Few of us actually lived through the Great Depression and were old enough at that time to remember clearly what everyday life felt like.

It has become for most of us an abstraction, ancient history, but an event that left an indelible impression on those who suffered its hardships, creating a national psyche that understandably resulted in the materialism of the 1950s, because when you’ve been without, having enough seems like paradise, as any of us who have ever faced insolvency for any reason know.

A few years ago two films came out, “Seabiscuit” and “Cinderella Man,” both bas...