John Dos Passos was raised primarily by his mother and received an education at Choate School and Harvard University. He was politically committed to individual rights and volunteered for the Norton-Harjes ambulance corps before joining the US Army medical corps during WWI. After the war, Dos Passos traveled the world as a freelance journalist. His political views evolved from social radicalism to social conservatism as he became disillusioned with the Communist party's focus on power over social justice. He published three influential novels between 1930-1936 known as the USA trilogy that examined post-Depression America.

1. John Dos Passos

2. John Dos Passos was raised by his mother with little help from his father as they were both married to some one else.John’s education through the Choate School and Harvard University was just the tip of the ice burg since he would continue schooling at different points in his life. Youth

3. John Dos Passos was always politically committed to the rights of the individual.John volunteered to join the Norton-Harjes ambulance corps in 1917 and when the United States entered the war he was enlisted as a medical corpsman in the U.S. Army.John traveled the world as a freelance journalist for a decade after the war. Political Contributions

4. John’s political views evolved from social radicalism in the 1930s to social conservatism in the 1950s.John held a career with The New Masses, a Communist journal, until he was persuaded that the Communist were more interested in power than social justice.John believed Capitalism led to division between rich and poor.Political Views

5. John published three books between 1930 and 1936: The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and the Big Money.These works were a major piece of the post-Depression fiction and would become known as the USA trilogy.USA the Trilogy

6. The reading is a short piece from Big Money, one of the three series making up the trilogy USA.The story uses a number of newsreels to demonstrates the Communist focus on power over social justice.Big Money

7. Where did John receive his training for the US Army medical corps?Norton-Harjes ambulance corpsWhich political party aided in changing John’s political views?CommunistWhat was John’s belief about Capitalism?It caused separation between the rich and poor.Q & A