Hard Times; an Oral History of the Great Depression Chapter Summary & Analysis - Book 3: Scarlet Banners and Novenas, The Doctor, Huey and Mr. Smith, The Circuit Rider, The Gentleman from Kansas, A View of the Woods, Campus Life Summary

Book 3: Scarlet Banners and Novenas, The Doctor, Huey and Mr. Smith, The Circuit Rider, The Gentleman from Kansas, A View of the Woods, Campus Life Summary and Analysis

Scarlet Banners and Novenas is concerned with the left-wing political movements of the thirties. It begins with the interview of a William Patterson, a black lawyer who becomes engaged in the American Communist Party during the Depression, even studying in the USSR. Patterson recalls how essential the Communists were in this time, both as advocates for the poor and marginalized—especially minorities—and as community organizers.

Max Shachtman, a doctrinaire Trotskyite, recalled the unprecedented popularity the Communists had during Hoover, when capitalism seemed doomed. In his interview, Shachtman charts the decline of the Party and the moderation of the American Left. Communists, he states, lost credibility when they supported the Hitler-Stalin Pact. The New Deal saved capitalism and formed a union between the far left and the Democratic Party. Shachtman now laments the toothlessness of progressive America.

Terkel also covers two other left organizations. The legendary founder of the Catholic Worker,...
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