by Claire O'Neill

In the mid 1930s, President Roosevelt initiated a series of economic relief programs known as the New Deal. Inheriting a nation's post-Depression illness, FDR's plan was to spend billions of federal dollars to create jobs, boost morale and rehabilitate the economy.

Government organizations such as the Works Progress Administration and the Farm Security Association hired photographers to document American life during World War II. The more prominent photographers included Gordon Parks, John Vachon and Dorothea Lange, known for her migrant worker series.

In photography, this era is typically rendered in black and white. But the Library of Congress recently has published a beautiful collection of large-format color transparencies to The Commons, a public domain on flickr.com. In light of today's Congressional vote on President Obama's proposed economic stimulus package, the Daily Picture Show presents images of a historically resilient and vibrant America.

  • Two federal economic rehabilitation programs – the Works Progress Administration and Farm Security Administration – commissioned photographers to document life in post-Depression America. FSA photographer John Vachon took this 1943 image of employees at the Mid-Continent Refinery in Tulsa, Okla. All photos courtesy of the Library of Congress via Flickr Commons.
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    Two federal economic rehabilitation programs – the Works Progress Administration and Farm Security Administration – commissioned photographers to document life in post-Depression America. FSA photographer John Vachon took this 1943 image of employees at the Mid-Continent Refinery in Tulsa, Okla. All photos courtesy of the Library of Congress via Flickr Commons.
  • The Columbia Steel Co. in Geneva, Utah – built with federal funds in 1941 and photographed in 1944 – was one of many industries founded to produce both jobs and supplies during World War II.
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    The Columbia Steel Co. in Geneva, Utah – built with federal funds in 1941 and photographed in 1944 – was one of many industries founded to produce both jobs and supplies during World War II.
    Andreas Feininger
  • Laborers at the Pennsylvania Shipyards in Beaumont, Texas, leave after a day's work in June 1943. The shipyard, owned by a firm in Sharon, Pa., built tugs and barges during the war.
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    Laborers at the Pennsylvania Shipyards in Beaumont, Texas, leave after a day's work in June 1943. The shipyard, owned by a firm in Sharon, Pa., built tugs and barges during the war.
    John Vachon
  • In May 1942, German immigrant Gus Worke was photographed on his farm in Southington, Conn.
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    In May 1942, German immigrant Gus Worke was photographed on his farm in Southington, Conn.
    Fenno Jacobs
  • Russell Lee, responsible for many of the FSA's most prominent images, framed grain elevators in Caldwell, Idaho, circa 1941.
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    Russell Lee, responsible for many of the FSA's most prominent images, framed grain elevators in Caldwell, Idaho, circa 1941.
    Russell Lee
  • In a scene reminiscent of the iconic Rosie the Riveter, a woman in Nashville, Tenn., helps build WWII aircraft in February 1943.
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    In a scene reminiscent of the iconic Rosie the Riveter, a woman in Nashville, Tenn., helps build WWII aircraft in February 1943.
    Alfred T. Palmer
  • Women workers at the Mid-Continent Refinery take a lunch break, circa 1943.
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    Women workers at the Mid-Continent Refinery take a lunch break, circa 1943.
    John Vachon
  • Smoke billows from a Tennessee Valley Authority chemical plant producing elemental phosphorous in Alabama in 1942. The TVA, which dates to the 1930s, is another federally owned corporation.
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    Smoke billows from a Tennessee Valley Authority chemical plant producing elemental phosphorous in Alabama in 1942. The TVA, which dates to the 1930s, is another federally owned corporation.
    Alfred T. Palmer
  • Men work on telephone lines – likely near a TVA hydroelectric plant – in June 1942.
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    Men work on telephone lines – likely near a TVA hydroelectric plant – in June 1942.
    Alfred T. Palmer
  • A crane operator works at TVA's Douglas Dam in June 1942.
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    A crane operator works at TVA's Douglas Dam in June 1942.
    Alfred T. Palmer
  • Jack Delano, another renowned FSA photographer, captures a nighttime scene at the Santa Fe Railroad yard in Kansas City, Kan., circa March 1943.
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    Jack Delano, another renowned FSA photographer, captures a nighttime scene at the Santa Fe Railroad yard in Kansas City, Kan., circa March 1943.

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