New York Framework Key Ideas:

• 8.5 GREAT DEPRESSION: Economic and environmental disasters in the 1930s created hardships for many Americans. Amidst much debate about the appropriate role of government, President Franklin D. Roosevelt helped to create intensive government interventions in the United States economy and society. (Standards: 1, 3, 5; Themes: TCC, SOC, GOV, ECO)
  • 8.5a Risky investing, protectionism, and overproduction led to the collapse of the stock market, a wave of bank failures, and a long and severe downturn in the economy called the Great Depression.
    • Students will examine how the economic practices of the 1920s contributed to the coming of the Great Depression.
  • 8.5b The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affected American businesses and families.
    • Students will examine the effects of the Great Depression on American families in terms of the loss of jobs, wealth, and homes, noting varying effects based on class, race, and gender. Students will explore the conditions in New York City and other communities within New York State during the Great Depression.
    • Students will explore the man-made and environmental conditions that led to the Dust Bowl, the economic as well as cultural consequences of the Dust Bowl, and federal government efforts to address the problem.
  • 8.5c President Roosevelt issued the New Deal in an attempt to revive the economy and help Americans deal with the hardships of the Great Depression. These New Deal reforms had a long-lasting effect on the role of government in American society and its economic life, but did not resolve all of the hardships Americans faced.
    • Students will identify key programs adopted under the New Deal, including the creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the adoption of the Social Security Act.

Essential Questions:

• How did the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl affect American businesses and families?
• What role did the United States government play dealing with the hardships of the Great Depression
• Was the New Deal a good deal? ?

5 Main Ideas of the Great Depression:

1) The Great Depression was a period of economic crisis, marked by low business productivity and high unemployment.

2) The causes of the Great Depression trace back to the 1920s. Businesses overproduced consumer goods, people abused buying on credit, banks offered risky loans, and people heavily invested in the stock market. The beginning of the Great Depression was the stock market crash on October 29, 1929.

3) Life during the Great Depression was difficult. It was difficult to find a job, people could not afford to repay their bank loans, and many lost their homes. A severe drought, known as the Dust Bowl, made it difficult to farm and live in the Midwest.

4) President Franklin Delano Roosevelt increased government spending and regulation in order to get the economy back on track. Using executive orders and the help of Congress, Roosevelt created work programs, regulated banks, and established social security for the elderly. All of these government programs became known as the New Deal.

5) While the New Deal gave people immediate relief and hope, it did not pull the country out of the depression. The economic depression ended when the United States joined World War II. The New Deal forever changed the responsibility of the government in the United States. People still debate the role of the government in providing economic assistance to people in need.