Lucius Washington and two mules plow the fields before the Dallas skyline

In 1938 photographer Carl Mydans set off on his travels around the United States once more, making stops in Alabama, Maryland, Virginia, and Texas. He captured images of farmers and cowboys, as well as passersby on sidewalks and women in department stores shopping for the latest fashions. This time, he was on assignment for LIFE magazine, instead of the Resettlement Administration.

In this photograph, Mydans accentuates the sharp contrast between the rural and urban lifestyles during the late 1930s in Dallas, Texas. In the background, high-rise buildings, billboard advertisements, and factories remind the viewer of progressive industrialization and how mechanized labor was replacing manual labor. Workers and farmers, such as Lucius Washington, faced hard times during this decade.

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