State Historical Society of Iowa

Rehabilitation Client Repays his Loan in Smithfield, North Carolina, October 1936

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Rehabilitation client repays loan
Courtesy of Library of Congress, Rothstein, Arthur, "Rehabilitation client repays loan. Smithfield, North Carolina," October 1936

Description 

The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was created in 1935 as an effort to overcome poverty in rural areas. Under the Department of Agriculture, the FSA helped with rural rehabilitation, farm loans and subsistence homestead programs. This photograph shows a man who is a rehabilitation client and is in the process of repaying his loan with a young boy at his side. 

Source-Dependent Questions

  • Look closely at the poster featured in the photo. It says, "Years of Dust. Resettlement Administration. Rescue Victims. Restores Land to Proper Use." Why would the Farm Security Administration have these goals?
  • The Farm Security Administration made loans, that had to be repaid, to rural farmers who were rehabilitating the land after the Dust Bowl. Using evidence from the photo, what do you think the man is doing at the Farm Security Administration office?

Citation Information 

Rothstein, Arthur, "Rehabilitation client repays loan. Smithfield, North Carolina," October 1936. Courtesy of Library of Congress