Starting in 1929 and ending with America's entry into World War II in 1941, the Great Depression marked a turning point in American history by establishing the enlarged federal bureaucracy associated with the post-WWII state. While first and foremost an economic event, the Great Depression affected every aspect of American political, social, and cultural life. It was during the depression that the radio and film industries, along with developments in documentary photography, reportage, and literature, helped to develop a national culture based in uniquely American practices, environments, experiences, and ideals.

Workers on relief line during the Great Depression.

While the stock market crash of October 1929 is often viewed as the start of the Great Depression, it was by no means the cause of the depression. The crash, and its aftermath of unemployment, bank closures, bankruptcies, and homelessness, were caused by fundamental flaws in the prosperity of the 1920s...