Name:
US History II
Letters to Mrs. Roosevelt
Do Now: Click on the link below and tell me 2 statistics/facts about how the Great
Depression affected children. http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/er2b.htm
Background: Eleanor Roosevelt had spoken often of her concern for the country's children.
"I have moments of real terror when I think we might be losing this generation. We have got to bring these young people into the active life of the community and make
them feel that they are necessary."
--New York Times, 5/34
Thousands of children and young adults wrote letters to her, asking for help. They talked to her as a confidant with whom they could share the details of their lives, no matter how painful or even embarrassing to them. In their letters, they seem certain that the First Lady will come to their aid.
Tasks:
A. Click on the link below. You will find 4 categories of letters written to Mrs.
Roosevelt. Choose at least one from each category and read it. http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/er3a.htm
B. Pick one letter that stood out to you and answer the guided questions below:
1.
Who wrote the letter to Mrs. Roosevelt? Include gender, age, race, religion, where they were from, education and economic status of their parents.
2.
Do you think writing to a powerful or influential person about a problem is an effective means of resolving the problem?

3.
Do you think that a young persons request for help might be read more sympathetically than one made by an adult?
4.
Do you get the impression from the letters you read that everyone was “in the same boat?’ Support your answers with details from the letters
5.
Did you find, in your letters example of specific ways that children tried to convince Mrs. Roosevelt that they were uniquely worthy of her help?
6.
Some of the children who wrote the letter used certain rationales to show that they were worthy of help. What did these rationales reveal about their values?
7.
DO children today hold the same values?
8.
What does the expression “Shoved from pillar to post” mean?
9.
What does the expression “shut-in” mean?
10.
What did the one boy mean when he wrote, “We haven’t had a Christmas in three years?”
11.
After choosing the one letter you would like to read aloud to the class, please be prepared to explain…
Why this letter stood out
Why they identified with this one child’s letter.

C. Read about Eleanor Roosevelt’s response: http://newdeal.feri.org/eleanor/er4a.htm
D. Pretend you are Mrs. Roosevelt and write a response to the letter you wrote.