35 Depression Era Photos That Put American History into Perspective

[Algernon Moncrieff]

LINK to article at Esquire

In 1937, Congress transformed a dysfunctional, New Deal agency into The Farm Security Administration. The plan: rehabilitate America's rural communities by buying out failing farms and setting up subsistence homestead communities. The mission wasn't easy—not only did the FSA have to invest in and educate impoverished citizens, the federal organization had to convince onlookers back in Washington the pursuit was worth the money. To combat bad press, the FSA hired photographers to roam the country and document the dilapidated reality. Now, thanks to Yale University and the National Endowment for the Arts, 170,000 of these photographic artifacts are now available for public consumption. Below you'll find prints from legendary photographers like John Vachon, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, artists who helped color an America existence in stark black and white.