Great Depression

Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover's Hidden Economic Acumen

What an Awful President's Secret Strength Could Teach Today's Financial Leaders About Capitalism

Sanora Babb with unidentified migrant workers

The Forgotten Dust Bowl Novel That Rivaled "The Grapes of Wrath"

Sanora Babb wrote about a family devastated by the Dust Bowl, but she lost her shot at stardom when John Steinbeck beat her to the punch

Orson Welles (arms raised) rehearses his radio depiction of H.G. Wells' classic, The War of the Worlds. The broadcast, which aired on October 30, 1938, and claimed that aliens from Mars had invaded New Jersey, terrified thousands of Americans.

The Infamous "War of the Worlds" Radio Broadcast Was a Magnificent Fluke

Orson Welles and his colleagues scrambled to pull together the show; they ended up writing pop culture history

Amphitheater and mountainous landscape in Red Rock Park, Colorado.

When America Invested in Infrastructure, These Beautiful Landmarks Were the Result

Explore eight of the Works Progress Administration’s most impressive structures.

Lunch Atop a Skyscraper Photograph: The Story Behind the Famous Shot

For 80 years, the 11 ironworkers in the iconic photo have remained unknown, and now, thanks to new research, two of them have been identified

1928 article about astrologers predicting that 1929 will be a year of prosperity

Astrologers Predict 1929 Will Be Year of Prosperity

The world without the Great Depression looks a lot rosier in hindsight

A Depression-era hobo–one of thousands who traveled the roads and rails of the United States during the 1930s.

Making the Rounds With Santa Claus Smith

For six years, an elderly tramp toured the U.S., paying those who helped him with checks for sums of up to $900,000

In 2008, Ted Gup was handed a battered suitcase by his mother; it contained conceled checks and old letters addressed to "B. Virdot". Thus began a search for the stories behind the letters.

A Yuletide Gift of Kindness

Ted Gup learns the astonishing secret about his grandfather's generosity during the Great Depression

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