David M. Kennedy's book, The American People in the Great Depression, provides an exceptional account of the terrible economic crisis of the 1930s in the United States. Although it is not a simple narrative, rather it is the story of America's perseverance in overcoming the Great Depression. “[The book] tells the dark and disturbing story of the Great Depression…including its heartbreaking human impact as well as the clumsy efforts to understand and overcome it on the part of citizens and policymakers. » (ix) Using his insight and extensive primary sources, Kennedy sheds light on one of the darkest periods in American history. Offering surprising conclusions along the way, Kennedy presents a stunning look at how decisions made to confront the Depression laid the foundation for modern American national government. Early in the book, Kennedy may shock many readers when he states that the Great Depression was not a disaster. a product of the infamous stock market crash of 1929, but rather a creation of American excess and the saturation of its economic sectors in the 1920s. After World War I, Americans enjoyed a period of prosperity. New technologies offered easier, faster, and more efficient ways to accomplish tasks, and Americans wanted all of that. As wages rose, Americans had more money to spend; purchase automobiles, washing machines, radios and other items deemed necessary by advertisers. Over time, the consumer market became stagnant, leaving factories full of unwanted products and forcing business owners to lay off employees. (Example of a car that costs 3 months' salary) However, things were not better in the South or the West. The two regions whose life and blood remained agricultural were equally guilty of saturating their demand by cultivating an abundance of paper...while FDR deliberately increased the federal debt for the sake of economic stimulation. (359) As Kennedy noted, it took World War II to completely end the Depression, but that meant the New Deal was a failure. As stated in one of his first goals, FDR wanted to “create a country…in which no one is left behind” and he succeeded. (378) While immigrants, blacks, and Native Americans would continue to face racism long after FDR, he provided accommodations for each of these minorities. He converted millions of acres of land into national parks for all to enjoy. Most importantly, the New Deal provided security in a way that Americans had never experienced before the Depression. In a sense, he created the modern welfare state we live in today. Works Cited by David M. Kennedy. The American people during the Great Depression. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.