Experience the 20th century through the eyes and ears of those who lived through it via original documents, literature and multimedia.

Aside from war, the Great Depression was perhaps the darkest chapter in 20th century American history. It profoundly affected our nation and culture in ways not seen since.

Bread lines, soup kitchens, bank runs and more. Life in the city was hard and there was no easy way out.

Although most farm families had access to a steadier supply of food, they suffered from their own set of circumstances.

Out of a job and evicted from their homes, many people took to the road in an attempt to find greener grass.

Immediately upon his inauguration in 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt set out to establish a great number of new federal agencies. Convinced that the way out of the Depression was through government spending, he called his plan The New Deal.

COMING SOON

TROUBLE ON THE PLAINS

In addition to all the other trials and tribulations of the Great Depression, those who lived on the Great Plains had an angry Mother Nature to deal with as well. Continuous farming of the same crops on the same land for decades had depleted essential nutrients in the soil. Failure to apply proper farming methods caused massive erosion of the topsoil. When these conditions intersected with persistent drought conditions, disaster ensued. Hot, dry winds blew the soil high into the air. Many tons of this dust fell upon cities hundreds of miles away. Once green farmland turned to fields of sand dunes.

Since they were not able to grow crops in the ruined soil, many farmers were unable to pay their mortgages and they and their families were turned out of their homes. The dust had serious health consequences. Many plains dwellers developed dust pneumonia, or "brown plague" from breathing in mass quantities of the fine, silica dust. Those afflicted with the disease suffered high fever, chest pains, coughing and breathing difficulties. Many suffered symptoms for many years afterward.

THE PLOW THAT BROKE THE PLAINS

The Plow That Broke the Plains is a 1936 short documentary film which shows what happened to the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada when uncontrolled agricultural farming led to the Dust Bowl.

RAIN FOR THE EARTH

This WPA film focuses on social and economic wastes resulting from continued drought in the midwestern dust bowl and efforts of the federal government in attempting to remedy such conditions. Several views indicate the condition of the land from which much of the moisture has gone.