Georgia During the Great Depression

During the Great Depression, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Rexford Tugwell and his former Columbia student Roy Emerson Stryker spearheaded an effort to create a photographic portrait of the nation’s people and places. The result was a federal commission given to a number of photographers who traveled throughout the country to record the pride and perseverance, strengths and weaknesses of the people. Resulting in more than 2,500 photographs in Georgia alone, this project created a visual record of an influential period of American history. This pictorial album relies on the little-known pictures from this federal commission along with picture postcards, personal pictures and memorabilia, written records, and interviews to record and reconstruct a tale of the state’s resources, people, education, health, housing, labor and entertainment. The effects of President Roosevelt’s New Deal programs are also emphasized. An appendix provides short biographies of ten federally commissioned photographers who worked in Georgia, including Carl Mydans, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Jack Delano and Esther Bubley.

Anita Price Davis, a North Carolina native, Gold Star daughter, and Duke University graduate, retired as the Charles A. Dana Professor of Education Emerita after 36 years at Converse College, Spartanburg, South Carolina. She is the author of many historical books and articles.

Compiled by Anita Price Davis
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 304
Bibliographic Info: 208 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2008
pISBN: 978-0-7864-3395-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii

Preface      1

Introduction      5

1. Water, Soil, and Industries Based on Natural Resources      15

2. Population      74

3. Education      123

4. Health      145

6. Labor      190

7. Entertainment      203

Appendix: Federal Photographers in Georgia      247

Notes      269

Bibliography      281

Index      289