The United States in a Time of Crisis (1929-1945)

What was life like for Americans during the Great Depression and World War II?

   Glossary   

Topic 1: American Life in the Great Depression

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources related to American life and experiences during the Great Depression.

black and white close-up photo of a woman holding two children


Topic 2: Pearl Harbor

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources related to the American public’s reaction to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor.

typed black text on a blue piece of paper


Topic 3: WWII European Front

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources focused on American involvement on the European front of World War II.

color vintage Navy poster with a map of the North Sea


Topic 4: Japanese Internment Camps

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources related to the American internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

black and white photo of posters displayed on a street corner


Topic 5: Teenagers in World War II: The Victory Corps

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources examining the role and impact of the Victory Corps during World War II.

black and white photo of a man in uniform standing in front of a small propeller plane


Topic 6: The Golden Age of Radio

This inquiry kit features Library of Congress sources related to the uses and popularity of radio as a means of mass communication in the 1940s.

black and white photo of a woman turning on a large radio


Topic 7: The “Hays Code” and Motion Picture Censorship

This inquiry kit features primary and secondary sources about the Motion Picture Production Code of the 1930s, also known as the Hays Code, and its impact on the film industry.

black type on a white background