Exploring the Great Depression and the New Deal
An Interdisciplinary Project
Introduction:
By November 1932, almost 25% of the American workforce was unemployed. Small
family farmers had either lost their land or were faced with possible foreclosure on their
mortgages. Tens of thousands of people had lost their entire life savings when banks
failed. The stock market had collapsed in October 1929, but instead of rebounding as
anticipated, stock prices continued to decline.
It was under the set of circumstances that America began to search for solutions to its
deepest economic crisis of all time. The nation began to debate the responsibilities of the
federal government in terms of managing the economy and addressing the social
catastrophes that were threatening the country. This project will take an interdisciplinary
approach to studying the causes and effects of the Great Depression and the subsequent
New Deal using a variety of hands on, long-term activities.
Objective
To gain a better understanding for the direct and indirect causes of the Great
Depression.
To explore the impact that the Depression had on the American psyche and its
culture.
To identify the solutions proposed by the federal Government to end the
economic crisis.
To identify the main political and cultural figures of the Depression era.
To gain better understanding of the philosophy behind the New Deal and its
ramifications of American society.
To debate the role of the Federal Government.
Procedures
Over the course of the next two weeks, you and a partner will be engaged in a variety of
activities that will help you meet the objectives of this project. You will be required to
create a website using Microsoft Sharepoint Designer that incorporates all your
completed activities. I will supplement your workshop time in class with
notes/discussion. You will be required to complete the following activities to receive full
credit.
Required Activities
American history text reading/class notes
You must read all of Chapters 17 and 18.
You must actively participate in all classroom discussions and
note taking sessions.
Current Events Scrapbook: “What is the responsibility of Government?”
You and your partner must locate 4 current (2008-2009) news
articles, columns, and editorials that relate to this historic debate.
Each articles must be accompanied with a one paragraph
summary
You must express your opinion on the responsibility of
government today.
Include 1 appropriate visual per article
Front Page News- January 1, 1930
You and your partner must create the front page of a newspaper
This special issue of the newspaper explains at least 4 causes and
impact of the Great Depression. The following parts should
be included in the story:
- A Headline that discusses the cause
- An intro paragraph that explains the cause and its role
in creating the Depression
- An explanation of the impact of the cause on the
entire country.
- All of the stories should be typed and laid-out as the
front page of the local newspaper.
- The page should include appropriate pictures and
editorial cartoons.
Alphabet Agency Poster
You and your partner will investigate the purpose of one New
Deal Agency and create a poster or mural that explains its role
to the American people
Your poster must convey the Following:
- The goal/role of the agency
- How the agency benefited the public
- Tries to garner public support for the program
- The New Deals broader idea of active government as
a solution to the problem created by the depression
Movie Review- The Grapes of Wrath
Based on famous novel by John Steinbeck, this movie tells the story of a family
driven off their farm in the dust bowl days of the depression. Trying to retain their dignity
they move to California in search of work. This film serves as an introduction to the
Great Depression. The following must be included in your two-page (double-spaced)
review.
A brief plot summary
A brief analysis of each character
A discussion on how this film portrayed the stress of hard
times on a family and a nation. Include appropriate visuals.
Poem- A Poetic description of the Causes of the Depression and the Government’s
Response to the Situation
-You and your partner must write a creative poem describing the cause of the
Depression, how the Depression impacted society, and how the government responded to
the crisis. Your poem must:
Be at least 12 lines (there is no requirement on the length of
each line)
Be Creative
Be professionally presented
Have a “theme” or story
Have a creative title
Include an artistic sketch/ drawing or political cartoon to
accompany your poem.
Great Depression Diary
Over the course of this project you and your partner should create a diary written from
the perspective of a person living during the Depression. This person can be from any
social group and be from any part of the country. Possible perspectives include
Southern black tenant farmers
California migrants farm workers
Small businessmen
Pittsburg steel mill workers
Professionals…ect
Your diary entries, in correct chronological’ order, must typed, and include at least five
of the following elements.
The hardships endured by the families during the depression
Effects of the Depression on cites
Explanation of Hoover’s plan for economic recovery and
citizen reactions
Support or opposition of the election of FDR
Ways in which family members were helped or hurt by New
Deal legislation or programs
Changes in the way people lived during the Depression
Reaction of yourself and family to New Deal: Support or
opposition
You may create as many diary entries as you need to meet the above requirements, but
there must be a minimum of 10. Remember the diary entries are to be written in firstperson narrative and not as an essay about the Great Depression. Use descriptive writing
to illustrate your ideas. It must seem as if your character lived through the Great
Depression. Your first entry should be dated October 30, 1929.
New Deal Debate: Did the New Deal “Solve” the Great Depression? (only required for
groups of three)
In a two-page essay (double-spaced) the merits of the New Deal must be
discussed. You must support all arguments with the factual historical evidence.
Script the debate, present to the class, 2 minutes or less
Evaluation:
All components of this project must be completed in a timely fashion and
incorporated into you’re website by the due date. Each facet of the project will have a
separate rubrics/ evaluation form. The scores from each components will be added
together to achieve a final score. Further organizational hints and due dates will
follow shortly.