The year was 1934. The Great Depression ravaged the United States. Unemployment was only starting to turn around but was still at a painfully high rate of 22%. Nearly a quarter of Americans were out of work, and to make it worse, weather and drought in the Midwest destroyed 35 million acres of farmland. Hundreds of millions of acres were at risk, and many people were in danger of starvation, while others chose to take their own lives in increasing numbers.
