Unit 6- Reading Guide 4
Vocab: Define each of the following terms
Brains Trust
New Deal
20th Amendment
The Hundred Days
Emergency Banking Relief Act
Fireside chats
Glass-Steagall Act
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Federal Securities Act
Securities & Exchange Commission
Agricultural Adjustment Act
Tennessee Valley Authority
Civilian Conservation Corps
National Industrial Recovery Act
Home Owners Loan Corporation
Federal Housing Administration
Federal Emergency Relief Admin.
Deficit spending
Name_________________________
Keynesian economic theory
Dorothea Lang
Works Progress Administration
Eleanor Roosevelt
National Youth Administration
Wagner Act
Fair Labor Standards Act
Rural Electrification Administration
Social Security Act
Frances Perkins
Mary McLeod Bethune
New Deal Coalition
Congress of Industrial Organizations
Gone With the Wind
Orson Welles
Grant Wood
Richard Wright
The Grapes of Wrath
Guided Reading Questions: Provide comprehensive answers, in complete
sentences, to each of the following questions.
1. What experiences in FDR’s life make him uniquely qualified to be president
during the worst economic depression in American history? Explain.
2. Explain the three-Rs of the Roosevelt’s New Deal.
3. Why was FDR’s first “fireside chats” so important? What other programs
does Congress pass to help shore up the nation’s banking system?
4. How does the AAA work? Provide examples of how it helped farmers and
how it was to be paid for. Why was the AAA met with criticism?
5. Explain the multiple accomplishments of the TVA.
6. How did the CCC help both young men and their families at home?
7. Why was the CWA criticized? What were its accomplishments?
8. How were the NIRA and the NRA a help to labor?
9. How did conservatives react to FDR’s deficit spending, which followed
Keynesian economic theory?
10. What did each of the following critics of FDR’s New Deal offer as alternatives
to Americans?- Father Charles Coughlin; Dr. Francis Townsend; Huey Long
11. From the section, “Helping Farmers…Again,” what happens to the AAA? How
does Congress respond to this setback (hint: three new programs)?
12. From the section, “Improvements for Labor,” what happens to the NIRA?
How does Congress respond to this setback (hint: two important laws)?
13. What did the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 do? Provide
evidence that the Rural Electrification Administration was successful.
14. Be sure you know the three ways the Social Security Act works.
15. Why was the election of 1936 a “watershed year”?
16. You should already have Frances Perkins in your vocab. Describe the
challenges and gains that women made in government and the workforce
during the New Deal years.
17. What important steps do African Americans take to organize labor unions?
How does Marian Anderson overcome racism? Who helps her?
18. Explain ways that FDR and New Deal programs failed African Americans.
19. How did Mexican Americans fair in the New Deal years?
20. What was the goal of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934? How did it
attempt to reach this goal? What were the mixed reactions to this change in
Indian policy?
21. Provide statistics that support the claim that labor unions made progress
during the New Deal years.
22. While organized labor made progress, strikes continued to take place.
Describe how labor disputes continued during the New Deal years.
23. What were some famous movies released during the 30s? Did they reflect the
mood of the times or were they an escape?
24. What types of programming did radio offer Americans during the decade?
25. How did artists benefit from the New Deal? Provide examples in art, music,
and literature.
26. What was FDR’s “court-packing scheme”? How did congress and the public
react? What evidence would show that FDR got his way despite this political
blunder?
27. Why did many conservatives criticize the New Deal? Provide statistics that
would support their critique(s).
28. Why did many liberals criticize the New Deal? Provide evidence that FDR
agreed with them.
29. What did one of the greatest history teachers of all time, Eddie Galloway, say
about FDR’s New Deal? How does the New Deal continue to affect our lives
today?