Brisbane Boys' College Library: Senior: 11 & 12: Unit 3: The Great Depression in the USA (IA2)

Significant Leaders During the Great Depression

Hoover served as President from 1929 to 1933. He had the misfortune to witness the start of the Great Depression in the first year of his presidency. However, as output fell and unemployment rose, he appeared unsure of what, if anything he could do to rectify the situation. He raised taxes and reluctantly approved the Smoot-Hawley tariffs – both policies reduced spending and trade, exacerbating the initial downturn. Illustrating Hoover’s unpopularity and blame for the Great Depression the shanty towns of unemployed which sprang up during the Great Depression were termed ‘Hoovervilles.’

Herbert Hoover Responds to the Stock Market Crash
By: Dawes, K. P.; Defining Documents: The 1920s, 7/1/2014, p. 298, Database: History Reference Center
State Historical Society of Iowa : The Great Depression and Herbert Hoover
Hoover and Historians: The Resurrection of a President
JSTOR database: Herbert Hoover - A reinterpretation

Roosevelt was elected the US President in 1932 with a promise to do something about the economic impact of the Great Depression. He expanded the role of the Federal Government and increased spending on public works to try and provide unemployment. His ‘fireside chats’ on the radio offered a glimmer of hope and stability to a nation shocked by the extent of the economic downturn.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Chapter 4 on Franklin Delano Roosevelt, from Leuchtenburg, William E., The American President : From Teddy Roosevelt to Bill Clinton, Oxford University Press USA, 2015. Accessed from ProQuest Ebook Central database, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/uql/detail.action?docID=4083524.
Assess the effectiveness of The New Deal
Cartoon about FDR and the New Deal
From https://americanhistory.si.edu/american-enterprise-exhibition/corporate-era/new-deal

Wife and political aide of American president F.D.Roosevelt. Roosevelt was an active First Lady, giving speeches, writing a column and meeting with the unemployed. She helped to reassure workers that the Roosevelt administration was committed to trying to solve their plight. In 1933, she defused a situation with the Bonus Army – a situation Hoover had responded to by sending in the army. Roosevelt was also sympathetic to civil rights for African-Americans and other minorities.

Christopher Newport University: Eleanor Roosevelt
Primary sources.
University of Texas: Eleanor Roosevelt
DocsTeach: Eleanor Roosevelt
Primary source.
FDR Library: Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt Readings
Click on 'Handout with Documents" obtained from this URL:
https://www.womenshistory.org/resources/lesson-plan/eleanor-roosevelt-agent-social-change
Legacy of Eleanor Roosevelt
Accessed via JSTOR database.

Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt, the niece of President Theodore Roosevelt, was born into an already-historical family. Her life would be filled with hardships, determination, advocacy, and triumphs. This is the story of one of the most influential First Ladies of the White House, a truly remarkable woman.
Eleanor Roosevelt in Her Own Words
Eleanor Roosevelt wasn't content to be a seldom-seen, never-heard First Lady. Instead, she worked tirelessly for the many causes dear to her heart, including the rights of African Americans, women, and the poor. After Franklin D. Roosevelt's death, she traveled the world promoting peace in the aftermath of World War II. Roosevelt was so beloved she became known as the "First Lady of the World." This extraordinary woman's life and work is presented in this charming biography that utilizes her own words from her prolific writings. Roosevelt's wit, charm, and intelligence shine in each passage, while carefully chosen photographs reflect important moments in her life.
The Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt
Nearly five hundred sage observations from the "First Lady of the World" A role model for generations of women, Eleanor Roosevelt lent her passion, support, and life experience to humanitarian causes in the United States and abroad, making her a popular and influential figure of the twentieth century. Both as a first lady and as a public figure, Mrs. Roosevelt championed the poor, minorities, and women. Her work as a civil rights advocate resulted in the desegregation of the armed forces and the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Culling quotes from her books, letters, and articles, and also providing timelines, contextual explanations, and a reader's guide, The Wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt offers a thorough and lasting tribute to a tireless and compassionate leader.

Keynes was one of the most influential economists of the Twentieth Century. The Great Depression left classical economists stumped as faith in free markets appeared to be misplaced. Keynes saw the Great Depression as a trigger to create a new way of economic thinking. Keynes advocated government intervention to kickstart economies in a slump. He was mostly ignored in the 1930s, but his General Theory (1936) laid the foundations of Keynesian economics and a new branch of macroeconomics.

Primary Sources

Newport University Libguides: Primary Sources on the Great Depression

Library of Congress: Primary Sources on The Great Depression and WWII

Sam Houston University: The Great Depression & New Deal: Primary Source Collections

Southern Connecticut University: The Great Depression 1929-1939

History Central: America's Great Depression (1929-1939) Primary Source Documents

HathiTrust Digital Library

Southern Connecticut University Library: Primary sources on the Great Depression

Useful Print Articles

The Great Depression
From 'A History of the 20th Century', by Bryn O'Callaghan. Includes some primary sources.
The Great Depression
From 'Case Studies in 20th Century World History', by Derek Heater. Includes some primary sources.

ONESearch Database Explorer

The ENTIRE collection of resources provided by the BBC Library can be searched on ONE single, powerful search platform, which retrieves print books, eBooks, database articles and websites. Click HERE for assistance.

Useful Databases

Useful Websites

QCAA Sample IA2 Annotated Response on Mao Tse-Tung

QCAA Sample IA2 Annotated Response on Mao Tse-Tung

Starting Points

1. Impact of Leaders

J. Edgar Hoover (see Dennett & Dixon; Peter Clements)
- Possible Key Question: To what extent was President Hoover's leadership in the early years of the Great Depression unsuccessful?
  - Possible Sub-question: To what extent were Hoover's ideological beliefs and personality a factor in his decreasing popularity?
- Possible Key Question: Have President Hoover's achievements as a leader during the early years of the Great Depression been underestimated?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Possible Key Question: Should FDR's leadership during the Great Depression ensure his status as one of America's greatest presidents?
- Possible Key Question: Choose any of FDR's programs (in Finance, Banking, Agriculture, Welfare and more) and analyse the extent to which his leadership was vital in achieving success in the New Deal.
Eleanor Roosevelt
- Possible Key Question: To what extent can it be established that Eleanor Roosevelt provided substantial leadership of her own during the Great Depression?
John Maynard Keynes
- Possible Key Question: In what ways did Keynesian economic theories spearhead a revolution in economic thinking?
- Possible Key Question: What was Keynes’ “big idea”, and was it was the right remedy for ending the Great Depression?

2. The New Deal
Investigate Aims, What ideas and actions were involved (see your textbook), Opposition to it, What it achieved (see Norman Lowe) and How effective it was (your textbook).

Significant programs: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Possible Key Question: In what ways did the New Deal permanently change the federal government's role in the affairs of the United States?

Possible Key Question: Was the New Deal successful in ending the Depression in America, and what was its role in restoring public confidence and creating relief programs for Americans?

Possible Key Question: To what extent were the three principal categories of the New Deal (Relief, Recovery and Reform) effective in alleviating the effects of the Great Depression?

Possible Key Question: In what ways, and why was the New Deal considered to be a controversial policy by some?

Note: See Historiography (i.e. how interpretations of the same events shift with time as a result of many different factors) of New Deal in Bruce Dennett and Stephen Dixon - later edition)

MyBib Referencing Generator

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The IA2 Requirements

IA2 Task Template
Sample IA2 Essay on 'The Great Depression in Australia'
From a 2020 student. It's incomplete, but shows the layout and initial thinking processes - a great start!!

Source Analysis and Evaluation Skills

IOP CAM Source Analysis and Evaluation Skills

Source Evaluation Skills
Adapted from the book by Douglas Newton, ‘Germany 1918-1945: From Days of Hope to Years of Horror’, Collins Dove, Melbourne, 1990.

Analysing Political Cartoons and Propaganda Posters

Analysing Political Cartoons
From 'History Alive 10', by Robert Darlington.

Analysing Propaganda Posters
From 'History Alive 10', by Robert Darlington.

Useful E-books

The Roaring Twenties
Covers the social, political, and economic history of the 1920s, including developments in science, from astrophysics to laboratory science to discoveries and inventions; the creation of new professional sports leagues; the labor union movement; censorship, and writers, artists, and moviemakers. This volume captures the complexities of the 1920s.
Rainbow's End
Rainbow's End tells the story of the stock market collapse in a colorful, swift-moving narrative that blends a vivid portrait of the 1920s with an intensely gripping account of Wall Street's greatest catastrophe. The book offers a vibrant picture of a world full of plungers, powerful bankers, corporate titans, millionaire brokers, and buoyantly optimistic stock market bulls. Then, in October 1929, came a "perfect storm"-like convergence of factors that shook Wall Street to its foundations, and was a turning point in history.
The Stock Market Crash Of 1929: The End of Prosperity
On October 29, 1929, more than 16 million stock shares were sold at the New York Stock Exchange, and by the end of November investors had lost more than $100 billion in assets. This book looks at the events that helped usher one of the grimmest periods in American history.
The Great Depression in United States History
The Great Depression began when the never-ending party of the Roaring Twenties came to a sudden half. On October 29, 1929, which became known as Black Tuesday, the stock market crashed, starting a downward economic slide. David K. Fremon recounts the fascinating events leading to the crash of the New York Stock Exchange, and tells of personal tales as a quarter of hard-working people were without jobs, banks failed, businesses were wiped out, and the Great Depression began.
The 1930s
Dust storms ravaged the Great Plains, and the economy crashed, leaving thousands unemployed, homeless, and hungry. Nazism began its rise to power in Germany, and a hurricane devastated New England. The 1930s were a time of enormous devastation, but also of great progress. Franklin D. Roosevelt promised a New Deal for America. Amelia Earhart attempted to become the first woman to fly around the world. Walt Disney began a media empire that would change entertainment forever. The 1930s would shape America and the world, with each new policy and invention creating the backdrop for a new world power.
The Life of Herbert Hoover
This is the first definitive study of the presidency of America's least understood and most under-appreciated Chief Executive. Combining government with private resources, Hoover became the first president to pit government action against the economic cycle, setting precedents and spawning ideas employed by his successor and all future presidents.
The Great Depression and the New Deal
This guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal provides information, analysis, biographical profiles, primary documents and current resources, with the aim of helping students to understand this pivotal period in American history.
The FDR Years
Born in 1882 in New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt entered public service through the encouragement of the Democratic Party and won the election to the New York Senate in 1910. This book details his administration at the height of the Great Depression as he valiantly led the nation with the phrase, The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
The coming of the New Deal: 1933-1935
Describes Franklin Delano Roosevelt's first tumultuous years in the White House. Coming into office at the bottom of the Great Depression, FDR told the American people that they have nothing to fear but fear itself. The conventional wisdom having failed, he tried unorthodox remedies to avert economic collapse. His first hundred days restored national morale, and his New Dealers filled Washington with new approaches to recovery and reform. Combining idealistic ends with realistic means, Roosevelt proposed to humanise, redeem, and rescue capitalism.
The Great Depression and New Deal
From Documents Decoded series. The political ideas that resulted from confronting the crisis of the Great Depression and the New Deal of the early 20th century reshaped America. Presents documents illustrating the Great Depression crisis and the New Deal response that enables readers to witness the clash of conservatism and liberalism in a time of crisis Offers essays and notes that explain the documents--which include posters, articles, speeches, and court decisions--in the context of historical events.