14: Depression and New Deal

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Primary Doc lesson using the FERA Report 1936

Pages 1 through 26 of the 1936 report of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration report provide a synopsis of the transient relief problem facing the country in the Great Depression. Students as a class can be told that they have to come up with a summary of the situation in 20 minutes using this source. They divide and assign roles, they strategize how to get the work done. They do it, then have a whole class discussion. They learn a skill while soaking in the content

Primary Doc lesson using the FERA Report 1936

No Women Need Apply: A Disheartening 1938 Rejection Letter from Disney Animation | Open Culture

Seldom do students and teachers find such a direct example of discrimination.

No Women Need Apply: A Disheartening 1938 Rejection Letter from Disney Animation | Open Culture

Invaders in Our Living Room: Why We Love the Myth That Most Americans Believed the 1938 ‘War of the Worlds’ Broadcast - Pacific Standard

There's more to the story than just a radio program that people thought was real. There's more to the story that newspapers overstated the panic in order to maintain their media market. This article digs a little deeper

Invaders in Our Living Room: Why We Love the Myth That Most Americans Believed the 1938 ‘War of the Worlds’ Broadcast - Pacific Standard

Federal Housing Administration Underwriting Manual

Written in 1938, this guide to Federal Housing shows how the federal government and New Deal programs promoted segregation. Teachers can share this link with students and tell them to search the word "racial" - it appears about 16 times in the book. What conclusions can they draw from what they've found? What other questions do they have?

Federal Housing Administration Underwriting Manual

Special Security History - Francis Perkins speaks about Social Security in 1962

The text of the speech may be valuable for teachers looking for a first hand account of the Depression and FDR's Administration

Special Security History - Francis Perkins speaks about Social Security in 1962

The Challenge To Liberty : written by Herbert Hoover (1934) (Book)

Herbert Hoover's attack on the New Deal, written in 1934. Teachers may be able to cut quotes from this book which evidences the conservative perspective of the 20th century

The Challenge To Liberty : written by Herbert Hoover (1934) (Book)

New Jersey | Living New Deal

New Jersey teachers can give students first hand evidence of what the New Deal did for them, right in their backyard. This site is filled with maps, pictures and descriptions of various New Deal projects in New Jersey

New Jersey | Living New Deal

America's Town Meeting Of The Air - Personal Liberty And The Modern State - YouTube

This is an audio recording of one of the first radio talk shows in American history. Listening to this recording gives insight into debates about the New Deal in real time. 21st century students and teachers can compare and contrast political dialogue then and now. Teachers with time can find primary sources in this one hour recording

America's Town Meeting Of The Air - Personal Liberty And The Modern State - YouTube

Articles by Gerald L.K. Smith - The Cross and Flag

The dark underbelly of the opposition to the New Deal.

Articles by Gerald L.K. Smith - The Cross and Flag

Roosevelt's New Deal Wasn't All Government Spending - The Atlantic

Instead of having students create and memorize a chart of acroynyms that means nothing to them and they will soon forget, invest the time to have them read this article and figure out what it is saying. It would be a reading comprehension and vocabulary in context lesson that also immerses them in the economic arguments of public and private investment that colors the relationship between the federal government and the national economy

Roosevelt's New Deal Wasn't All Government Spending - The Atlantic

(1) Bonus Army "Routed" (1932) - YouTube

This 2 minute video captures the clearing of Bonus Army veterans from Anacostia Flats in Washington DC., It is important to tell students that these are World War I veterans being evicted from their shack/tent city built in Washington following their march to get the pension money that was owed to them by the federal government

(1) Bonus Army "Routed" (1932) - YouTube

The Great Depression Primary Source Documents| The American Yawp Reader

Bonus Army - YouTube

8 minute video that gives context to a lesson about the Bonus Army or the Great Depression

Bonus Army - YouTube

Reefer Madness 1936 -2 min video film trailer

Unabashed propaganda film on the perils of marijuana use. Clean-cut WASP couple Bill and Mary are innocent high school students who play tennis and drink tea on the back porch. Their friend Jimmy introduces them to a pot dealer named Jack, who invites Bill back to his den of inequity,

Reefer Madness 1936 -2 min video film trailer

Herbert Hoover: Domestic Affairs | Miller Center

taxes

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America - Zinn Education Project

Federal Housing Authority Underwriting manual; underwriting analysis under ... 1936 Apr.. -

Should New Deal lessons include primary documents that evidence the federal support of segregation on a national scale? This section of the 1936 FHA manual document the agency's suggestion that private housing lenders look for restrictive racial covenants in home sale documents when deciding to approve a mortgage. If a lender wanted to have the loan insured by the federal government, they would need to meet these requirements

Federal Housing Authority Underwriting manual; underwriting analysis under ... 1936 Apr.. -

Segregated By Design - video

16 minute video narrated by "Color of Law" author Richard Rothstein. Active graphics, music and narrative make this an engaging video

Segregated By Design - video

Class 11: Designing Inequality – Ed Methods

"Compare neighborhood designation and some Census data 1940 to what the neighborhood is like today (Data from Zillow or Redfin. Which also sometime show interiors of home.)"

Class 11: Designing Inequality – Ed Methods

Bloomberg TV on Twitter: ""The Reddit WallStreetBets community in particular, and retail investors more generally, this year have really taken to buying options," says QVR Adivsors CIO, Benn Eifert. Hear more about the battle between institutional and ret

Teachers need only show about a minute of this 6 minute video to give students of the language of buying and selling stocks on Wall Street today. With a growing retail market and apps like Robinhood, it has never been easier to get into market, yet as this video shows, its harder to understand it. Or, do people think they understand it because they can throw around these words?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Master Speech File, 1898-1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Whenever a teacher looks through an FDR primary source activity from a publisher they should think about this list. While they might be looking at a speech that the publisher tells them was made in October, 1932, they may not provide any extra information. That's a lack of citation that we wouldn't accpet from students. Was the pessch in Atlantia or Pirrtsbiurgh - don't you thgink that would make a difference. Was it at the beginning of the month of October, or right before the election? Doesn't that make a difference also?

Franklin D. Roosevelt, Master Speech File, 1898-1945 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Making Monopoly: A History of the Origins of America’s Favorite Board Game - The Strong National Museum of Play — Google Arts & Culture

The history of the game that was designed to show injustice is itself an injustice

Making Monopoly: A History of the Origins of America’s Favorite Board Game - The Strong National Museum of Play — Google Arts & Culture

California 1935, Wilshire Blvd in color [60fps, Remastered] w/added sound - YouTube

FDR Museum: FDR's Disability: Image and Reality

There are over 130,000 photographs of FDR at the FDR Presidential Library, but only four of them show him in his wheelchair - here they are

FDR Museum: FDR's Disability: Image and Reality

#3 - Monthly report of the Federal Emergency Relief ... 1933:May-1934:Dec.. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library

Instead of having students copy down a few statistics found in a textbook, they can scan through this primary document to get a sense of the effects of the Great Depression. The first two pages provide a clear perspective of the relationship between the government and the people that could serve as a spark for a discussion. There is also a lot of material for a DBQ.

#3 - Monthly report of the Federal Emergency Relief ... 1933:May-1934:Dec.. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library

Document of the Month - November - FDR Presidential Library & Museum

A small business owner writes to the president about the changing of the date for Thanksgiving

Document of the Month - November - FDR Presidential Library & Museum

AT&T Archives: Introduction to the Dial Telephone - YouTube

Although older teachers like to joke about students, and their younger teaching colleagues, not knowing how a rotary phone worked, there was a time when no one knew how to use it. when it was invented. This Bell Telephone System video taught people how to use the dial when in was introduced in 1936

AT&T Archives: Introduction to the Dial Telephone - YouTube

State Franchise Law Carjacks Auto Buyers | Mercatus Center

"State auto franchise laws extensively regulate the contractual obligations between manufacturers and dealers. They prevent manufacturers from selling new vehicles (and related services) directly to the public, often mandate exclusive territories for dealers, and make it difficult for manufacturers to terminate dealers. "

State Franchise Law Carjacks Auto Buyers | Mercatus Center

The New Deal Map