Bright Dreams, Hard Times: America in the Thirties

WPA worker and his wife sit in front of their shack home on the Arkansas River near Webber Falls, Okla.

1. The changing relationship between Americans and their national government

2. Flowering of artistic and intellectual activity

3. Role of religion in public life

4. Democratization of American culture through new technologies (radio and sound movies)

The changing relationship between Americans and their national government

In the 1930s, the relationship between the American people and their government, especially the federal government, altered dramatically and in ways that continue to shape our lives in the 21st century.

Elected president in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal administration programs sought to provide relief, recovery, and reform that would alleviate people’s suffering and would prevent future national disasters of such a massive scale. The 1930s witnessed the introduction of New Deal programs such as Social Security; major public works projects, including the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) and REA (Rural Electrification Administration); and agricultural programs such as the AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act) and the SCS (Soil Conservation Service) that raised prices, paid for livestock and crops, and encouraged soil conservation.

This conservative approach to the crisis was advocated by business leaders within the Republican Party, such as Emporia, Kan., newspaper publisher William Allen White and Gov. Alfred Landon of Kansas, the Republican Party candidate for president in 1936. New Deal critics included Louisiana Sen. Huey Long and Father Charles Coughlin.  

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