The scope of the book ranges from the Progressivism of the 1920s to the Great Depression. McElvaine begins by building a case for the origin of the Depression. He describes how income became so unequally distributed that most American households by the end of the '20s had little to no expendable income. Since the economy depended upon consumers, the Crash became inevitable as a result of falling consumption.
In the 1930s, McElvaine relates, the culture shifted from valuing material possession to community. People became interested with helping support their neighbors, contributing to a greater sense of solidarity born out of necessity. The working class become the representative of Americans. McElvaine turns to popular culture to provide evidence of this shift. He identifies a certain nostalgia for an imaginary past which relied upon these new values.
Political and social reforms of the 1930s comprise the final section of the book. McElvaine explains how political voices on the right challenged FDR's New Deal. In light of the increasingly threatened economy, the federal government established initiatives like Social Security and the WPA. Again, McElvaine turns to the people who survived this time to describe their own feelings about the changes. He includes extensive firsthand accounts of regular citizens.
