FDR AND THE NEW DEAL
Was the New Deal a positive step for America?
That's an essential question for this unit, and you will be developing a foundation of information
regarding the New Deal in this activity in order to help answer this question. Carefully follow
directions on all parts of the assignment! In order to prove that you have read them, write
"loves history" after your name on your answer sheet!
After Herbert Hoover lost the Election of 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt took office
and dominated the federal government for over a decade. FDR developed what was
called "The New Deal" to solve the problems of the Great Depression. The New Deal
was a collection of laws, regulations and government programs passed by Congress
during the first two terms of FDR's presidency. (There were actually two phases of the
New Deal, with the second coming after FDR was reelected in 1936). We will discuss
FDR and the New Deal in class next week, and this assignment will also help prepare
you for our fun activity on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
COME UP WITH QUESTIONS AS YOU COMPLETE THIS!
To complete the different parts of this assignment, use Chapter 26 of Creating
America, "The New Deal" research list on ABC-CLIO, and the additional links and
videos available online on your favorite American history website.
Use a different piece of paper if your write the assignment, and you may/should
type this assignment using this document.
THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
FDR – An Introduction
One of four presidents with a national memorial dedicated to them on the
Mall in Washington D.C., FDR is ranked as one of the top presidents in
nearly every presidential ranking available. To learn about his
background, check out the FDR site from the White House and FDR
Memorial website. We will be there in a three weeks!
Leading Up to the New Deal
Think about the information discussed on your homework and in class
about the early years of the Depression and President Hoover’s response
to the economic crisis.
The Election of 1932
Check out the link online to get an overview (or review) of this landslide
election – a true turning point in American history (a great NHD topic for
next year!)
The Basics of the New Deal
Using Creating America and some of the websites on AHR!, completely respond to the following
questions on your separate piece of paper or typed on this sheet.
 What did FDR do to restore confidence in America's banking system, and how did he let
the public know? (Listen to one of his examples online – you will get the picture after about a
minute …) (734-735 in CA)
 What were the "Hundred Days" and the “three Rs”? Describe and give examples of each
of the “three Rs.” (735 in CA)
 What was FDR's "court-packing plan"? Why did he want to do it? What was the result?
(737-8 in CA)
 What was the Roosevelt Recession? (738 “The New Deal Slows Down” in CA , link online)
 What was the Dust Bowl, and how did many families respond to the Dust Bowl? What
happened to those people? (739-740 in CA)
 What aspects, programs, ideas and arguments from the New Deal are still around today?
Be specific and detailed – don’t just list them – describe them too. (747-749 in CA)
The Election of 1936
Check out the link online to get an overview (or review) of this landslide election – keeping FDR in
office for four more years!
The New Deal and Minorities
Using Chapter 26 Section 3 in Creating America and the various links about women and minorities
online, make a bulleted and detailed list on your answer sheet describing how the New Deal treated the
following groups:
Women
African Americans
Mexican Americans
Native Americans.
Opposition to the New Deal
Using your textbook, the online links about critics to the New Deal, and the reading called "Opposing
the New Deal: Introduction: Challengers and Foes" on ABC CLIO, copy the matrix below onto a
separate piece of paper or document and complete it. Give yourself enough room for complete
answers!
New Deal
challengers
Republicans
businessmen/the
wealthy
Supporters of states'
rights
Huey Long
Reasons for opposition of the New Deal
Father Coughlin
Francis Townsend
Alphabet Soup
The many New Deal programs are famous for their acronyms, and your task is to create a chart
that models the information below (in other words, do it on a separate piece of paper or make
this one bigger). You will need to identify each New Deal program and describe its purpose and
action. An example is provided – use it as a guide, and don’t just cut a paste a huge paragraph.
You should use The New Deal Research List to complete this part of the assignment - not only
the chart on 737. Taft will go over some of these in class!
Acronym
Program
Purpose and Action

AAA
Agricultural

Adjustment
Administration


intended to raise farm prices quickly and to control
production so farm prices would stay up over a long
term
paid farmers to destroy crops, milk, and livestock or
leave some of their land uncultivated
also paid farmers subsidies to make up some losses in
key crops like cotton and wheat
Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1936
CCC
FDIC
FERA
MSITMHMITWA
NLRB
NRA (not the
rilfe one)
NYA
PWA and WPA
SSA
TVA
Review
To review what you have learned, check out the New Deal and Second New Deal videos online.
Make sure you watch them – they serve as a great closing to the assignment.
ANY QUESTIONS?