Social Studies Curriculum

United States History

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Depression, The New Deal, and Neutrality

Two weeks (through Week 3)

Enduring Understandings

The students will understand:

1. The Great Depression was an economic crisis that profoundly shaped American character.
2. FDR’s New Deal was a turning point in American History, redefining the government’s role in managing the economy and social welfare.

Essential Questions

1. In what ways does the federal government respond to the depression?
2. How does the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt change America?
3. Why do people migrate during economic crises?

Objectives

• Compare and contrast the policies of the presidents during the 1920s with Roosevelt’s first hundred days.
• Analyze Roosevelt’s New Deal programs and evaluate their impact.
• Analyze the migrations during the Great Depression.
• Explain the unprecedented increase of power in the executive branch during Roosevelt’s administrations. 
• Analyze the impact of Eleanor Roosevelt in both domestic and international arenas. 
• Describe how America moves from neutrality to involvement and intervention including the shift in focus from domestic to international issues.
• Compare and contrast the U.S. response to the depression with that of other nations.
• Define essential terms including:  “alphabet soup,” buying on margin, speculation, Black Tuesday, Dust Bowl, Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, bank holiday, Bonus Army, Dow Jones Industrial Average, deficit spending
• Reflect on the contributions of the following:  Huey Long, Frances Perkins, Amelia Earhart, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, Maya Angelou, Woodie Guthrie, Dorothy Lange, Irving Berlin, Jesse Owens

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