Research Guides: Great Depression and the New Deal: Articles & Books

Quick Links to Historic Newspapers

Chicago Defender Historical Archive (1909-2010) This link opens in a new window
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Full text articles from this prominent Black newspaper. Includes page images of the entire contents, such as classified ads, advertisements, obituaries, and comics.
Chicago Tribune Historical Archive (1849-1997) This link opens in a new window
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Contains full text and page images of the entire contents of the Chicago Tribune, including classified ads, advertisements, obituaries, and comics.
New York Times Historical Archive (1851-2013) This link opens in a new window
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Contains full text and page images of the entire contents of the New York Times, including ads, reviews, obituaries, and comics.
Illinois Sanborn Insurance Maps (1867-1970) This link opens in a new window
Fire insurance maps give a snapshot of an Illinois city or town during a certain time period, and provide detailed information for some individual buildings. Includes street names, property boundaries, building use, and house and block numbers. (NOTE: May not be available from off campus.)

Quick Links to Current Newspaper Sources

Chicago Defender (1999-2019) This link opens in a new window
Chicago's nationally recognized African American newspaper.
Chicago Tribune (1989-present) This link opens in a new window
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Founded in 1847, it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region.
New York Times (NYTimes.com) This link opens in a new window
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NYTimes.com provides full access to all New York Times digital content, including news, multimedia, reviews, opinions, blogs, videos, podcasts, and newsletters.
First-time users will need to activate their account:
1. Visit the Columbia College Library NYT Group Pass website.
2. If you are off campus you will be prompted to log in with your Columbia credentials.
3. Select “Create an Account."
4. Create a personal account using your Columbia email address (@colum.edu)
5. You will receive a welcome email. You must click the confirmation link in the email to complete this process.
Things to Know:
- You will be asked to select whether you are a student or faculty/staff when you activate your account.
  - Student accounts are active through your graduation year
  - Faculty/Staff accounts are active for 4 years
- If your account expires, you can reactivate it by visiting the Columbia College Library NYT Group Pass website.
- Once you've created an account, you can use it to log into NYTimes.com and The New York Times app from any location on any device.
- Our subscription does not include access to The New York Times crossword or cooking apps.
- If you already have a NYT account (free or paid) tied to your Columbia email, you may need to unlink your Columbia email from that account before signing up for Columbia's access.
- If you need additional assistance, please contact us via Ask-a-Librarian chat or email.
New York Times (Proquest) (1980-present) This link opens in a new window
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A searchable databases with full-text article access. Browse by issue or search and filter (by location, document type, date, etc.).
New York Times Magazine (1985-present) This link opens in a new window
A magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of The New York Times. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper.

E-Books

Women, Art and the New Deal
Surveys how in 1935, the United States Congress began employing large numbers of American artists through the Works Progress Administration--fiction writers, photographers, poster artists, dramatists, painters, sculptors, muralists, wood carvers, composers and choreographers, as well as journalists, historians and researchers.
Sounds of the New Deal: The Federal Music Project in the West
At its peak, the Federal Music Project (FMP) employed nearly 16,000 people who reached millions of Americans through performances, composing, teaching, and folksong collection and transcription. The author explores how the FMP's activities in the West shaped a new national appreciation for the diversity of American musical expression.
Black Culture and the New Deal: : The Quest for Civil Rights in the Roosevelt Era
Call Number: >>> E-Book + Book 323.1196073 S628b (Third Floor)
Shows how in the 1930s, the administration recognized and celebrated African Americans by offering federal support to notable black intellectuals, celebrities, and artists. Offers a fresh perspective on the New Deal's racial progressivism and provides a new framework for understanding black culture and politics in the Roosevelt era.
The Great Depression and the New Deal: : Key Themes and Documents - (Unlocking American History)
Both a quick reference source and study guide on the Great Depression and New Deal in America, covering the key themes, events, people, legislation, economics, and policies.
Encyclopedia of the Great Depression | 2 Volume Set
Encompasses nearly two decades of American history, beginning with the farm crisis of the mid-1920s, through the 1929 stock market crash, the gradual recovery during the 1930s with Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and World War II.
Picturing Migrants: The Grapes of Wrath and New Deal Documentary Photography
A new perspective on an era whose hardships and lessons resonate to this day, Picturing Migrants lets us see as never before how a novel and a series of documentary photographs have kept the Great Depression unforgettably real for generation after generation.

Books from the Library

Art for the People : The Rediscovery and Preservation of Progressive- and WPA-Era Murals in the Chicago Public Schools, 1904-1943
Blueprints for a Black Federal Theatre, 1935-1939
Federal Art and National Culture : The Politics of Identity in New Deal America
Furious Improvisation : How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times
Governor Henry Horner, Chicago Politics, and the Great Depression
Music of the Great Depression
Soul of a People : The WPA Writer's Project Uncovers Depression America
The 1933 Chicago World's Fair : Century of Progress
The Federal Theatre Project : A Case Study
Against Itself: : The Federal Theater and Writers’ Projects in the Midwest
1934: A New Deal for Artists
Celebrates the 75th anniversary of the U.S. Public Works of Art Program, created in 1934 against the backdrop of the Great Depression.
All Of This Music Belongs to the Nation : The WPA's Federal Music Project and American Society
(available in I-Share)
The New Deal For The Artists [DVD Set]
The Federal Art Project in Illinois, 1935-1943
Guide to Depression Era Art in Illinois Post Offices
(available in I-Share)
The Great Depression : The United States in the Thirties
(available in I-Share)
Democratic Vistas: Post Offices and Public Art in the New Deal
The Politics of U.S. Labor : From the Great Depression to the New Deal

1930-1932	Chicago American Chicago Daily News Chicago Daily Times Chicago Defender Chicago Evening Post Chicago Herald-Examiner Chicago Tribune
1933-1936	Chicago American Chicago Daily News Chicago Daily Times Chicago Herald-Examiner Chicago Tribune
1937-1939	Chicago American (to July 31, 1939) Chicago Daily News Chicago Daily Times Chicago Defender Chicago Herald-American (from August 28, 1939) Chicago Herald-Examiner (to August 26, 1939) Chicago Tribune

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Books from the Library