 1934, no other print of this"; "N57: Sam Ballard (Old Dad), New Ibe... More

[African American convicts working with axes, watchtower in background, Reed Camp, South Carolina]

[African American convicts working with axes, watchtower in background...

Title devised by Library staff based on caption information and inventory lists. Handwritten on back: "Convicts Reed Camp, SC; Dec. 1934." Forms part of: Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk musicians... More

[Prisoners breaking up rocks at a prison camp or road construction site]

[Prisoners breaking up rocks at a prison camp or road construction sit...

Title devised by Library staff based on caption information and inventory lists. Forms part of: Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk musicians, primarily in the southern United States and the Bahamas.

[Dead Sea album prepared for the Palestine Potash Ltd. Palestine Potash camp at Usdum]

[Dead Sea album prepared for the Palestine Potash Ltd. Palestine Potas...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

Title and other information from a possibly related negative. Image came to Library of Congress untitled. (There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist.) Appears to be related to negative LC-USF... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

Title and other information from a possibly related negative. Image came to Library of Congress untitled. (There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist.) Appears to be related to negative LC-USF... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

Annotation on original negative jacket. This image in a jacket marked "Killed" To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have tit... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have titles. There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist. Transfer; Un... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

Annotation on original negative jacket. This image in a jacket marked "Killed" To identify this image it may help to search for images that have neighboring call numbers, are similar in appearance, and have tit... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

Title and other information from a possibly related negative. Image came to Library of Congress untitled. (There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist.) Appears to be related to negative LC-USF... More

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information photograph.

FSA/OWI - Farm security administration and Office of War Information p...

Title and other information from a possibly related negative. Image came to Library of Congress untitled. (There was no caption for this image in the FSA/OWI shelflist.) Appears to be related to negative LC-USF... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information Photograph

The photographs in the Farm Security Administration / Office of War In...

This image is one of the images made by photographers working in Stryker's unit as it existed in a succession of government agencies: the Resettlement Administration (1935-1937). The photographs of the Farm Se... More