Chapter Overview

The American stock market crash in 1929 brought an end to the artistic revelry of that decade. Americans of all races were suddenly confronted with the potential collapse of the world as they knew it. Millions lost their jobs, lost their incomes, lost their homes, or lost their identities. For the many African Americans who had made the migration from South to North in the years just before the crash, 1929 brought a special set of dilemmas to newly displaced families suddenly without means of support. There was no magical way to fix this economic disaster that would become known as the Great Depression as it wore on into the 1930s, but President Franklin D. Roosevelt did offer hope through his New Deal. Through the president's efforts, African Americans were given a new opportunity to reassess both themselves and the white population around them through a more level field of economic competition.

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter you should understand the following:

• The historical context of the Great Depression and its economic impact to America and the world
• The political scene in America on the eve of (and during) the Great Depression
• That President Roosevelt often turned to a close group of African American advisors named the "black cabinet" by the White House press corps
• The basics of President Roosevelt's New Deal programs for countering the economic effects of the Great Depression
• The impact of the Great Depression on organized labor in America
• The growing influence of the political left during the Depression era
• The contributions of African American artists of the New Deal era