ABSTRACT
By the summer of 1935, as the United States was deep into its fifth year of economic crisis, fifteen million workers were searching for employment. The jobless, up to 25 percent of the labor force, were forced to fend for themselves, rely on extended families, or seek out private charity, hoping to make ends meet while confidence in the economy eroded and prospects for recovery grew dimmer. Government, at all levels, was of little assistance. Many state legislatures had considered relief programs for the unemployed, but not until 1932 did the first state, Wisconsin, enact legislation to help workers get back on their feet. By 1935, there had been a growing clamor for states to do something to protect the jobless, with fifty-six unemployment bills under consideration in state capitals. The federal government, however, did little to assist. One measure of the federal government’s indifference was the fact that it did not maintain reliable employment statistics until the 1930 census. In the latter days of the Hoover administration, Congress held hearings on unemployment relief, but nothing came of this legislative hand-wringing until 1934, when measures were finally considered.
