The Great Depression: The Road to Rock Bottom
US History Unit #7
Introduction: The 1920s and the policies of the Republican Era brought growth
and prosperity to America. By the mid 1920s Americans would have the highest
standard of living of anyone else in the world. However, the massive growth that
America experienced as a result of laissez-faire economic policies and new
technological advancements in production would soon begin to show signs of wear.
By the end of the 1920s a series of complex economic factors would collide to
plunge the richest nation in the world into poverty. American hunger for new luxury
goods and automobiles would be replaced by literal hunger as America shifted from
assembly lines to bread lines. The Great Depression would become a defining
moment in the American experiment, challenging our perceptions of ourselves as
individuals and the role of government in our daily lives. In time, America would be
able to climb out of the depression as a result of FDR’s new leadership and American
involvement in WWII. However, the experience of the Great Depression would leave
a lasting legacy that has ramifications in contemporary society still to this day.
Essential Question: What was so “great” about the Great Depression? Why was the
Depression a significant experience for America?
Read: History Alive chapters 30 through 33
Terms for Note Cards and Exam:
Ch. 30
-Black Tuesday
-Bank Runs
-Overproduction &
underconsumption
-Hawley-Smoot
Tariff Act
Ch. 31
-Bonus Army
-Trickle-down
economics
-Hoovervilles
-New Deal
-First 100 Days
Ch. 32
-Soup kitchens
-Bread lines
-Dust Bowl
-Okies
Ch. 33
-NIRA
-AAA
-CCC
-WPA
-Wagner Act
-Social Security Act
-Deficit Spending
-New Deal Coalition
Unit Questions:
-What caused the most severe economic crisis in American history?
-How did the federal government respond to the economic collapse that began in
1929?
-How did ordinary Americans endure the hardships of the Great Depression?
-How did the expansion of government during the New Deal affect the nation?
Schedule of Lessons
Lesson 1:
Introduction to the Causes of the Great Depression
Slide Presentation
Assn: Notes on slide lecture
Assn: Chapter 30 notes
Lesson 2:
The Road to Rock Bottom
Documentary
Assn: Video question responses
Assn: Chapter 30 note cards
Lesson 3:
The Response to the Economic Collapse
Assn: Chapter 31 notes and note cards
Assn: Graphing the collapse
Lesson 4:
The Human Impact of the Great Depression
Voices of the Depression activity
Assn: Chapter 32 notes and note cards
Assn: Tell your story journal activity
Lesson 5:
The New Deal and Its Legacy
Finishing up the depression and some review
Assn: Chapter 33 notes and note cards
Assn: Alphabet Soup
1920s and Great Depression Quiz!