20 More Photos of the Haves and Have-Nots in the 1930s

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 02/28/2025 in wow

Beginning with the great stock market crash of 1929, devastating recession rocked the United States throughout the 1930s. From inner city tenements to dust bowl remnants, hardworking Americans found themselves kicked to the curb while elites laughed all the way to the shuttered banks. Sound familiar?

Defined by haves and have-nots, the 1930s owns its special place in the halls of American infamy.

Here are 21 more photos of 1930s inequality.

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1. Broken Down
A broke single mother experiencing car troubles, Missouri, 1937. By Dorothea Langes.
2. New Refrigerator
A woman used her new appliance.
3. Small Group Photograph
Rose Garden, 1933.
4. Georgia Protestor
Inequality in the 1930s.
5. Rita Hayworth
Posing in the 1930s.
6. Harlem Tenement
Summer of 1935.
7. Beach Goers
Key West, 1930s.
8. Daughters of farmers
Near La Forge Project, Missouri, 1930s.
9. Businesmen Read the Newspaper
The morning train.
10. Sidewalk Sitters
Two women sitting in the doorway of an empty storefront. Harlem, 1930s.
11. Putting on the Ritz
Performing in the 1930s.
12. A Boy and His Pedal Car
Ready for Anything, 1930.
13. Jay Street
Residents, 1936.
14. A Book Wagon
Bronx, 1936.
15. “Migrant Mother”
Photo by Dorothea Lange, 1936.
16. Berlin Zoo Handler
Giving Roland, a 4,000 pound elephant seal, a snow bath, 1930s.
17. A Girl With Her Dog Rinny
Poverty in the 1930s.
18. A Railroad Worker
After a day’s work in the 1930s.
19. Unemployed Men
Outside a soup kitchen opened in Chicago by Al Capone, 1931.
20. A Backyard
With an Old Truck San Antonio, 1939.

1. Broken Down
A broke single mother experiencing car troubles, Missouri, 1937. By Dorothea Langes.
2. New Refrigerator
A woman used her new appliance.
3. Small Group Photograph
Rose Garden, 1933.
4. Georgia Protestor
Inequality in the 1930s.
5. Rita Hayworth
Posing in the 1930s.
6. Harlem Tenement
Summer of 1935.
7. Beach Goers
Key West, 1930s.
8. Daughters of farmers
Near La Forge Project, Missouri, 1930s.
9. Businesmen Read the Newspaper
The morning train.
10. Sidewalk Sitters
Two women sitting in the doorway of an empty storefront. Harlem, 1930s.
11. Putting on the Ritz
Performing in the 1930s.
12. A Boy and His Pedal Car
Ready for Anything, 1930.
13. Jay Street
Residents, 1936.
14. A Book Wagon
Bronx, 1936.
15. “Migrant Mother”
Photo by Dorothea Lange, 1936.
16. Berlin Zoo Handler
Giving Roland, a 4,000 pound elephant seal, a snow bath, 1930s.
17. A Girl With Her Dog Rinny
Poverty in the 1930s.
18. A Railroad Worker
After a day’s work in the 1930s.
19. Unemployed Men
Outside a soup kitchen opened in Chicago by Al Capone, 1931.
20. A Backyard
With an Old Truck San Antonio, 1939.