History Essay

Essay Topic and Question: What did your photographs reveal about the nature of the Great Depression or New Deal to American citizens or politicians when they were taken in the 1930s or 1940s? What made your photographs effective in telling the public important stories about the nature of the Depression or New Deal?

Preparing for Your Essay: Photographs are forms of historical evidence. They are also primary sources. They reveal clues about the past much like newspaper accounts, letters and diaries. When you analyze your photographs, you also have to pay attention to historical context. In other words, when you explain the importance or meaning of these images you have to connect your conclusions to what’s going in society during the time the photograph was taken. For our purposes, we are focusing on the Great Depression and New Deal (1929 to 1943) when the nation suffered its worst economic collapse and the federal government responded with unprecedented power and a range of programs to assist a wide variety of Americans. You must read the “Great Depression” chapter in American Yawp before starting your essay.

Here are some questions to consider as you analyze your photographs:

1. Who took the photograph and when?

2. Why do you think the photographer decided to take the photograph(s) you are analyzing? What do you think he or she was trying to accomplish?

3. What is being depicted in the photograph you chose? What is the message or messages that are being conveyed by the photograph?

4. What makes your photographs effective or successful in telling stories about the nature of the Depression or New Deal to a public audience?