The Great Depression conjures up one of the profound American twentieth-century experiences. Unlike earlier depressions and periods of hard times, this economic paralysis was of a magnitude and duration that approached trauma; and although amelioration was evident after federal relief measures were taken, the long-awaited recovery never took place. The Great Depression lifted only as the economy stirred because of World War II. It was a time of breadlines, soup kitchens, and shanty settlements, punctuated by large-scale industrial strife as labor organization received a strong impetus. Yet for all the grimness of the picture, nostalgia recalls a sense of community such as America did not have before nor has felt since. Far-reaching social legislation was enacted in the hope of eliminating the worst poverty and averting future depressions. We cannot count the number of people who were crushed by the Depression, but the national psyche remained unscathed and even seemed breezily invigorated by the challenges. It was the last era of pre-Atomic Age security and the last wise-cracking time. Almost all of the items exhibited here come from the Labadie Collection of social protest materials, with some augmentation from the main Special Collections Library, the Graduate Library, and the Music Library.