Exploring Injustices in 18th Century America Through the Lens of Popular Culture

18th Century History Attention to Injustice Name Institutional Affiliation Course name Instructor’s name Assignment due date 18th Century History Attention to Injustice Part a) The Great Depression The Great Depression had significant social and economic implications on the lives of Americans living in different parts of the country. While there was significant focus on the impact the period had on the city dwellers, there is little attention to the impact it had on the people living in rural America. The drought in the 1930s forced many people to leave their homes in search of jobs and majority became homeless amidst the Great Depression. Popular culture played a major role in describing the inequalities between the people in the urban areas and rural dwellers escaping the drought period. Born in Oklahoma in 1912, Woody Guthrie was a songwriter and musician who used his work to describe the injustices that previous farmers faced as they experienced homelessness in cities (ID Power point #17). One of his songs, “This world is not my home” demonstrates the despair the artist experienced in the new life in the city. Alongside other farming communities living in the cities, Guthrie worked low-income jobs to survive and his music shows their experience in the new life. While it has religious interpretations demonstrating the life of a Christian, Guthrie uses the art to show the experiences of the poor during the Great Depression. Moreover, popular culture played a major role in diverting the attention of the audience from the challenges of the Great Depression to alternative issues facing the soci