Great Depression

In January 1933, the President of the United States, Herbert Hoover, in remarks to the Conference on the Crisis in Education, made the following statement: “There is no safety for your Republic without the education of our youth. That is the first charge upon all citizens and local governments.” One year later, addressing a similarly themed Citizens Conference on the Crisis in Education, the new president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, offered an equally grave warning: “Although the effects of the present lack of adequate educational opportunities on our national life may not be noticeable today, the time may soon come when dire effects will be apparent.” Assessing both the changes and continued problems since he assumed office, Roosevelt repeated this statement in late 1935 when he ...