With the crash of the stock market in 1929, The United States plunged into a depression. The Depression was largely caused by speculation in the stock market. Other factors included overproduction, underconsumption, a prolonged agricultural slump, and an uneven distribution of wealth.

The Depression was characterized by unemployment and inadequate living conditions. Millions of workers were unemployed, and those who continued to hold a job, faced lower wages and shorter hours. Even with a job, the low wages and shorter hours made it difficult to earn enough money to live decently. Families without an income, who could not pay their rent, were evicted from their homes. Left unemployed and homeless, these people built shacks out of cardboard and other trash. Children even played games titled "Eviction" and "Relief" during the time they were not searching through garbage for food.

The conditions in the country caused some people to turn to Communist and Socialist organizations for hope. The Communists viewed the Depression as the end of capitalism. They believed that violent revolution would result in the overthrow of capitalism. The general secretary of the Communist party during the Depression was Earl Browder. Although there were many groups, they did not join together and act as a single force.

These are the conditions that Invisible Man grows up in. He is from a poor family in the South and is born in the early Thirties. From his childhood, he remembers events which show the effect of the Depression on his family such as eating boiled cabbage day after day when they were without money. Years later, after World War II, Invisible Man will remember this from his past and realize that many people are still being affected by the Depression.

Reminents of the Depression continued to devastate parts of The United States even after World War II. Although many areas of the nation experienced prosperity after the war, some areas of the nation continued to suffer. These people, struggling to survive, looked to improve their life. Evidence of this may be the strongest through the actions of the people of the time.

Invisible Man is asked to join a Civil Rights organization, the Brotherhood, after he makes an unexpected speech at an eviction. He originally refuses and returns to Mary's house only to find the smell of cabbage. As he thinks of how much he dislikes the smell of cabbage, he remembers the days when his family could only afford cabbage for days at a time during his childhood. Suddenly, he realizes that they have eaten cabbage quite frequently lately and that he has not been able to pay Mary his rent for quite a while. That is when he realizes the situation that Mary is in and knows that he must accept the job with the Brotherhood.

The scene when Invisible Man makes an unexpected speech at an eviction is also symbolic of the Depression. The people who could not afford to pay rent were simply kicked out of their home one day. All of their belongs were left on the street, and it was up to those evicted to determine what to do and where to go. This was a fear that many people were forced to face and a practice that resulted in numerous Americans losing their homes. In the novel, the couple evicted is very old and simply wants to be allowed back in their house one final time to pray. They have accepted the fact that they are being forced to leave because they know that it has happened to others and that it will continue to happen to more people who cannot pay their rent.

Although the elderly couple believes that nothing can be done to stop evictions, the Brotherhood disagrees. The Brotherhood is a Communist organization, similar to some of the ones prevalent during the 1930s. The party faces stiff competition from several other parties in the area. The result is the occurrence of race riots and other methods of expression. The people participating in these types of demonstrations were simply those who were lost in the Depression and were trying to find a way out. They were looking to improve their life and living conditions. They hoped that the organization would serve as a mean for changing their life.