Great Depression: Videos

Collects five episodes of "American Experience" that examine historical and significant events from the 1930s, covering the stock market crash of 1929, the Civilian Conservation Corps, the construction of the Hoover Dam, the Dust Bowl, and Seabiscuit.

This 4-part series will give consumers an in-depth look at the desperate yet fascinating era, and how America finally put an end to it.

Examines the struggles of the people of the southern Plains who stayed in the region rather than seeking refuge elsewhere during the decade of the Dust Bowl.

Draws from the letters and oral histories of three thousand men and women to tell the story of the boxcar boys and girls who left home during the Great Depression in search of jobs or adventure.

Examines the contrasts between the glamour of Hollywood in the 1930s and the harsh realities of the Great Depression, and discusses the social commentary made by several films of the period.

Examines the impact of the Great Depression on Americans in the Dust Bowl using primary sources such as historical photos, Franklin Roosevelt's 1936 State of the Union address, and a farm couple's diary entries, as well as excerpts from Woody Guthrie's autobiography and John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath."

Documents the difficulties people faced during the Great Depression and the remarkable strength, grace, and courage of the men, women, and children who lived through it. includes a booklet with first-hand recollections and historical photographs.

Examines the life of author F. Scott Fitzgerald, discussing his work and his relationships with his wife Zelda and with his colleagues.

A biography of American author Ernest Hemingway, visiting places important to his life and work, and sharing memories of friends and relatives, as well as excerpts from Hemingway's own letters and writings.

Provides expert commentary on John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath," featuring background on both the novel and movie, and discussing social concerns suggested by the story, and the relationship of the novel to the movie, and to documentaries and photography of the period.

Oklahoma in the Thirties is a dustbowl and dispossessed farmers migrate westward to California. After terrible trials en route they become little more than slave labor. Among the throng are the Joads who refuse to knuckle under.

In the middle of the Great Depression, Lennie and George find work on the Tyler Ranch, planning on saving towards a place of their own, but their plan is disrupted when Lennie gets into trouble with the owner's son and his unhappy wife.

On October 29, 1929 - Black Monday, large and small investors alike lost corporate and personal fortunes when the stock market crashed. This program examines the reasons behind the crash and whether the crash was predictable.

Annie, a spunky orphan during the Great Depression, gets a chance to stay with billionaire Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks for the holidays and charms everyone in his household, but danger rears its head when Warbucks offers a reward for information about Annie's parents, and the mistress of the orphanage decides to stake her claim.

Started in 1933 by President Franklin Roosevelt as part of the New Deal, the CCC was used as a way to not only help unemployed Americans, but to help conserve some of the country's forests and parks. Over the next ten years it would employ over 3 million men who planted trees, fought fires, and helped their families financially. Features interviews and archived footage.