Unemployment and Relief
During the Great Depression,
many people lost their jobs
as factories and businesses closed.
Both public and private programs
tried to help those who had no money.
At first, people believed it was a disgrace to accept public assistance. The Great
Depression changed that attitude. People realized that anyone—neighbors, friends and
family—could lose jobs, money and homes. Government and private welfare increased.
 President Roosevelt created "The New Deal" with many programs that became
known by their abbreviations, such as the REA (Rural Electrification Administration), the
PWA (Public Works Administration) and the FHA (Federal Housing Administration).
The Michigan Statewide Museum Project, a part of the Works Progress (later Work
Projects) Administration (WPA) hired workers to create miniature furniture for museum
exhibits. This miniature chair and other miniatures from the Museum Project are in the
museum's Great Depression Gallery.
The Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC) gave
unemployed youth an opportunity to do useful conservation and reforestation work in
exchange for food, lodging and a small stipend. Michigan had 103 CCC camps by the summer
of 1935. The exhibit below, a diorama in the Michigan Historical Museum's Great Depression Gallery, shows CCC workers fighting a forest fire.
Visit the Michigan Historical Museum System's CCC Museum.
 The initial response of most Michigan communities to the hard times of the Depression
was through private charities. The huge soup kettle from the Capuchin Brothers
Monastery's "soup kitchen" in Detroit on exhibit in the gallery symbolizes these
private programs.
In the Great Depression gallery, you can see what "only one thin dime can
buy." Look for the 1930s dime, the ten-cent Ladies' Home Journal and the bar
of soap. In those years, wages dropped dramatically and people bought less. The
Then and Now: Prices
activity compares Great Depression wages and prices with those of today.
 Even though times were hard, when you read
Reminiscences of the Great Depression,
you will see that people often remember good times. Also, people were inventive and creative,
using what was at hand to make their own fun or things they needed. One man in
Dearborn—working in his backyard—even built a car for his wife! Learn more about this
single-seater
red roadster in our online Michigan Auto Tour car exhibit.
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