Slaves of the Depression

Abstract

The language of slavery reverberated over the course of the Depression, with many Americans describing their working and living conditions in these years as something akin to slavery. Yet the language of “white enslavement” assumed particular power in these years, especially for the way it spoke to the immediate and unexpected economic crisis experienced by white Americans. In contrast, black enslavement seemed quaint and far less troubling. This pattern was apparent in the dramas put on by the Federal Theatre, the interviews conducted by writers in the WPA with former slaves, and in Hollywood films like I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang; Judge Priest; and the Prisoner of Shark Island.