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IMAGO International History, 250 years USA, Great Depression, Unemployment 1929-1939

May 14, 2026

The following photos have been selected for you by the IMAGO picture desk on this topic. For more pictures please use the search function.

  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Soup kitchen in the USA during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Soup kitchen in the USA 1930 s during the Great Depression. Editorial use only. All other uses to be cleared with the copyright owner (World History Archive), in advance., WHA_020_0039.jpg, Soup kitchen; USA; 1930s; Great Depression; poverty; hunger; charity; food; line; queue; people; men; women; children; waiting; assistance; social services; historical; black and white; vintage; American history; economic crisis; unemployment; destitution; hardship; social welfare; government aid; soup; bread; meal; support. Copyright: xx
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Man Serving Meals For Group of People from the Street Kitchen, 1932. The United States during the Great Depression. ...always they had to move on. A job, security, a full stomach. You want them bud? Well take this hand-out and get along with you. Move along, bud, through the Depression, better times are just around the corner. From Time To Remember - Around the Corner, 1932 (Reel 1); diary of events in 1932 in the United States of America - Franklin Roosevelt becomes the President. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Barefoot Female Children Sleeping On a Bedframe Outside, 1932. USA. On the land, things don t go so well. Because of ruthless timber-felling and unplanned agriculture, precious topsoil had been blown or washed away from millions of acres. In the middle west, a new and fearful name: the Dust Bowl. To the bad prices of a sagging market are added drought and failure. For as the land dies, so too dies all that men live by. Cattle, crops, the very roots of life. Only one thing to do - pack up and go. They called them Okies - displaced farmers, migrant workers. Westward they went in search of work, just as their forefathers had done in the old days. And so they moved on, or waited and hoped, existing only on the Grapes of Wrath . From Time To Re Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Unemployed People Sitting On a Bench, 1932. USA. Beneath the pinnacles of wealth ...an army of idle millions. Nearly 1 in 4 of all the working population in search of a job. For these no demands for higher wages, just pleas for any kind of work. But there was no work for the having . From Time To Remember - Around the Corner, 1932 (Reel 2); diary of events in 1932 in the United States of America - Franklin Roosevelt becomes the President. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Three Men in the Foreground Drinking and Eating, 1933. From Time To Remember - The Time Of The Monster, 1933 (Reel 1); documentary film about events of 1933, rise of Roosevelt and Hitler. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Two Men Sleeping on Benches, 1933. From Time To Remember - The Time Of The Monster, 1933 (Reel 1); documentary film about events of 1933, rise of Roosevelt and Hitler. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • Orig caption... AN ARMY KITCHEN FEEDS THE UNEMPLOYED. NEW YORK CITY.-Part of New York s unemployed and needy today received a free meal from an army soup kitchen set up in the streets of New York by the veterans of the 307th infantry A.E.F. and the Francsican. Here we see the crew of the soup kitchen preparing soup and coffee while Capt. Toby Miller, A.E.F., samples the coffee which Sgt. Richard Sird has just made. Note Boiler Carriage Cooks Crisis Christendom Depression Distress Wheels Spokes Spoke Wheels Buckets Helmets Firewood Fuel Unemployment Poor Relief Facades Officers Coffee Making Support Charity CD287 persons: RICHARD SIRD;TOBY MILLER sites: NEW YORK;USA sp_sw x5600x *** Orig caption AN ARMY KITCHEN FEEDS THE UNEMPLOYED NEW YOR Copyright: xx SOUP KITCHEN IN NEW YORK
  • Migrant workers waiting for relief checks, Calipatria, California, USA, Dorothea Lange, U.S. Farm Security Administration, February 1937 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa01854
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Large Crowd of American Civilians Eating Meals Outdoors, 1930s. ...the Bonus Army US veterans demanding government support during the Depression camping on Washington s doorstep, demanding decent treatment...a living wage instead of an existence . From Time to Remember - The Tough Guys, 1930s (Reel 1); a documentary film mainly about life in depression- and gangster-hit America. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED American Civilians Serving Meals for a Large Crowd on a Queue Outdoors, 1930s. ...the Bonus Army US veterans demanding government support during the Depression camping on Washington s doorstep, demanding decent treatment...a living wage instead of an existence . From Time to Remember - The Tough Guys, 1930s (Reel 1); a documentary film mainly about life in depression- and gangster-hit America. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED American Civilians Gathering in Front of the White House in Washington DC in a Demonstration, 1930s. Bad days. Days of the Bonus Army US veterans asking for government support during the Depression camping on Washington s doorstep, demanding decent treatment...a living wage instead of an existence . From Time to Remember - The Tough Guys, 1930s (Reel 1); a documentary film mainly about life in depression- and gangster-hit America. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Small Crowd of American Civilians on a Demonstration Strike in Conflict with the Police, 1930s. Men with guns outside a steelworks. From Time to Remember - The Tough Guys, 1930s (Reel 1); a documentary film mainly about life in depression- and gangster-hit America. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Small Crowd of American Civilians on a Demonstration Strike in Conflict with the Police, 1930s. Group of men outside a steelworks confronting armed police. From Time to Remember - The Tough Guys, 1930s (Reel 1); a documentary film mainly about life in depression- and gangster-hit America. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Small Crowd of American Civilians on a Demonstration Strike, 1930s. Group of men outside a steelworks confronting armed police. From Time to Remember - The Tough Guys, 1930s (Reel 1); a documentary film mainly about life in depression- and gangster-hit America. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Unemployed People Gathering on the Streets , 1929. The recession - sorry - depression, was touching bottom...the bread line, and plain doing nothing. But it wasn t only the jobless who suffered. In 1929, overnight the bottom fell out of Wall Street and millions held their breath as their savings melted away...It meant that in Wall Street there was no such thing as a dead cert any longer. It was a time of despair, and suicide, and panic . From Time to Remember - 1929 The Time Of The House At Bognor - Reel 3; a documentary about the world in 1929. Illness of King George V & economic depression. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • RECORD DATE NOT STATED Unemployed People Gathering on the Streets , 1929. The recession - sorry - depression, was touching bottom...the bread line, and plain doing nothing. But it wasn t only the jobless who suffered. In 1929, overnight the bottom fell out of Wall Street and millions held their breath as their savings melted away...It meant that in Wall Street there was no such thing as a dead cert any longer. It was a time of despair, and suicide, and panic . From Time to Remember - 1929 The Time Of The House At Bognor - Reel 3; a documentary about the world in 1929. Illness of King George V & economic depression. Copyright:xBritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO, ! ACHTUNG: AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright:BritishxPathexLtd HeritagexImagesxBritishxPathexLtdx IMAGO
  • Queue for a Soup Kitchen during the Great Depression, Washington, 1932 (b w photo) 1763624 Queue for a Soup Kitchen during the Great Depression, Washington, 1932 (b w photo) by American Photographer, (20th century); (add.info.: Soupe populaire en 1932 a Washington pendant la Depression americaine (apres le Krach boursier de 1929) --- Soup kitchen in Washington in 1932 during American depression (after the 1929 stock market exchange crash in Wall Street)). Copyright: xBridgemanxImagesx 1763624
  • EMPLOYMENT OFFICE, 1937. Job applicants waiting outside the International Employment Agency on Howard Street in San Francisco, known as Skid Row, the district of the unemployed. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, February 1937. Copyright: xGRANGERx xGRANGERx 0124004
  • Part of the daily lineup outside the State Employment Service Office. Memphis, Tennessee, 1938 (b w photo) 3738757 Part of the daily lineup outside the State Employment Service Office. Memphis, Tennessee, 1938 (b w photo) by Lange, Dorothea (1895-1965); Private Collection; (add.info.: Part of the daily lineup outside the State Employment Service Office. Memphis, Tennessee ). Copyright: xBridgemanxImagesx 3738757
  • Destitute Texan family leave their home to seek work in Arkansas cotton fields, 1936 (b w photo) 1249098 Destitute Texan family leave their home to seek work in Arkansas cotton fields, 1936 (b w photo) by Lange, Dorothea (1895-1965); Private Collection; (add.info.: Family between Dallas and Austin, Texas. The people have left their home and connections in South Texas, and hope to reach the Arkansas Delta for work in the cotton fields. Penniless people. No food and three gallons of gas in the tank. The father is trying to repair a tire. Three children. Father says, It s tough but life s tough anyway you take it ). Copyright: xBridgemanxImagesx 1249098
  • Peach pickers being driven to the orchards in Muscella, Georgia, 1936 (b w photo) 1249077 Peach pickers being driven to the orchards in Muscella, Georgia, 1936 (b w photo) by Lange, Dorothea (1895-1965); Private Collection; (add.info.: Peach pickers earned 75 cents a day). Copyright: xBridgemanxImagesx 1249077
  • Crowd outside employment agency, Sixth Avenue, New York City, New York, USA, Arthur Rothstein, U.S. Farm Security Administration, December 1937 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa11864
  • Group of Men Waiting outside Employment Agency, Sixth Avenue, New York City, New York, USA, Arthur Rothstein, U.S. Farm Security Administration, December 1937 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa01605
  • High Angle View of group of men lined up to register for Unemployment Benefits at State Employment Service office, San Francisco, California, USA, Dorothea Lange, U.S. Office of War Information U.S. Farm Security Administration, January 1938 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa10705
  • High Angle View of group of men lined up to register for Unemployment Benefits at State Employment Service office, San Francisco, California, USA, Dorothea Lange, U.S. Office of War Information U.S. Farm Security Administration, January 1938 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa10692
  • High Angle View of group of men lined up to register for Unemployment Benefits at State Employment Service office, San Francisco, California, USA, Dorothea Lange, U.S. Office of War Information U.S. Farm Security Administration, January 1938 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa10691
  • Rural Farmers, all Drought Victims in isolated Mountain Community, receiving Food Orders from American Red Cross, Floyd County, Kentucky, USA, Lewis Wickes Hine, American National Red Cross Collection, 1930 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa09174
  • Typical Scene in more than 750 counties in 20 drought-stricken States, where Volunteer American Red Cross Chapter Workers process Food Orders for Drought Victims, Lewis Wickes Hine, American National Red Cross Collection, February 1931 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa09166
  • Applicants waiting for jobs in front of FERA offices, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, Ben Shahn, U.S. Resettlement Administration, October 1935 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa08272
  • Applicants waiting for jobs in front of FERA offices, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, Ben Shahn, U.S. Resettlement Administration, October 1935 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa08271
  • Applicants waiting for jobs in front of FERA offices, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, Ben Shahn, U.S. Resettlement Administration, October 1935 Copyright: xCircaxImagesx ghi-circa08271
  • 1 CENT RESTAURANT of the Bernarr MacFadden Foundation for Unemployment Relief. 1932-33 in Washington, D.C. during the Great Depression. MacFadden was the publisher of PHYSICAL CULTURE, a magazine that promoted his nutritional and health theories. (BSLOC_2 For usage credit please use; PUBLICATIONXNOTxINxCANxCHNxFRAxITAxJPNxNORxPOLxRUSxESPxUKxUSA Copyright: xCourtesyxEverettxCollectionx HISL041 EC236
  • Unemployed New Yorkers demonstrate with signs in front of Emergency Relief Building in 1935. Signs demand clothing, pay at union wages, and jobs for youths. Courtesy Everett Collection PUBLICATIONXNOTxINxCANxCHNxFRAxITAxJPNxNORxPOLxRUSxESPxUKxUSA Copyright: xCourtesyxEverettxCollectionx HISL019 EC119
  • President Roosevelt greeted by workers near Mandan, North Dakota during his tour of Midwest inspecting drought damage. August 1936 photo by Arthur Rothstein. Courtesy Everett Collection PUBLICATIONXNOTxINxCANxCHNxFRAxITAxJPNxNORxPOLxRUSxESPxUKxUSA Copyright: xCourtesyxEverettxCollectionx HISL009 EC179
  • Unemployed Trapper, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, USA, Ben Shahn for U.S. Resettlement Administration, October 1935 Editorial Use Only Copyright: CircaxImages ghi-circa04822
  • Line in front of soup kitchens . During Hoover s presidential term of office, free meals are distributed in Washington. Line in front of soup kitchens . c.1930 United States National archives. Washington Copyright: xPhoto12 ArchivesxSnarkx DFS09A00296
  • Overall view of the soup kitchen sponsored by the gangster Al Capone Chicago. Overall view of the soup kitchen sponsored by the gangster Al Capone, which cost him 400 dollars a day. 1929-1930 United States National archives. Washington Copyright: xPhoto12 ArchivesxSnarkx DFS09A00295
  • R. Foulkrod addressing the 7,000 Bonus marchers in Washington R. Foulkrod addressing the 7,000 Bonus marchers in Washington June 1932 United States National archives. Washington Copyright: xPhoto12 ArchivesxSnarkx DFS09A00292
  • Demonstration of unemployed workers Demonstration of unemployed workers April 1934 United States Paris. Bibliothèque nationale Copyright: xPhoto12 ArchivesxSnarkx DFS09A03_403
  • Vegetable workers, migrants, waiting after work to be paid. Near Homestead, Florida dated 19380101 WHA !ACHTUNG AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright: WHA UnitedArchivesWHA_039_0606
  • Vegetable workers, migrants, waiting after work to be paid. Near Homestead, Florida 19390101 WHA !ACHTUNG AUFNAHMEDATUM GESCHÄTZT! Copyright: WHA UnitedArchivesWHA_039_0597
  • Archival unemployment photo Forgotten women, unemployed and single, in job demand parade. World-Telegram staff photo. 1933 Dec 7. (LOC) LibraryxofxCongress
  • Walking Towards Los Angeles California March 1937 UnitedArchives00799169
  • A coffin , carried by unemployed to draw attention to their cause , was taken to their cause , as taken to Bow Street Police Court in at attempt to aid on of their arrested compatriots 1939 UnitedArchives00132055