The Great Depression in the United States was a difficult time for citizens and businesses. Unemployment skyrocketed and the prosperity of the 1920s came to a crashing halt on October 29, 1929. While many scholars explain the affects and reaction within metropolitan areas or the Dust Bowl, very little do we know about its impact on education and institutions of higher learning in the United States. More specifically, we know little about its effect on Southern colleges and universities. Since the South was behind the rest of the country in terms of social policy and economics, it can be assumed that the effects of the Great Depression in small Mississippi towns settled down much deeper than in a large cities like New York and Chicago. Throughout US history and even world history we understand that through catastrophe come changes and adaptations for systems to function under great distress, whether it be politically, socially, or economically. The Great Depression was no different. Given the unusual circumstances colleges struggled in the 1930s, but in Mississippi it becomes nearly impossible to distinguish whether a particular issue was the result of the depression or of the Bilbo controversy.