I’ve used NPR’s Planet Money previously for my blog including last week on the gold standard. Well it turns out that story was part of a mini-series on the Great Depression, which is undoubtedly one of the most interesting and well-studied times in economic history. They published the next podcast Tuesday and it covers the recently published diary of Benjamin Roth who wrote over the entire course of the Great Depression.
Roth was a lawyer during the depression and led a life that you typically don’t associate with the times; he didn’t stand in soup kitchen lines, or live in a Hooverville or migrate west out of desperation. Sure his profits dwindled to for less than prosperity but he offered the rare perspective of someone educated, analyzing the unfolding events.
As depression hit, Roth’s cases became increasingly entwined in foreclosures and bankruptcies and fees turned into items. One honest customer even paid with a passbook to an account he held at a bank that had closed, saying that if the bank ever reopened, Roth could have all his money. These events inspired Roth to begin analyzing the day’s local and national economic news whenever he found some spare time at his law office.
Before going over a few of the 14 notebooks worth of diary there are a couple of things we should note. Firstly, for as much of a hero as Roosevelt is always portrayed as, Roth did not vote for him nor did he support many of his policies. Second, the depression Roth illustrates for us is very different from the account we are accustomed to hearing from our teachers or historical books. As bad as the depression got, employment still remained at about 75%, well over the majority, and extremes like the dustbowl severely affected only select groups of individuals. This isn’t to undermine the severity of the depression but rather to say that many American’s were not affected in the ways we may think.
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