Inquizitive Chapter 21: The New Deal, 1932-1940

The New Deal had many opponents. Identify the statements that describe the opposition to the New Deal.

CORRECT ANSWERS

Many argued that the New Deal would undermine fiscal responsibility and that its government regulations restricted American freedom.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce accused FDR and the government of trying to "Sovietize" America.

INCORRECT ANSWERS

In the election of 1936, Democrats and Republicans were finally united behind FDR's New Deal and agreed on the positive impacts it was having in the economy.

Herbert Hoover became a defender of Roosevelt's New Deal policies in an attempt to recruit Republican support for FDR.

Roosevelt was spurred to initiate the Second New Deal in 1935 because the first had failed to pull the country out of the depression. While the first New Deal had focused on economic recovery, the Second New Deal would focus on economic security.

True

Identify the missions of the following unions and organizations.

This union was organized based on the craft of a worker, and not by the industry in which the worker worked.

-American Federation of Labor (AFL)

This organization used the sit-down strike as an effective tactic to halt production and force negotiations.

-United Auto Workers (UAW)

This organization wanted to secure "economic freedom and industrial democracy" for American workers,

-Congress of Industrial Workers (CIO)

Under the leadership of Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier, the administration launched the Indian New Deal. Identify the statements that describe the Indian New Deal.

CORRECT ANSWERS

It ended the policy of forced assimilation and allowed Indians unprecedented cultural autonomy.

It ended the policy of dividing Indian lands into small plots for individual families and selling the rest.

INCORRECT ANSWERS

It allowed Indians to govern their own affairs entirely and disregard national laws.

It drastically improved the life of Indians on previously defined "poor" reservations.

The Hundred Days were Roosevelt's and Congress's efforts to

provide relief and recovery for the majority of Americans from the lingering effects of the Great Depression by the quickest means possible. Which of the following items were part of the flurry of legislation known as the Hundred Days?

PART OF THE HUNDRED DAYS

the National Recovery Administration (NRA)

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

abolishing prohibition

NOT PART OF THE HUNDRED DAYS

FDR's "court packing" effort

Social Security Act

the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Identify the statements that describe Mexican-Americans' experiences during the Depression.

CORRECT ANSWER

Mexican-American leaders sought greater rights for Mexican-Americans by claiming to be white

Americans in order to avoid discrimination similar to African-Americans.

INCORRECT ANSWERS

Low-paid immigrants from Mexico were encouraged into the United States during the Depression.

Working conditions and living conditions for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans improved

dramatically.

Mexican-American politicians developed a unified strategy for their people.

In the mid-1930s, for the first time in American history, the left enjoyed a shaping influence on the nation's politics and culture. Identify the statements that describe the communist movement in

America.

CORRECT ANSWERS

The Popular Front and its focus on civil liberties brought the Communist Party respectability, helping to create a more pluralistic understanding of Americanism.

The Communist Party sought to ally themselves with socialists and New Dealers during the time of the Popular Front.

INCORRECT ANSWER

The Communist Party was exclusively white in America and sought to replace American ideals through revolution if necessary.

Labor unions became more prominent in American life during the period of the New Deal. Identify the statements that describe labor unions during the New Deal and World War Il.

CORRECT ANSWERS

Union membership doubled between 1930 and 1940.

Unions had become so powerful that U.S. Steel negotiated with its 200,000 workers and the Steel Workers Organization Committee in order to avoid a strike.

Unions ultimately helped to raise the standard of living of their workers.

INCORRECT ANSWER

The CIO fought to raise the hourly rate that workers were paid, but it did not negotiate the amount of work employees were expected to accomplish in an hour.

The era of the New Deal as a far-reaching social reform was coming to an end by 1941. Why did southern Democrats turn away from Roosevelt?

CORRECT ANSWERS

The "Report on the Economic Conditions in the South" revealed that the South lagged behind the rest of the nation in industrialization, health, and education.

Roosevelt encouraged voters to elect liberal politicians to replace conservative politicians in the

region in 1938.

INCORRECT ANSWERS

Roosevelt used the Justice Department and the U.S. army to crack down on radical white and union activists in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Roosevelt went too far and attempted to abolish the NAACP and the ACLU as "un-American."

Huey Long was one of the more vocal and controversial political figures of the 1930s. Identify the statements that describe Long and his Share the Wealth movement.

CORRECT ANSWERS

Long wanted to confiscate most of the wealth of the richest Americans.

Long used his power to build roads, schools, and hospitals.

Long dominated Louisiana state politics even from Washington, D.C., after his election to the Senate.

INCORRECT ANSWER

Long served for only one term as president of the United States in 1936.

The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) was a key piece of legislation of the Second New Deal. Identify the statements that describe the REA.

CORRECT ANSWERS

The goal of the REA was to bring electricity to farms.

The RE complimented other soil conservation and farm education programs, improving living standards for farmers.

The RE was one of the most successful programs of the Second New Deal.

INCORRECT ANSWER

The REA failed to bring electricity to the majority of rural areas of the United States.

Analyze the image below.

Look at the powerful symbolism in this card issued by the Communist Party. What messages is this card trying to convey to Americans about the Communist Party in 1930s?

CORRECT ANSWERS

It evokes iconic images of emancipation, equating freedom and liberty with the Communist Party.

It prominently features African-Americans, thus demonstrating the Communist Party's commitment to supporting people of all races.

It depicts working Americans united under the American and Communist flags, emphasizing the

Americanization of the movement.

INCORRECT ANSWER

The card calls on the workers of the world to unite and overthrow the capitalist system through revolution and violence.

Watch the author video featuring Eric Foner.

What was the overall significance of the New Deal and its legacy?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW DEAL

It enhanced the power of the national government.

It made the Democratic Party the majority party in the country for the next thirty to forty years.

It was the first time that the government intervened to promote the right of labor, by recognizing workers right to organize unions.

NOT A SIGNIFICANCE OF THE NEW DEAL

It drastically decreased unemployment and ended the Depression prior t World War Il.

Southern Democrats held very powerful positions in Congress, and Roosevelt felt it was necessary to appease them to ensure the passage of his New Deal legislation. Identify the statements that describe the political monopoly in the South.

CORRECT ANSWERS

Democratic incumbents were elected in election after election, making the outcomes feel predetermined.

After blacks lost the right to vote at the turn of the century, Republicans had no chance in the South, leaving Democrats with a political monopoly in the region.

Roosevelt agreed to exclude agricultural and domestic workers from Social Security, pleasing southern white Democrats because these jobs were the largest categories of black employment.

INCORRECT ANSWER

Southern Democrats proposed the Lundeen Bill as an alternative to the Social Security Act, which included benefits for agricultural workers and domestic servants.

Economic justice was not a mainstream concept before the Great

Depression. The predominant economic theory advocated a laissez-faire market philosophy in which markets would fix themselves through unregulated cycles. With the development of industrialization, business cycles became more and more extreme with dire consequences for ordinary people. With the Great Depression, some began to advocate for a change in philosophy.

Match the following advocates with the policy for which they advocated.

"Share the Wealth" movement

-Huey Long

cooperative ventures

-Upton Sinclair

large-scale government spending

-John Maynard Keynes

In many instances the New Deal reinforced segregation and

disappointed blacks who had voted for broad changes to the nation's race system. Identify the ways in which the New Deal failed African-Americans.

CORRECT ANSWERS

In the South, New Deal construction projects refused to hire black workers.

The Civilian Conservation Corps maintained segregation by creating separate camps for blacks

and whites.

FDR did not succeed in passing antilynching legislation in Congress.

Federal housing policy reinforced existing residential segregation in municipalities in both the North and the South.

INCORRECT ANSWER

As with Mexican-Americans, blacks were coerced to leave the country.

Analyze the map below.

What does this map reveal about the election of 1932?

CORRECT ANSWERS

Hoover's strongest support came from states in the Northeast.

Roosevelt won the election by a landslide.

INCORRECT ANSWER

Although Roosevelt won the election, Hoover received the largest number of popular votes.

Hoover won the state with the largest number of electoral votes in the election.

During the Depression, there were widespread calls for women

to remove themselves from the labor market to make room for

unemployed men. Identify the statements that describe women during the Depression.

CORRECT ANSWERS

The profile of women was raised during the era by Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who both advised the president.

Many employers refused to hire married women.

Millions of female domestic servants were excluded from Social Security, excluding them from age-old pensions and unemployment benefits.

INCORRECT ANSWER

The proportion of women in the workforce decreased dramatically during the Depression.

Using the map of Philadelphia provided by the text, click on the neighborhoods that federal agencies and mortgage lenders considered "desirable."

Click the green and blue area