Turning Points
in Wisconsin History
Depression and Unemployment
When Herbert Hoover was elected President in November of 1928, Americans were generally optimistic. Many people believed that the prosperity of the 1920s, which felt rather like the upbeat 1990s, would continue indefinitely. The horrors of World War I were behind them, new conveniences such as cars, radios, and electrical appliances were becoming common, and new possibilities were opening up for women and small entrepreneurs.
The stock market crash of October 1929 therefore came as a surprise, and drastically curtailed a creative period of economic growth throughout the nation. In Wisconsin, people turned from sneaking bootleg beer into jazz halls... more...
Original Documents and Other Primary Sources
 | A farm family untouched by depression in 1933 |
| The CCC tackles forest fires in Northern Wisconsin, 1934 |
| The Progressive Party is born in 1934 |
| The Sheboygan Press covers the strike in Kohler, 1934 |
 | A miniature kit teaches mothers about safe homebirths, 1938 |
| A hand-made prom dress |
| Flour and feed sacks become a State Fair quilt in 1931 |
| A block-print wall hanging from the Milwaukee Handicraft Project |
| A Frank Lloyd Wright "dream house" made of paper, 1938 |
 | The new Social Security Act is explained by the federal government. |
| The first years of Social Security evaluated. |
| The federal government uses cartoons to explain Social Security. |
| The Wisconsin author of the Social Security Act appears before Congress. |
| Kenosha men and women recall the Great Depression |
| A history and statistical summary of dairying, 1860-1931. |
| A report on unemployment relief in Northern Wisconsin, 1933 |
| The Kohler Company celebrates industrial progress, 1934 |
| A look at Wisconsin industry on the eve of the Depression |
| A Guide to CCC Camps in Wisconsin, 1937 |
| A short history of prison industries, 1852-2002 |
| Annual summaries of Milwaukee industry, 1919-1929 |
| A WPA guide to Wisconsin's edible mushrooms |
| Arts and crafts from the Milwaukee Handicraft Project, 1939 |
| How the Depression Affected Rural Wisconsin, 1936. |
| An album of 450 Wisconsin teachers, 1927 |
 | Wisconsin officials cope with unemployment during the 1930's |
| Images of the planned community in Greendale, Wisconsin |
 | Working-class women describe their jobs, 1938-1941. |
| W.P.A. interviewers collect stories, jokes and other Wisconsin folklore, 1936-1938 |
| WPA Project Cards (Adams - Burnett counties) |
| WPA Project Cards (Chippewa - Crawford) |
| WPA Project Cards (Dane - Douglas) |
| WPA Project Cards (Dunn - Iron) |
| WPA Project Cards (Jackson - Marinette) |
| WPA Project Cards (Marquette - Milwaukee) |
| WPA Project Cards (Monroe - Pepin) |
| WPA Project Cards (Pierce - Washington) |
| WPA Project Cards (Waukesha - Statewide) |
| Suburban high school students try to interpret Menominee culture in 1936 |
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