Led by: Prof. Eric Rauchway (University of California, Davis)
Course Number: AMHI 613
Semesters: Summer 2025, Summer 2023, Summer 2021
Image: Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, 1936. (Library of Congress)
The Great Depression and the New Deal
The Great Depression and the New Deal
Course Description
In this course the causes and consequences of the economic slump of 1929–1933 are considered together with the economic recovery of 1933–1941 under the New Deal. We will examine the scope and effects of the Depression, particularly how it placed democratic institutions in peril and contributed to the rise of fascist movements. We will then review the New Deal not only as a program for restoring economic prosperity but more importantly as an effort to reinvigorate democratic institutions, concluding with an investigation of the transition from the New Deal into mobilization for World War II. Lectures and reading will focus on the political, social, and economic history of the United States in this period and especially on the policies of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt during his first two terms in office.
Please note that the required books listed under course readings are finalized but other aspects of the course syllabus are subject to change. We receive an affiliate commission from every purchase made through the Bookshop.org links provided. Thank you for supporting our programs!
Lecture Preview
About the Scholar
Eric Rauchway, Distinguished Professor of History, University of California, Davis
Eric Rauchway is a distinguished professor of history at the University of California, Davis, where he has taught since 2001. On campus, he served as the director of the Center for History, Society, and Culture in the Division of Social Sciences. He earned his PhD from Stanford University and AB from Cornell University and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Rauchway has published a number of leading books on twentieth-century culture and politics including Why the New Deal Matters (2021) and Blessed Among Nations: How the World Made America (2006) as well as The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very Short Introduction in the Oxford University Press series. He has written numerous essays and articles, and is a frequent contributor to the Times Literary Supplement and Reviews in American History.
The views expressed in the course descriptions and lectures are those of the lead scholars.