This subject will aim to present a comprehensive view of the massive scope in impact that the Great Depression had on the United States. From dissecting the structural causes of the Depression to analyzing the sociopolitical pressures that shaped the New Deal, we will venture into the critical alterations to the American fabric stitched by the Great Depression. However, the course will primarily focus it's attention on the establishment of the Federal Government in public life, the groundbreaking development of The New Deal, and the sociological influences the depression had on much of US society.
I have maintained a deep interest in Depression Era U.S. History from elementary school through college. I am currently a rising senior at Vassar College on track to graduate with a B.A. in Political Science as well as a minor in History. During my time at Vassar, I have had the fortune of examining this phenomenon within numerous advanced courses in American Civics as well as the international impact of the Depression.
Richard Polenberg's The Era Of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933-1945. serves as an excellent contextualization of the political developments prompted by the Great Depression. Moreover, I will include a PDF copy of Irving Bernstein's "Turbulent Years" published in The American Historical Review to help encapsulate the sociological ramifications of the crisis. Beyond that, just a notebook and a willingness to learn will more than suffice!