Jobless Men Lined Up for Unemployment Compensation
ca. 1938
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This image was captured by photographer Dorothea Lange during the Great Depression. The original caption reads: Jobless Men Lined up for the First Time in California to File Claims for Unemployment Compensation.
Lange believed that her role as a photographer was to promote political and social change by documenting compelling scenes – like the one in this signed print of men without work lined up to claim unemployment benefits.
Throughout the 1920s, Lange worked as a studio portrait photographer in San Francisco. However, by the height of the Great Depression, she turned her focus towards documenting people and her surroundings. She worked as a photographer for several government agencies, including the Resettlement Administration (the predecessor to the Farm Security Administration) and the War Relocation Authority. Her photographs of the rural poor and migrant workers during the Great Depression, notably her “Migrant Mother,” are iconic.
After World War II, Lange pursued freelance photography and worked for Life as a staff photographer.
Lange believed that her role as a photographer was to promote political and social change by documenting compelling scenes – like the one in this signed print of men without work lined up to claim unemployment benefits.
Throughout the 1920s, Lange worked as a studio portrait photographer in San Francisco. However, by the height of the Great Depression, she turned her focus towards documenting people and her surroundings. She worked as a photographer for several government agencies, including the Resettlement Administration (the predecessor to the Farm Security Administration) and the War Relocation Authority. Her photographs of the rural poor and migrant workers during the Great Depression, notably her “Migrant Mother,” are iconic.
After World War II, Lange pursued freelance photography and worked for Life as a staff photographer.
This primary source comes from the Records of the Social Security Administration.
National Archives Identifier: 7716670
Full Citation: Photograph 47-GA-90-1; Jobless Men Lined Up for the First Time in California to File Claims for Unemployment Compensation; ca. 1938; Photographs of the Social Security Board Activities, 1936 - 1948; Records of the Social Security Administration, Record Group 47; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. [Online Version, https://docsteach.org/documents/document/jobless-men-lined-up, April 20, 2025]Activities that use this document
- The Impact of the Great Depression: Photograph Analysis
Created by the National Archives Education Team
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