FDR’S NEW DEAL
Alphabet Agencies BROCHURE
40 Points
DUE: _______________________
It is 1935 and you have been chosen to head up one of Roosevelt’s New Deal Agencies to bring
relief to the poverty-stricken people during the Great Depression. In order to gain support for your
agency and in order to spread the word about it, you decide to create a brochure detailing the
agency’s purpose.
Using Microsoft Publisher, MS Word, or creating/drawing/neatly writing by hand, create
a BROCHURE describing your agency. The brochure should
a) describe the purpose (relief, recovery, or reform) of the agency
b) describe the major functions of the agency (why is it necessary, how does it
help people, what problems does it solve, etc.) This can either be in bulleted
format or paragraph format as you see fit.
c) be on 8 ½ x 11” paper (i.e. not on loose-leaf!)
d) contain a front cover visual depictions.
ALPHABET AGENCIES OF THE NEW DEAL:
1) NRA (National Recovery Administration)
2) HOLC (Home Owners Loan Corporation)
3) CWA (Civil Works Administration)
4) TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)
5) CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)
6) NLRB (National Labor Relations Board)
7) WPA (Works Progress Administration)
8) AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act)
9) PWA (Public Works Administration)
10) FSA (Farm Securities Administration)
11) FERA (Federal Emergency Relief Administration)
12) FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
13) FHA (Federal Housing Administration)
14) SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)
15) SSA (Social Security Administration)
16) NYA (National Youth Administration)
17) IRA (Indian Reorganization Act)
FDR’S NEW DEAL
Alphabet Agencies Brochure
40 Points
Category
Organization/
Attractiveness
Content and
Accuracy
Writing/
Mechanics
Graphics/
Pictures
Excellent (10)
Exceptionally
attractive
formatting and
well-organized
information, is
neat and
appealing
overall.
The purpose of
the agency is
clear. Enough
detail is included
in the text to
understand the
major functions
of the agency,
how it helps
people, when it
was formed, etc.
Additional info
is included.
Grammar,
capitalization
and punctuation
are correct
throughout the
brochure.
The graphics go
well with the text
and there is a
good mix of text
and graphics.
TOTAL = ________ out of 40
Good (7)
Attractive
formatting and
well-organized
information
Not quite (5)
Somewhat
organized
information
Missing (2)
Not organized in
a coherent
fashion
The purpose of
the agency is
clear. Enough
detail is
included in the
text to
understand the
major functions
of the agency,
how it helps
people, when it
was formed, etc.
The purpose of
the agency is
somewhat clear.
Some info is
provided about
the functions of
the agency.
Missing
One-two
grammatical
mistakes
Three or more
grammatical
mistakes
Incorrect
grammar
throughout
The graphics go
well with the
text, but there
are so many that
they distract
from the text.
The graphics go
well with the
text, but there
are too few.
Missing
Name: ________________________________________________________________________
FDR’S NEW DEAL
By 1933, it was clear that Hoover’s policy of “rugged individualism” could not solve the deep rooted
problems of the Great Depression. Franklin Delano Roosevelt came into office with no clear or
specific plan for what to do. Roosevelt used to say “try something, if it doesn’t work, try something
else.” He and his brain trust recognized, at least, that they must do something. FDR and his brain trust
were willing to experiment with new roles for the federal government. These attempts at least gave
Americans the hope that something was being done. Roosevelt’s basic philosophy of Keynesian
economics manifested itself in what became known as the 3 R’s of relief, recovery and reform. With
few precedents for government involvement in the economy, FDR experimented with countless
programs his advisors suggested might relieve the suffering, restore the health of the economy and
prevent future depressions. The programs created to meet these goals generated jobs and more
importantly, hope. They became known as “alphabet soup” – a series of acts and agencies that created
a huge federal bureaucracy.
Relief:
CWA
immediate action taken to halt economic deterioration and relieve suffering
CCC
PWA
FERA
NYA
Recovery:
HOLC
temporary programs aimed at restarting the flow of consumer demand and restore
the health of the economy
TVA
WPA
AAA
FSA
NRA
Reform:
NLRB
FDIC
SEC
SSA
FHA
IRA
permanent programs aimed at preventing another depression and insuring citizens
against economic disaster
Questions to consider:
1) Summarize the short-term impact of the New Deal in relieving the problems of
the Great Depression.
2) Why was the New Deal an “experiment?” What was the long-term impact?
3) FDR and his New Deal faced considerable opposition from both liberals and
conservatives. Hypothesize some of the arguments against the New Deal: