This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
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What’s the history of the Great Depression and the New Deal? Did the New Deal truly solve the problems caused by the Depression?
Howard Zinn analyzes the Great Depression and the New Deal, highlighting the surge in labor unrest and activism. Despite the introduction of social programs, the New Deal ultimately favored elite interests and failed to address racial issues, particularly the ongoing neglect of Black Americans.
Read more to learn more about this historical perspective.
The Great Depression and the New Deal (1929-1939)
Zinn places his history of the Great Depression and the New Deal in the context of the economic and political circumstances of the late ’20s through the ’30s that saw significant shifts in the American labor movement.
The Great Depression
The activity and militancy of the American labor movement tended to fluctuate along with the desperation of workers and the state of the economy. Therefore, the Great Depression—a severe economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted over a decade—caused labor unrest to skyrocket to an all-time high. For the first several years of the depression, elites in business and government had no clue what to do, leaving the American people to fend for themselves. Communists, socialists, and labor activists organized their communities to support one another, engage in massive, citywide strikes, and pressure elites to make concessions.
Some activists didn’t coordinate with Black Americans during the depression—they either weren’t interested or worried that doing so would alienate potential white, working-class supporters. The Communists were one of the few groups who made a serious effort to build a cross-racial coalition during this era, secretly helping black laborers organize themselves.
(Shortform note: While the upsurge of union membership and labor action during the Great Depression was sudden, scholars argue it wasn’t spontaneous. Instead, the surge was built on years of smaller scale, long-term organizing work. Even during the comparatively labor-unfriendly 1920s, labor and left activists continued working to organize various workplaces and industries even in the face of setbacks and defeats. This display of commitment built trust between workers and organizers, meaning that once the depression hit and more workers wanted to strike and unionize, they knew who to go to.)
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Here's what you'll find in our full A People's History of the United States summary:
- A bottom-up view of American history focusing on the people, not the politicians
- How Indigenous people, Black Americans, women, laborers, and activists lived
- Why social movements of the 60s and 70s failed to create lasting change
