Topic 8 - The Great Depression

Required reading:
"Bang! Went the Doors of Every Bank in America," James R. Chiles, Essay 26, Flyover
"The Sad Irons," Robert A. Caro, Essay 27, Flyover
"Immigrant: The Last Time America Sent Her Own Packing," Steve Boisson, Essay 28, Flyover
"The 'Bonus Army' War in Washington," Wyatt Kingseed, Essay 29, Flyover

Quiz:

Bang! Went the Doors of Every Bank in America

1. What was one of the main causes for the stock market crash?
A. Investors bought on the margin.
B. Conservative investment led to panic.
C. People bought with cash, not with credit.
D. Americans distrusted the government.

2. The attitude of President Hoover toward direct relief for the needy was to:
A. stress private and local responsibility.
B. generally support federal aid.
C. expand greatly the aid to veterans.
D. make many small personal loans.

3. How did Franklin Roosevelt attempt to solve the banking crisis?
A. He ordered Americans to stop investing in private savings and loans.
B. He immediately created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
C. He invested all federal money in international banking cartels.
D. He declared a "bank holiday", so banks could prove their solvency.

4. What permanent government agency was created during the New Deal to guarantee private deposits against bank failure?
A. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration
B. The National Recovery Act
C. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
D. The Social Security System

The Sad Irons

5. What were the sad irons?
A. leg shackles worn when milking cows
B. depression vitamins that had iron
C. golf clubs used in the 1930's
D. "household appliances"

6. On average in the 1930's Texas Hill Country, farm women walked 1750 miles a year:
A. to milk cows.
B. to neighbor’s homes.
C. to go to church.
D. to carry water.

7. What future U.S. president lived in the Texas Hill Country during the Great Depression?
A. John Nance Garner
B. Lyndon Johnson
C. George Bush Sr.
D. George W. Bush

8. What did the Texas Hill Country lack during the Great Depression?
A. well water
B. trains
C. automobiles
D. electricity

Immigrants: The Last America Sent Her Own Packing

9. What is the main point of Steve Boisson's article?
A. American citizens were being kicked out of the country during the Great Depression.
B. Racists and xenophobes controlled government policy during the Great Depression.
C. The Great Depression was caused by poor people, not by the wealthy.
D. The Great Depression was caused by the wealthy, not by poor people.

10. One of the things that worried government officials during the Great Depression was:
A. the rising number of immigrants coming into the United States.
B. the rising number of people going on welfare.
C. the rising number of communists infiltrating workers' camps.
D. the declining number of workers available to do the "rough `work" often done by immigrants.

11. According to the book Decade of Betrayal, how many people of Mexican descent were driven from the United States during the Great Depression?
A. ten thousand
B. one hundred thousand
C. one million
D. five million

12. Of the people deported, how many were in this country legally, according to Decade of Betrayal?
A. virtually none
B. virtually all
C. about 10 percent
D. about 60 percent

13. Prior to the twentieth century, which country of origin was singled out for exclusion?
A. Japan
B. China
C. Russia
D. Mexico

14. During the 1920's, Congress set up quotas to limit immigration from which of the following?
A. Mexico
B. Europe
C. China
D. Latin America

15. The East Texas Congressman who favored restricting Mexican Immigration during the 1920's was:
A. John Garner
B. John Box
C. John Shelf
D. John Cellar

16. Most of the criticism of the Mexican immigrant prior to the Great Depression was the belief that:
A. the Mexican would not assimilate into American society.
B. the Mexican was illiterate and unskilled.
C. the Mexican was diseased and starving.
D. all of these reasons were used to argue against Mexican immigration.

17. Americans who favored open immigration for Mexicans because:
A. they believed Mexicans represented a population to promote democracy and diversity.
B. they believed Mexicans represented a steady supply of dependable, cheap labor.
C. they were Democrats, hoping to get more voters to their rolls.
D. they were Republicans, hoping to get more voters to their rolls.

18. Many "repatriated" Mexicans and Mexican-Americans:
A. left without selling property.
B. had little or no choice but to leave or be deported.
C. no longer fit in the Mexico of their birth.
D. all of these

The Bonus Army War in Washington

19. Why were war veterans in Washington D.C. during the summer of 1932?
A. They were out of work, and were demanding the "bonus" promised by the federal government.
B. Most were working to re-elect Herbert Hoover to the presidency.
C. They were lobbying congress to give them jobs in the W.P.A.
D. Marchers were living on lands promised by Congress in the Wright-Patman Bill

20. What was the "bonus" marchers demanding?
A. money promised them at retirement age for service during WW I.
B. land rights promised all veterans after WW I
C. money for education and housing.
D. mortgage payments and other guarantees in the Wright-Patman Bill.

21. Why was the Hoover administration against paying the marchers their "bonus"?
A. The president felt the measure was inflationary, and the government couldn't afford it.
B. The country was in the depths of the Great Depression.
C. Hoover admitted he didn't care about the marchers' plight.
D. The marchers were actually asking for twice the amount they were promised.

22. How did MacArthur justify the treatment of the marchers?
A. He believed he had saved the federal government a lot of money.
B. He believed he had prevented a challenge to government authority.
C. He felt the marchers' demands were unrealistic and selfish.
D. He felt the presidents' orders were always paramount to military wishes

23. One of the fears of both President Hoover and General MacArthur was their belief that:
A. disease was running through the marchers' camps.
B. the marchers were ready to kill the president.
C. the marchers were being led by communists, intent on overthrowing the federal government.
D. marchers would waste their "bonus" on drugs and alcohol.

24. Most of the American public believed that Hoover's handling of the Bonus Marchers was:
A. understandable and prudent.
B. callous and heavy-handed.
C. fiscally responsible and necessary.
D. insensitive butchery and murder.

 

 

A: Franklin D. Roosevelt was one of our most beloved and our most hated presidents of all time. No other man had ever been elected to the presidency more than two times... yet FDR sought and won the White House seat 4 times! Roosevelt was a media-driven president; he used his Fireside Chats on radio to provide assurance to the American people that Happy Days Are Here Again. Read a minimum of TWO Fireside Chats... then summarize and analyze Roosevelt's messages. What is FDR telling the American people? How does he view the government's role in handling the situation? In hindsight, do you think his ideas were valid regarding the issue/s?

or:

Analyze a minimum of FIVE FDR Cartoons. Describe the political cartoon and then analyze each cartoonist's message. How does the political cartoonist attempt to persuade his audience on the issue of that day? Is the cartoonist supportive of (or against) Roosevelt's programs and ideas? What are the items in the cartoon that show the artist's bias?

 

 

B: Franklin D. Roosevelt is said to have created the modern presidency. He was named person of the century by Time magazine, and many politicians have cited him as a major influence on their lives, from Lyndon B. Johnson to Bill Clinton. Take a look at this photo essay of FDR. How was the office of the president viewed by the American people before Roosevelt? How did FDR transform the executive office? What post-FDR presidents best reflect the style of FDR? What post-FDR presidents best reflect the philosophy of FDR? Provide relevant historical analysis. How do those photographs of Franklin Roosevelt contribute to his presidential legacy? Was Roosevelt a monumental man? Why/why not?

 

 

C: Eleanor Roosevelt was equally famous as her husband, and regularly appears on lists of most influential women. While critics said she was a busybody, poking her nose in places where it did not belong, she regularly brought to the forefront of attention the plight of the poor, civil rights and women's issues. Like FDR, she took a title (in her case, first lady) and imbued it with a new direction, vision and This George Washington University site contains a brief FAQ about ER. The National Park Service has a short biography of her. Why was ER such a controversial figure as first lady? What kind of obstacles did she overcome early in her life to reach the renown she did by the end of her life? Have there been other first ladies who attracted as much attention as ER did? Who were they, and why were they so controversial?

 

 

D: What were the legacies of the New Deal? Which ones would you judge to be the most important? Why? How did these New Deal programs change America? Were these changes for the better? Why? Take a look at this table with brief descriptions of various New Deal programs for reference.

 

 

E: The Grapes of Wrath is a Great Depression era film about the diaspora of the 'Okies'. View the 1940 film The Grapes of Wrath and read the historical background on the issues facing early twentieth century Plains farmers. Who do the Okies think took away the their land? (Not no piece of paper with writing on it.) Who really did take away their land? What is the film director John Ford trying to get the audience to see about technology? What does it mean to be "tractored out"?

Video of a dust storm (takes a bit of time to download)

or:

When the Farm Security Administration opened government-sponsored camps to house the Dust Bowl migrants, two young men were given a grant to document life in the camps. Listen to some of the recordings they captured in the camps. What do the different songs and tunes have in common? Why did the men want to do this, anyway? What was different about life in the early 20th century that would cause so many people to play musical instruments and sing? Does it seem like we've lost this form of entertainment in our day? Why do you think that may be? What does the term 'folk' music mean to you? Do you listen to folk music? Why or why not?

 

 

F: In 1936 Texas celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Republic, and the Daughters of the Republic of Texas made beautifying and preserving the natural charm of the San Antonio River one of their centennial projects. It sparked an affirmation of public interest in the River. During Fiesta week, Plaza Hotel manager Jack White sponsored a River boat parade and more than 10,000 people crowded the banks, demonstrating that San Antonians had not lost enthusiasm for their River. White also saw that architect Robert H. H. Hugman's commercially-oriented plan presented many more business opportunities than Bartholomew's. White organized the San Antonio River Beautification Committee, which hired Hugman and engineer Edwin P. Arneson to prepare drawings for a project to submit for Works Project Administration (WPA) funding. The plan was estimated to cost almost $400,000. The Committee collected $40,000 from businesses along the River, secured some additional funding from the City, and got WPA funding for the remainder in place by the end of 1938. In 1939, after a full decade of debate and delays, work began on Hugman's San Antonio River Walk under the Work Projects Administration. (Source: Eckhardt, Gregg A. The Edwards Aquifer Homepage: The San Antonio River. 2002)

The Works Project Administration (WPA) was an federal goverment agency of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. Since the nation was in the midst of the Great Depression, many unemployed people flocked to cities where they sought jobs. The WPA hired many out-of-work Americans to build and reconstruct the urban infrastructure. Among the projects undertaken in San Antonio were: building Alamo Stadium, re-building the San Antonio Zoo, reconstructing the Missions, and creating the River Walk along the San Antonio River.

Research the history of the San Antonio River Walk. ( The San Antonio River site is a good start.) What were the aspirations of Hugman for the Walk? How did the project change over time? Ask an older San Antonian if they remember the building of the River Walk. Include his/her thoughts in the essay.