Meridel Le Sueur

The stock market crash of 1929 did not affect most people because not everyone had the extra money to invest. But as banks and businesses reacted to cut costs or declare bankruptcy, unemployment rose at an alarming rate. Relief organizations were quickly overwhelmed and unemployment offices were swamped with applicants. Meridel Le Sueur was a young writer who wrote the following article about what it was like for women seeking work in an employment office. She describes the frustration and humiliation of proud people waiting all day for jobs that rarely, if ever, materialized. Le Sueur went on to write several influential novels about the era.

Iam sitting in the city free employment bureau. It's the women's section. We have been sitting here now for four hours. We sit here every day, waiting for a job...