Segment from Hard Times

Painted Lines of Occupation

Racial discrimination was rampant in the early 20th century South, but what about the North? The hosts question the notion of historical occupational equality and freedom in America.

00:00:00 / 00:00:00

Count Me Out

The unemployment number used to include children and older women – people who, at the time, weren’t expected to hold jobs. Brian talks to historian Alexander Keyssar about how the number changed.

00:05:21

What’s A “Job” Anyway?

You can’t be jobless until you’ve actually had a job. The hosts discuss how early Americans supported themselves.

00:10:00

Ambition - The New American Way

When did we start equating joblessness with laziness? BackStory listener David McKay asks and the hosts answer.

00:08:14

The Deported

During the 1930s, a little known event known as Mexican Repatriation expelled between 500,000 and two million Mexican Americans and Mexican nationals to ease unemployment for white Americans.

00:09:53

Painted Lines of Occupation

Racial discrimination was rampant in the early 20th century South, but what about the North? The hosts question the notion of historical occupational equality and freedom in America.

00:06:16

Dating Danger - Welfare and Women

If a woman was romantically involved with a man, welfare for her family became endangered. Brian asks history professor Dr. Felicia Kornbluh about how this discriminatory norm changed in 1968 and what that meant for the American unemployment system.

00:09:16