Photographic public domain images of the American experience from 1935 to 1945


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Shipyard Workers...

Photographic public domain images of the American experience from 1935 to 1945

Looking at America from depression to war

Difficult Times

Beginning in the mid-1930's, the Farm Security Administration sent a team of photographers out to document rural life and the effects of mechanization, the dust bowl, and the great depression. In 1942 they were transferred over to the Office of War Information to document America's wartime mobilization for propaganda purposes. These two efforts resulted in a huge number of photographs, some color but mostly black and white, that are now available online.

Two Sections

The black and white photos have their own section of over 160,000 (!) items. You can browse them by subject, photographer, or geographic location, or search by specific keywords. They are downloadable as JPEG's or TIF's. The color photo section contains 1600 items, and has the same browsing, searching, and downloading options. Enjoy!

FSA-OWI Photo Collection

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