Sources - Great Depression

Table of Contents[1]

[The Harvest Gypsies, John Steinbeck] [The Crisis in Agriculture, John Steinbeck]
[“Give Me Shelter” and “Seeing Red”, Kevin Star] [The Great Strikes, Carey McWilliams] [Articles from The Survey Graphic] [The New Deal Network] [Migrant Labor Today]

The Great Depression in California

John Steinbeck

The Harvest Gypsies: This is a series of articles written by John Steinbeck. These reflect his research on migrant agricultural workers in California during the Great Depression, and this research provides the basis of his novel, The Grapes of Wrath.

Introduction- Historical context of Steinbeck's research

	· Chapter 1 - Overview of the history of migrant agricultural workers in California
	· Chapter 2 - Description of squatter camps; living conditions of people
	· Chapter 3 - Working conditions of migrant agricultural workers; labor unions; exploitation of workers by small farmers and large land owners
	· Chapter 4 - Government camps; New Deal polices; Weedpatch Camp (Marysville).
	· Chapter 5 - Relief programs of the New Deal for migrant agricultural workers; problems and short comings of relief efforts.
	· Chapter 6 - Description of historical oppression of migrant agricultural workers from the Chinese to the Oakies

John Steinbeck, The Crisis in Agriculture

Kevin Starr: Give Me Shelter & Seeing Red

Carey McWilliams - The Great Strikes

Articles in The Survey Graphic: Articles marked with a * are most relevant to migrant workers in California.

	Howe, Hartley E. "You Have Seen Their Pictures" April, 1940 - This article provides an excellent overview of the Farm Security Administration (FSA). The FSA was the agency that employed Dorothea Lange and other photographers whose task was to document with photographs the impact of the Great Depression and the policies of the New Deal.
	* Taylor, Paul S., and Clark Kerr "Whither Self-Help? "July, 1934
	Taylor, Paul S., and Norman Leon Gold "San Francisco and the General Strike "September, 1934
	* Taylor, Paul "Again the Covered Wagon" July, 1935
	* Penny, Lucrecia "Pea-Pickers' Child July, 1935
	Taylor, Paul S. "From the Ground Up" September, 1936
	* Friendly, Alfred, "Carrots from California" July, 1939
	* Neuberger, Richard L. "Who Are the Associated Farmers?" September, 1939

Additional Sources

	The New Deal Network - This website is rich in resources on the decades of the 1930s and 1940s. The emphasis of these primary sources are the Great Depression and New Deal.
	Issues of Migrant Farm Labor Today: In Our Own Backyard: The Hidden Problem of Child Farm workers in America: This website has been created by the Child Labor Coalition and the American Federation of Teachers. It offers current information the exploitation of children as migrant agricultural workers.