A portrait of Missouri, 1935-1943

"Among FDR's most important New Deal programs were those created to address rural poverty and a depressed farm economy. In 1935, several such programs were consolidated into the Resettlement Administration, which in 1937 became the Farm Security Administration (FSA). For the next six years, the FSA stayed at the center of a turbulent battle over the shift from regional to national authority.

One tool the FSA used to defend itself against political attacks was its Photographic Section, under the direction of Roy Stryker.".

"Stryker, who was once referred to as "the press agent of the underprivileged," directed a team of photographers who documented American life in the thirties, capturing images of the old ways while seeking to justify a new agricultural order. The photos they took were used to build up popular support for the FSA and the New Deal. Seven of these photographers traveled in Missouri and produced a collection of over 1,250 pictures.

Drawing on those photographs, A Portrait of Missouri, 1935-1943 chronicles the photographers' work, the programs they sought to promote, and slices of life they captured in Missouri during this time."--BOOK JACKET.