The New Deal
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Did he/she think that Roosevelt's New Deal was the answer to the Depression? Was he/she affected by the "alphabet soup" of programs that he/she created? Choose this Topic to describe his/her reaction to the New Deal and life during this era.
The New Deal was implemented during the Depression to help alleviate economic difficulties. Did the New Deal affect his/her life?
- Did he/she support Roosevelt in the 1932 election? Why or why not? Did he/she seem like the person who could pull the country out of the Depression?
- Did he/she hear Roosevelt's first "fireside chat" in March of 1933? What did he/she say? Did it inspire confidence and hope in him?
- Roosevelt's first one hundred days in office are famous because of the numerous programs, acts, and agencies that he/she created and implemented. Was he/she affected by any of this activity? Did he/she get a job, government aid, or a loan because of it?
- Soon after his/her inauguration, Roosevelt reformed the banking system in an attempt to make it safe for depositors again. Did he/she feel that he/she could trust the banks after Roosevelt's adjustments to the system?
- One of Roosevelt's agencies, the NRA, was controversial because it granted businesses the right to set prices and control production levels, contradicting anti-trust laws. What was his/her feeling on this? Was it necessary for industrial recovery?
- Unions rose in popularity during the New Deal era. Did he/she belong to one? Did his/her wages or working conditions improve because of a union?
- The Social Security System was created in 1935. What did he/she think of this innovation? Did he/she feel that it should or shouldn't be up to each individual to provide for themselves?
- If his/her family had financial difficulties during the Depression, did life take a turn for the better after the New Deal policies were implemented? When did he/she notice a change?
- It was WWII that finally brought the U.S. completely out of the Depression, but did he/she think that Roosevelt's New Deal helped the recovery along? In what way?
- What did he/she learn from going through the Depression and the New Deal years? Did this experience change his/her character at all? In what way?