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The 2,900 documents in American Life Histories, 1936-1940,
chronicle vivid life stories of Americans who lived at the turn
of the century. Narratives tell of meeting Billy the Kid, surviving
the 1871 Chicago fire, pioneer journeys West, of grueling factory
work, and the immigrant experience. Writers hired by this Depression-era
work project included Ralph Ellison, Nelson Algren, and many others.
These online exhibits provide context and additional
information about this collection.
Voices
from the Thirties: An Introduction to the WPA Life Histories Collection
These historical era(s) are best represented
in the collection, although they may not be all-encompassing.
The Civil War and Reconstruction, 1850-1877
Development of the Industrial United States, 1876-1915
Emergence of Modern America, 1890-1930
The Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945
| related
collections and exhibits |
These collections and exhibits contain thematically-related
primary and secondary sources. Also browse the Collection
Finder for more related material on the American Memory Web
site.
African American
Perspectives, 1818-1907
American
Variety Stage, 1870-1920
California
Gold: Folk Music from the Thirties, 1938-1940
Civil War Photographs,
1861-1865
FSA/OWI Photographs,
1935-1945
Map
Collections, 1500-2004
Voices
from the Dust Bowl, 1940-1941
Votes for
Women, 1848-1921
Recommended additional sources of information.
The American Folklife Center
at the Library of Congress
Folklife and
Fieldwork: A Layman's Introduction to Field Techniques
Folklife Sourcebook:
A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States
Read More About It! - A bibliography
A Teacher's
Guide to Folklife Resources for K-12
Specific guidance for searching this collection.
To search the collection by location, go to Select
a Region and State. This screen provides guided searches by
region of the United States.
To find out how many interviews were registered in a particular
state, go to States.
Although interviews were conducted in twenty-four states, more states
are mentioned in the life histories. Search
by keyword to find items mentioning other locations.
For help with search words, go to the Synonym
List.
For help with search strategies, see Finding
Items in American Memory.
You can read and search all of the text in this collection without
special viewers.
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