First of all, we can take a look at what Minnie A. Hardin wrote:
“I suppose from your point of view the work relief, old age pensions, slum clearance and all the rest seems like a perfect remedy for all the ills of this country, but I would like for you to see the results, as the other half sees them.”
Hardin was a hardworking woman trying to survive during the economic depression. And she developed a particular resentment towards those who lived on government assistance. In her letter to Eleanor Roosevelt described numerous cases of relief works reluctantly to work hard to earn their money.
The great depression was a period of incredible unemployment until 1933 one-fourth of the workforce was unemployed, poverty and horrifying living conditions. In desperation thousands of those tormented started to write letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, pleading for the assistance of some kind.