1929–1941
Economic contextSupplement
The Great Depression makes access to relief a defining question
United States
The economic collapse brought mass unemployment and hardship. The response raised enduring questions about which workers, households and businesses would receive public support, and how existing racial inequality shaped access.
Dates preserve the source’s precision. This entry is part of a selected historical record; its qualifications and sources are retained below.
Context / qualification
This entry supplies the economic context for the New Deal. The collapse itself is not classified as a law targeting a racial group; individual programs and exclusions are documented separately.