The Fountainhead Historical Context

The Fountainhead Historical Context

The Great Depression

The Great Depression held America in its grip during the 1930s. The depression was a severe economic crisis that occurred in the United States after the stock market crash of 1929. The impact on Americans was staggering. In 1933, the worst year, unemployment rose to sixteen million, about one third of the available labor force. During the early months, men and women searched eagerly and diligently for any type of work. However, after several months of no sustained employment, they became discouraged and often gave up. President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt's New Deal policies, which offered the country substantial economic relief, helped mitigate the effects of the depression, but the recovery was not complete until the government channeled money into the war effort in the early 1940s.

The Red Decade

During the Great Depression, impoverished Americans began to doubt whether they would ever attain the American dream of success. As a result, the...
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