From PBS:

In 1929 there were few critics of the stock market; it seemed to rise without limits. In fact, presidents and economists alike confidently predicted that America would soon enter a "New Era" when everyone could be rich. But when reality finally struck, the consequences of such unbound optimism shocked the world.

This American Experience documentary looks at the stock market crash of 1929 and its repercussions.

From PBS:

An ambitious engineer turned a ragtag army of unemployed into a celebrated work force to create the Hoover Dam, a colossus rising 700 feet above the Colorado River that became a beacon of hope in dire times, bringing electricity and water to millions in the U.S. west.

This American Experience documentary traces the creation of the Hoover Dam, located between Arizona and Nevada.

From PBS:

In 1931 the rains stopped and the "black blizzards" began. Less well-known than those who sought refuge in California, typified by the Joad family in John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath, the Dust Bowlers stayed and overcame almost a decade of unbelievable calamities and disasters, enduring drought, dust, disease—even death—determined to preserve their way of life.

This American Experience documentary looks at the lives of those who fought through the Dust Bowl years.

Journalist Kirstin Downey talks about Frances Perkins, the subject of her book The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR's Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience. As secretary of labor during FDR's presidency, Perkins initiated social-welfare reforms in areas including unemployment, child labor, immigration, and work-week length.

According to the lecture's page on the Library of Congress website, "The "New Deal" Franklin Delano Roosevelt had promised the American people began to take shape immediately after his inauguration on March 4, 1933. The multifaceted social, cultural, and fiscal recovery program aimed to reform and reinvigorate national life, and to end the Great Depression. Many New Deal administrators believed that art could be a part of the daily lives of all Americans, not just the elite, and could enrich the lives of all who came in contact with it. [. . . ]

Leading scholars present recent research based on New Deal materials, showcasing how innovative interpretation of the Library of Congress's archival holdings continues to inspire new revelations and reassessments of 20th-century American culture. Speakers include human rights activist Stetson Kennedy, who presents "Working for the New Deal: A Voice from the Era"; historian Michael Kazin from Georgetown University, who presents the keynote address; and Christopher Brieseth, from the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute at Hyde Park, N.Y., who provides a summation of the two days in his presentation on "Lessons from the New Deal for the 21st Century." Other scholars discuss topics as varied as the Native American contributions to the Federal Writers Project, WPA marionette theaters, and how New Deal researchers documented topics as diverse as traditional music, religion, and Puerto Rican culture."

The "New Deal" Franklin Delano Roosevelt had promised the American people began to take shape immediately after his inauguration on March 4, 1933. The multifaceted social, cultural, and fiscal recovery program aimed to reform and reinvigorate national life, and to end the Great Depression. Many New Deal administrators believed that art could be a part of the daily lives of all Americans, not just the elite, and could enrich the lives of all who came in contact with it.

Leading scholars present recent research based on New Deal materials, showcasing how innovative interpretation of the Library of Congress's archival holdings continues to inspire new revelations and reassessments of 20th-century American culture. Speakers include human rights activist Stetson Kennedy, who presents "Working for the New Deal: A Voice from the Era"; historian Michael Kazin from Georgetown University, who presents the keynote address; and Christopher Brieseth, from the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute at Hyde Park, N.Y., who provides a summation of the two days in his presentation on "Lessons from the New Deal for the 21st Century." Other scholars discuss topics as varied as the Native American contributions to the Federal Writers Project, WPA marionette theaters, and how New Deal researchers documented topics as diverse as traditional music, religion, and Puerto Rican culture.

The "New Deal" Franklin Delano Roosevelt had promised the American people began to take shape immediately after his inauguration on March 4, 1933. The multifaceted social, cultural, and fiscal recovery program aimed to reform and reinvigorate national life, and to end the Great Depression. Many New Deal administrators believed that art could be a part of the daily lives of all Americans, not just the elite, and could enrich the lives of all who came in contact with it.

In this presentation, representatives from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum join staff from several Library of Congress divisions to discuss and display a selection of materials from their New Deal holdings.

The "New Deal" Franklin Delano Roosevelt had promised the American people began to take shape immediately after his inauguration on March 4, 1933. The multifaceted social, cultural, and fiscal recovery program aimed to reform and reinvigorate national life, and to end the Great Depression. Many New Deal administrators believed that art could be a part of the daily lives of all Americans, not just the elite, and could enrich the lives of all who came in contact with it.

In this presentation, representatives from the National Archives and Records Administration and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum join staff from several Library of Congress divisions to discuss and display a selection of materials from their New Deal holdings.

Professor Lawrence Levine looks at the popular culture of the 1930s, during the Great Depression, and what it reveals about culture and society as a whole at the time. He looks at Superman, comics, and superheroes; private detectives in fiction; and gangsters in fiction.

Professor David Hackett Fischer traces how definitions of the ideals of liberty and freedom have changed over the course of U.S. history, from the American Revolution to the present day. He looks particularly at visual and literary symbols that have been created to stand for these ideals.

Part Two of this lecture is currently not functioning.