| I. | The Problem Stated and Defined |
| | Definition and analysis. |
| | A classification of urban and rural communities. |
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| II. | City and Country |
| | How the growing city developed the problem. |
| | The surprising growth of rural America. |
| | A false and misleading comparison. |
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| III. | Rural Depletion and Rural Degeneracy |
| | The present extent of rural depletion. |
| | Losses in country towns. |
| | The need of qualitative analysis of the census. |
| | The question of degeneracy in city and country. |
| | Stages and symptoms of rural decadence. |
| | The Nam’s Hollow case. |
| | A note of warning. |
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| IV. | The Urgency of the Problem |
| | A hunt for fundamental causes. |
| | The unfortunate urbanizing of rural life. |
| | Why country boys and girls leave the farm. |
| | The folly of exploiting the country boy. |
| | The city’s dependence on the country. |
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| V. | A Challenge to Faith |