NCW Libraries

In the spring of 1935 the U.S. government took a direct hand in the future of Alaska when it offered 203 Depression-distraught farm families in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin an opportunity to begin again in a far-off land, with government financing and support. The Matanuska Colony Project was part of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal for America, an unprecedented series of economic programs designed to provide "Relief, Recovery,...

"In 1932, New York City, top reporter Lorena "Hick" Hickok starts each day with a front page byline--and finishes it swigging bourbon and planning her next big scoop. But an assignment to cover FDR's campaign--and write a feature on his wife, Eleanor--turns Hick's hard-won independent life on its ear. Soon her work, and the secret entanglement with the new first lady, will take her from New York and Washington to Scotts Run, West Virginia, where impoverished...

"Marc Favreau documents the Great Depression--a time when Americans from all walks of life fell victim to poverty, insecurity, and fear--and tells the incredible story of how they survived and, ultimately, thrived. This is the story of the Great Depression in the United States, from the sweeping consequences of the market collapse to the more personal stories of individuals and communities caught up in the aftermath. Packed with photographs, primary...

"During the Great Depression, Ernestine Guerrero's family didn't have much. The true story of a resourceful Mexican American teen who made a remarkable gift to thank President Roosevelt for the food aid that helped them survive!"--

Sometimes, one moment changes a person's life. And that person goes on to change other lives. That's what happened to Frances Perkins. After she witnessed the 1911 catastrophic fire at the Triangle Waist Company, in which one hundred and forty-six people died, she devoted her life to improving conditions for workers. Frances became the first woman to serve in a president's cabinet. As Secretary of Labor under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped...

In the depths of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Frances Perkins as US Secretary of Labor, the first woman to sit on a presidential cabinet. Against overwhelming odds, she became a driving force behind the New Deal social safety net, including Social Security, the 40-hour workweek, the 8-hour day, minimum wage, and unemployment compensation. Featuring compelling interviews with David Brooks, Nancy Pelosi, Amy Klobuchar, Lawrence...