Hard times come again no more: Letters from Arkansas Families in the Great Depression

Students will learn about the extent of poverty in Arkansas during the Great Depression, in a time before government relief existed. They will read and analyze handwritten letters sent to the Governor of Arkansas by Arkansans desperately seeking a job to buy food, seed to plant the next crop, and even hand-me-down clothes. (Copies of the letters are included below.) Students will also transcribe these original letters, giving them a glimpse of the historian’s task of deciphering and understanding original source material.

Lesson Plan

Courtesy of CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies

Grade Level: 5-8 Middle School; 9-12 High School

Time period: Early 20th Century 1901-1940

Arkansas Academic Standards are subject to revision every six years by the Arkansas Department of Education. The frameworks used in the majority of lesson plans on the Arkansas History Hub are from the 2006 Social Studies Frameworks and the 2007 Arkansas History Amendments and School Library Media Frameworks.

GD.8.AH.7-8.1, GD.8.AH.7-8.2, GD.8.AH.7-8.4, GD.8.AH.7-8.5, GD.8.AH.9-12.1, GD.8.AH.9-12.2, GD.8.AH.9-12.3, GD.8.AH.9-12.4, GD.8.AH.9-12.5, GD.8.AH.9-12.6