Grade 8 Demarest Middle School

1

SOCIAL STUDIES Ms. Reynolds

Grade 8 Demarest Middle School

DBQ ESSAY #3:

The Great Depression

DUE DATE: ______

Question
During the Great Depression Franklin D. Roosevelt developed the New Deal, a set of government-funded programs designed to bring the country out of the Great Depression. Through these programs, Roosevelt changed the relationship between the United States government and the American people. The government’s influence was now more extensive by providing jobs, and financial security for the American people. The Supreme Court declared eight of FDR’s New Deal programs unconstitutional, fearing that the government was becoming too powerful. Public opinion was divided on the support of the New Deal. Many Americans believed these programs would bring the nation out of the Great Depression and gave them hope in the future. However, many believed that this deficit spending and powerful government was a threat to the future of the country.
You should answer ONE of the following questions in your essay:
How did the role of the government change during the Great Depression and the New Deal?
What role should the government play in solving a national crisis?

Document A: F.D.R.'s First Inaugural Address, March, 1933,

"....This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself - nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory....

Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed project to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources."

1. In this excerpt from F.D.R.'s First Inaugural Speech, how did he attempt to win support of the American people?
2. How does F.D.R. suggest the task of "putting people to work" could best be accomplished?
3. Based on this document, what did F.D.R. see as the role of the national government in times of crisis?

Document B: F.D.R.'s Fireside Chat on Reorganization of the Judiciary, March 9, 1937, National Archives

"I hope that you have re-read the Constitution of the United States in these past few weeks.... Since the rise of the modern movement for social and economic progress through legislation, the Court has more and more often and more and more boldly asserted a power to veto laws passed by the Congress and State Legislatures in complete disregard of this original limitation...The Court has been acting not as a judicial body, but as a policy-making body....

What is my proposal? It is simply this: whenever a judge or justice of any federal court has reached the age of seventy and does not avail himself of the opportunity to retire on a pension, a new member shall be appointed by the president then in office, with the approval, as required by the Constitution, of the Senate of the United States.”

1. What is FDR’s criticism of the Supreme Court?
2. Why is FDR upset with the court’s actions?
3. What does FDR mean by a “Policy-making body”?
4. What does FDR propose as a solution to the problem that he perceives?

Document C: Letter to Senator Robert Wagner from an American citizen

“It seems very apparent to me that the Administration at Washington is accelerating it's pace towards socialism and communism. Nearly every public statement from Washington is against stimulation of business, which would in the end create employment.

Everyone is sympathetic to the cause of creating more jobs and better wages for labor; but, a program continually promoting labor troubles, higher wages, shorter hours, and less profits for business, would seem to me to be leading us fast to a condition where the Government must more and more expand it's relief activities, and will lead in the end to disaster to all classes.”

1. What problems does the citizen see arising from the New Deal plans?
2. What does he recommend as the solution to the problem?

Document D: United States History & Government: Constitutional & Geopolitical Patterns, 2001

“Republicans followed a trickle-down theory…They reasoned that, if government legislation protected the wealth of big corporations and the well-to-do, their continued investments would expand the economy and a better life woud ‘trickle down’ to workers and consumers in general.

FDR and his advisors viewed things differently. They felt that government would use pump-priming that government should take actions that would make the consuming public secure and optimistic…By increasing government programs, business activity would increase, thereby fostering consumer confidence and investing, keeping the economy growing…”

1. Compare and contrast the Republicans (Herbert Hoover) and FDR’s approach to battling the great depression.

Document E: Keith Hufford, Former CCC Enrollee 1937

“In May, 1933, I was one of the many jobless disillusioned young men who trooped wearily and despondently into a CCC reconditioning camp, not knowing, and not particularly caring, about the future.

I still have not attained my goal but I am making my own way and that is sufficient for the present. What is probably more important is the fact that I am not the undernourished, furtive-eyed, (kid I was) over five years ago. Instead, my eyes are clear and my mind is receptive to whatever the future has in store. In short, the CCC has equipped me with the weapons necessary to cope with the innumerable problems that are bound to obstruct my path through life and that must be surmounted before success can be attained.

1. How did the CCC help Hufford?
2. How does Hufford’s mentality change from before the CCC to after the CCC?

Document F:

1. What is happening to the federal budget during the years of the Great Depression?
2. How would opponents to the New Deal use this graph to argue against the New Deal?

Document G: New Deal Programs Chart

1. What were the two most influential New Deal programs in your opinion and why?

Document H: 1937 Political Cartoon

1. How does this political cartoon portray FDR?
2. Do you think that this cartoon is accurate or an exaggeration?

Now that you have examined the documents, consult the checklist below to begin preparing your response:

Write a strong thesis statement in which you declare what you intend to prove in your essay.

Decide upon 3 pieces of supporting evidence from the documents and your knowledge of American History to back up your point of view.

Organize your thoughts (i.e., complete an outline/graphic organizer).

Once you have accomplished this, work from your prep material and the DBQ Essay Rubric to begin writing your paper. It should be a minimum of 1½ pages in length (double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman) and contain the following:

An inviting introduction that features your thesis statement.

A well-written body that examines each piece of supporting evidence in a SEPARATE paragraph. (Remember to include proper citations—in MLA format—when you directly quote an author.)

A strong conclusion that analyzes what you have presented and wraps up your essay.

All papers will be due on the assigned date noted above. Any student who fails to hand in an essay on time will lose 5 points/day until the finished product is submitted. GOOD LUCK!!!