FOIA

Several myths have formed around the Great Depression. Among these are the myth that the Depression was brought to an end by the New Deal, or by the "wartime prosperity" of World War II. Neither of these is true. One study found that New Deal policies actually prolonged the depression by about seven years.<ref>Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, "[http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/421169 New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis]," ''Journal of Political Economy'', Vol. 112, No. 4 (August 2004), pp. 779-816; Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, "[http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/seminars/02-03/02-21.pdf New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis]," Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department Staff Report XXX, February 2003. Cf. Meg Sullivan, "[http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate],  UCLA Newsroom, August 10, 2004</ref> In fact, Americans' personal consumption did not rebound to 1929 levels until 1941.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/statab/hist/02HS0034.xls No. HS--34. Personal Consumption Expenditures in Current and Real (1996) Dollars, 1929 to 2001], The 2009 Statistical Abstract: Historical Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau</ref> "[T]he consensus among historians today," writes Schivelbusch, is "that the United States completely emerged from the Depression only with its entry into World War II."<ref>Wolfgang Schivelbusch, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=Z3GV5_n1h04C Three New Deals: Reflections on Roosevelt's America, Mussolini's Italy, and Hitler's Germany, 1933-1939]'' (Macmillan, 2006) ISBN 080507452X, p. 26</ref> Although the conscription of some 20 million young men into the armed forces reduced the civilian unemployment rate during World War II, the standard of living in the U.S. actually declined during the war. Using the Friedman-Schwartz price index, economist Robert Higgs found that real personal consumption per capita declined by more than 6 percent during 1941-1943, and did not recover to the 1941 level until 1946.<ref>Robert Higgs, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=138 Wartime Prosperity? A Reassessment of the U.S. Economy in the 1940s]," ''The Journal of Economic History'', March 1, 1992</ref>

Several myths have formed around the Great Depression. Among these are the myth that the Depression was brought to an end by the New Deal, or by the "wartime prosperity" of World War II. Neither of these is true. One study found that New Deal policies actually prolonged the depression by about seven years.<ref>Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, "[http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1086/421169 New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis]," ''Journal of Political Economy'', Vol. 112, No. 4 (August 2004), pp. 779-816; Harold L. Cole and Lee E. Ohanian, "[http://www.economics.hawaii.edu/research/seminars/02-03/02-21.pdf New Deal Policies and the Persistence of the Great Depression: A General Equilibrium Analysis]," Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department Staff Report XXX, February 2003. Cf. Meg Sullivan, "[http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/FDR-s-Policies-Prolonged-Depression-5409.aspx FDR's policies prolonged Depression by 7 years, UCLA economists calculate],  UCLA Newsroom, August 10, 2004</ref> In fact, Americans' personal consumption did not rebound to 1929 levels until 1941.<ref>[http://www.census.gov/statab/hist/02HS0034.xls No. HS--34. Personal Consumption Expenditures in Current and Real (1996) Dollars, 1929 to 2001], The 2009 Statistical Abstract: Historical Statistics, U.S. Census Bureau</ref> "[T]he consensus among historians today," writes Schivelbusch, is "that the United States completely emerged from the Depression only with its entry into World War II."<ref>Wolfgang Schivelbusch, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=Z3GV5_n1h04C Three New Deals: Reflections on Roosevelt's America, Mussolini's Italy, and Hitler's Germany, 1933-1939]'' (Macmillan, 2006) ISBN 080507452X, p. 26</ref> Although the conscription of some 20 million young men into the armed forces reduced the civilian unemployment rate during World War II, the standard of living in the U.S. actually declined during the war. Using the Friedman-Schwartz price index, economist Robert Higgs found that real personal consumption per capita declined by more than 6 percent during 1941-1943, and did not recover to the 1941 level until 1946.<ref>Robert Higgs, "[http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=138 Wartime Prosperity? A Reassessment of the U.S. Economy in the 1940s]," ''The Journal of Economic History'', March 1, 1992</ref>

===Notes===

===References===

=Joe McCarthy=

=Joe McCarthy=