Structured Academic Controversy
Was the New Deal a success?
Context: Standard VA/US History, 11th grade. The New Deal was a series of domestic programs
enacted between 1933-1938 in response to the Great Depression and spearheaded by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR). The programs focused on the 3 R’s: relief (for the poor and
unemployed), recovery (of the economy), and reform (of financial systems to prevent a
reoccurrence). In this lesson students will explore the features of the New Deal and argue
whether the program was successful or not in achieving its goals.
Instructional Model: This lesson will be taught using the Structured Academic Controversy
(SAC) model. It is a deliberation model that allows students to explore perennial issues using the
specific case issue the SAC is centered on. Students are able to assess the strengths of the data
provided and form nuanced opinions on the issue. The model has students engaging with both
sides of the issue so that unlike a traditional debate, there are no winners and losers. The
emphasis is on learning the nuances rather than producing a “winner.” The deliberative nature of
the model asks students to come together to build a consensus, or to find as much common
ground as possible if a consensus cannot be reached. This is a life skill that students will carry on
into their political life which is particularly important for this group of students who are
approaching graduation.
The New Deal is a good topic for this model because there can be arguments made for both
sides. The lack of a clear cut answer will require students to look at the data and weigh the
different facets in which the New Deal may or may not have been successful. The New Deal is
also a good case study for a perennial issue in American government. Its implementation marked
a turning point for the role of government in the United States. This is particularly relevant today
with the ongoing debate on what services the government should provide, i.e. healthcare.
Objectives:
Throughout the lesson students will engage in civil discourse while following the SAC format as
observed by the teacher.
By the end of the lesson students will be able to identify two pros and two cons about the
implementation of the New Deal.
By the end of the lesson students will decide, supported by evidence from the deliberation,
whether they believe the New Deal was a success.
Standards:
VA SOL: VUS.10d; Essential Skills VUS.1a, VUS.1c, VUS.1d, VUS.1h, VUS.1i
NCSS: Strand V (Individuals, Groups, and Institutions), Strand VI (Power, Authority, and
Governance), Strand VII (Production, Distribution, and Consumption), Strand X (Civic Ideals
and Practices)
Assessment: Students will be formatively assessed by teacher observation throughout the entire
lesson to ensure that they are correctly following the SAC model and rules for civil discourse.
After completion of the deliberation, the class will come together as a group to discuss how they
feel the discussion went. At that time the teacher will share what they noticed as strengths and
weaknesses during the lesson and the students will also give feedback about how they felt about
the lesson. As an exit ticket students will complete a worksheet asking them to list two of the
arguments for and against the success of the New Deal that they found most compelling. The
student will then answer whether they believe the New Deal was a success or failure and explain
why using at least three pieces of evidence (two can be from the first part of the lesson).
Content and Instructional Strategy:
Room Layout: The largest section of VA/USH has 24 students and the smallest has 22. The class
will be arranged into 6 pods of 4 desks for the larger class. To accommodate the smaller class
size, there will be two groups of 3. The two students most likely to struggle during the lesson
will be placed in the larger group for additional support. Lesson will be completed in one 90 min
block.
Preparation before SAC Lesson: Give students each a copy of the background summary about
the New Deal to be read as homework. Stress that they will have an easier time with the next
class if they have taken the time to look over the material. The lesson could be split over two
class periods for classes with students that will likely need more time. The partner prep could
take place during the last half of a class period and the SAC deliberation could start the next
class period.
Hook: Play Disney the American Presidents: Franklin D. Roosevelt (6 min) to provide context
for debate. Video gives brief reminder on what students have already learned about the Great
Depression and introduction to FDR as well as the New Deal. After video explain what a SAC
lesson is and explain to students that they will be developing a consensus on whether the New
Deal was successful at achieving its goals. (10-12 min for entire hook)
Students will be provided with data set about the New Deal and a worksheet to help them in
pulling support for and against argument (the first document is for background information and
is supplementary). The students will not know which side they will be debating first. Each pair
will be instructed to pull out at least 3 points they would use to argue each side. Each member
will be expected to present at least one point. After 20 min students will be told which side they
will be arguing first and given additional 5 min to prepare for round 1. While students are
preparing their arguments bring up PowerPoint that lays out the structure of the SAC rounds.
Before beginning round one, instruct students in the difference between a clarifying and a
rhetorical question (25 min).
SAC Procedure: All times are subject to teach discretion depending on how quickly or slowly
students are engaging with the discussion.
Round 1 (up to 10 min): Students have been assigned a position by the teacher. Each team will
be given up to 4 min to present their case. After 4 min presentation, other partner set can ask
clarifying questions for 1 min. If it appears that teams have finished early with either part time
can be shortened.
Inter-round (10 min): Give students partners time to debrief on the argument presented by the
opposing side. Students can use this time to pull additional points from the data or reformulate
their argument.
Round 2 (up to 10 min): Students will repeat round 1 arguing the opposite position.
Debrief: For the remaining 20-30 min of class (depending on if students finish rounds 1 or 2
early) students will engage in consensus building. Teacher will walk around groups after about 7
min of discussion to ask what the group has decided regarding whether they believe the New
Deal was successful. Make sure that students know that the goal is not “winning,” but seeing if
they can look at the evidence as a group and decide which is the stronger argument. Students will
be encouraged first to reach a consensus, but if it seems that they will be unable to, instruct
students to see if there are areas of the New Deal that they all agree were (un)successful. Before
leaving class students will answer exit ticket regarding their own views on New Deal and which
pieces of evidence they (or the group) found most compelling.
Resources: Some of the documents and annotations have been taken from the Stanford History
Education Group’s lesson plan on the same topic. List and summary of Government Agencies
found here socialstudies.mpls.k12.mn.us/uploads/gr8_great_depress_pt2.doc. New Deal
background information/summary taken from http://www.history.com/topics/new-deal/print.

New Deal Summary: 1 per student

Data Sets: 1 set per pair (12 sets total)

Success/Failure graphic organizer: 1 per student

Exit Ticket: 1 per student
Differentiation: Students will have ability to choose which pieces of evidence from the data set
they are most comfortable working with. All students will have the ability to use worksheet
provided to organize argument, but since it is not a required portion of the assessment, students
are free to use it to the degree for which they find it useful.
Adaptations: Students with IEPs requiring it, will be provided with which side they will be
arguing first prior to other student groups. ELLs will also be given this information. This should
help all students feel more prepared and comfortable participating. Students with IEPs will also
have the assistance of the teacher’s aide and the teacher to help stick to the SAC format.
Pre-Reflection: This will be the first deliberation the class will be engaged in so there are likely
to be growing pains. It will be important to be rigid with the structure, but flexible with the time.
If students finish quickly, it would be more beneficial to move on so that they will not lose focus.
And the exit ticket can become a homework assignment if more class time is needed to help
students with the new instructional format.
The New Deal was a Success
Evidence
How does it support the
argument?
With your group, make sure to discuss which pieces of evidence you
think is most important and how you will argue your position.
The New Deal was a Failure
Evidence
How does it support the
argument?
With your group, make sure to discuss which pieces of evidence you
think is most important and how you will argue your position.
Based on your in-class deliberation answer the following questions.
1. What are the TWO arguments you think are most compelling
supporting that the New Deal was a success?
1.
2.
2. What are the TWO arguments you think are most compelling
supporting that the New Deal was a failure?
1.
2.
3. Do you think that the New Deal was a success (or had successful
parts)? Support your answer with at least 3 pieces of evidence (you
can use answers from questions 1 and 2.
NEW DEAL
The Great Depression in the United States began on October 29, 1929, a day known forever after
as “Black Tuesday,” when the American stock market–which had been roaring steadily upward
for almost a decade–crashed, plunging the country into its most severe economic downturn yet.
Speculators lost their shirts; banks failed; the nation’s money supply diminished; and companies
went bankrupt and began to fire their workers in droves. Meanwhile, President Herbert Hoover
urged patience and self-reliance: He thought the crisis was just “a passing incident in our
national lives” that it wasn’t the federal government’s job to try and resolve. By 1932, one of the
bleakest years of the Great Depression, at least one-quarter of the American workforce was
unemployed. When President Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933, he acted swiftly to try and
stabilize the economy and provide jobs and relief to those who were suffering. Over the next
eight years, the government instituted a series of experimental projects and programs, known
collectively as the New Deal, that aimed to restore some measure of dignity and prosperity to
many Americans. More than that, Roosevelt’s New Deal permanently changed the federal
government’s relationship to the U.S. populace.
GREAT DEPRESSION LEADS TO A NEW DEAL FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
On March 4, 1933, at the height of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt delivered his first
inaugural address before 100,000 people on Washington’s Capitol Plaza. “First of all,” he said,
“let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” He promised that
he would act swiftly to face the “dark realities of the moment” and assured Americans that he
would “wage a war against the emergency” just as though “we were in fact invaded by a foreign
foe.” His speech gave many people confidence that they’d elected a man who was not afraid to
take bold steps to solve the nation’s problems.
DID YOU KNOW?
Unemployment levels in some cities reached staggering levels during the Great Depression.By
1933, Toledo, Ohio's had reached 80 percent, and nearly 90 percent of Lowell, Massachusetts
was unemployed.
The next day, the new president declared a four-day bank holiday to stop people from
withdrawing their money from shaky banks. On March 9, Congress passed Roosevelt’s
Emergency Banking Act, which reorganized the banks and closed the ones that were insolvent.
In his first “fireside chat” three days later, the president urged Americans to put their savings
back in the banks, and by the end of the month almost three quarters of them had reopened.
THE FIRST HUNDRED DAYS
Roosevelt’s quest to end the Great Depression was just beginning. Next,he asked Congress to
take the first step toward ending Prohibition—one of the more divisive issues of the 1920s—by
making it legal once again for Americans to buy beer. (At the end of the year, Congress ratified
the 21st Amendment and ended Prohibition for good.) In May, he signed the Tennessee Valley
Authority Act into law, enabling the federal government to build dams along the Tennessee
River that controlled flooding and generated inexpensive hydroelectric power for the people in
the region. That same month, Congress passed a bill that paid commodity farmers (farmers who
produced things like wheat, dairy products, tobacco and corn) to leave their fields fallow in order
to end agricultural surpluses and boost prices. June’s National Industrial Recovery Act
guaranteed that workers would have the right to unionize and bargain collectively for higher
wages and better working conditions; it also suspended some antitrust laws and established a
federally funded Public Works Administration.
In addition to the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, and the
National Industrial Recovery Act, Roosevelt had won passage of 12 other major laws, including
the Glass-Steagall Banking Bill and the Home Owners’ Loan Act, in his first 100 days in office.
Almost every American found something to be pleased about and something to complain about
in this motley collection of bills, but it was clear to all that FDR was taking the “direct, vigorous”
action that he’d promised in his inaugural address.
THE SECOND NEW DEAL
Despite the best efforts of President Roosevelt and his cabinet, however, the Great Depression
continued–the nation’s economy continued to wheeze; unemployment persisted; and people grew
angrier and more desperate. So, in the spring of 1935, Roosevelt launched a second, more
aggressive series of federal programs, sometimes called the Second New Deal. In April, he
created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) to provide jobs for unemployed people. WPA
projects weren’t allowed to compete with private industry, so they focused on building things
like post offices, bridges, schools, highways and parks. The WPA also gave work to artists,
writers, theater directors and musicians. In July 1935, the National Labor Relations Act, also
known as the Wagner Act, created the National Labor Relations Board to supervise union
elections and prevent businesses from treating their workers unfairly. In August, FDR signed the
Social Security Act of 1935, which guaranteed pensions to millions of Americans, set up a
system of unemployment insurance and stipulated that the federal government would help care
for dependent children and the disabled.
In 1936, while campaigning for a second term, FDR told a roaring crowd at Madison Square
Garden that “The forces of ‘organized money’ are unanimous in their hate for me—and I
welcome their hatred.” He went on: “I should like to have it said of my first Administration that
in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match, [and] I should like to have it
said of my second Administration that in it these forces have met their master.” This FDR had
come a long way from his earlier repudiation of class-based politics and was promising a much
more aggressive fight against the people who were profiting from the Depression-era troubles of
ordinary Americans. He won the election by a landslide.
Still, the Great Depression dragged on. Workers grew more militant: In December 1936, for
example, the United Auto Workers started a sit-down strike at a GM plant in Flint, Michigan that
lasted for 44 days and spread to some 150,000 autoworkers in 35 cities. By 1937, to the dismay
of most corporate leaders, some 8 million workers had joined unions and were loudly demanding
their rights.
THE END OF THE NEW DEAL?
Meanwhile, the New Deal itself confronted one political setback after another. Arguing that they
represented an unconstitutional extension of federal authority, the conservative majority on the
Supreme Court had already invalidated reform initiatives like the NRA and the AAA. In order to
protect his programs from further meddling, in 1937 President Roosevelt announced a plan to
add enough liberal justices to the Court to neutralize the “obstructionist” conservatives. This
“Court-packing” turned out to be unnecessary–soon after they caught wind of the plan, the
conservative justices started voting to uphold New Deal projects–but the episode did a good deal
of public-relations damage to the administration and gave ammunition to many of the president’s
Congressional opponents. That same year, the economy slipped back into a recession when the
government reduced its stimulus spending. Despite this seeming vindication of New Deal
policies, increasing anti-Roosevelt sentiment made it difficult for him to enact any new
programs.
On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the United States entered World
War II. The war effort stimulated American industry and, as a result, effectively ended the Great
Depression.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND AMERICAN POLITICS
From 1933 until 1941, President Roosevelt’s programs and policies did more than just adjust
interest rates, tinker with farm subsidies and create short-term make-work programs. They
created a brand-new, if tenuous, political coalition that included white working people, African
Americans and left-wing intellectuals. These people rarely shared the same interests–at least,
they rarely thought they did–but they did share a powerful belief that an interventionist
government was good for their families, the economy and the nation. Their coalition has
splintered over time, but many of the New Deal programs that bound them together–Social
Security, unemployment insurance and federal agricultural subsidies, for instance–are still with
us today.
DOCUMENT 1: FIRESIDE CHAT (Modified)
President Roosevelt gave this speech over the radio on May 7, 1933, two months after he became
president. He called these radio addresses “fireside chats,” and this was his second one as
president.
Tonight, I come for the second time to tell you about what we have been doing and
what we are planning to do. . . .
First, we are giving opportunity of employment to one-quarter of a million of the
unemployed, especially the young men, to go into forestry and flood prevention
work…
Next, the Congress is about to pass legislation that will greatly ease the mortgage
distress among the farmers and the home owners of the nation, by easing the
burden of debt now bearing so heavily upon millions of our people…
I know that the people of this country will understand this and will also understand
the spirit in which we are undertaking this policy…
All of us, the Members of the Congress and the members of this Administration
owe you, the people of this country, a profound debt of gratitude.
*Mortgage distress – many farmers and homeowners were unable to pay off the loans on their
houses and so their property was taken away
Source: President Roosevelt’s “fireside chat,” May 7, 1933.
Guiding Thoughts:
What is the government’s plan to handle the economic crisis?
President Roosevelt’s “fireside chats” were the first time a president could speak to the people
inside their home.
DOCUMENT 2: AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE NEW DEAL
Most New Deal programs discriminated against blacks. The NRA (National
Recovery Administration), for example, not only offered whites the first crack at
jobs but allowed separate and lower wages for blacks. The Federal Housing
Authority (FHA) refused to guarantee mortgages for blacks who tried to buy in
white neighborhoods, and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) maintained
segregated camps. Furthermore, the Social Security Act did not include most jobs
blacks historically held.
The story in agriculture was particularly grim. Since 40 percent of all black
workers made their living as sharecroppers and tenant farmers, the Agricultural
Adjustment Association (AAA) land reduction hit blacks hard. White landlords
could make more money by leaving land unplanted than by planting it. As a result,
the AAA's policies forced more than 100,000 blacks off the land in 1933 and 1934.
Even more upsetting to black leaders, the president failed to support an antilynching law and a law to abolish the poll tax. Roosevelt feared that conservative
southern Democrats, would block his bills if he tried to fight them on this issue.
*Mortgage – a loan to buy a house
Source: Modified excerpt from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History online
textbook.
Guiding Thought:
Did all Americans benefit equally from the New Deal?
DOCUMENT 3: THE NEW DEAL: AGENCIES AND ACTS
Agriculture Adjustment Act
Paid farmers to produce crops and taught soil erosion
prevention methods
Civilians Conservation Corps
A work and relief program that sent young, unemployed
men to work on conservation projects in rural areas for
$1 per day.
Civil Works Administration
Provided public works jobs at $15/week to four million
workers in 1934.
Emergency Banking Act
This act gave the executive branch to right to regulate
banks
National Recovery
Administration
Authorized the president to regulate industry and to raise
wages and prices.
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
Insured deposits in bank accounts; the FDIC currently
guarantees checking and savings deposits in member
banks up to $100,000 per depositor.
FERA
Federal Emergency Relief
Administration
Provided “relief” to the needy. FERA provided state
assistance for the unemployed and their families
FLSA
Fair Labor Standard Act
Established a minimum wage and a 40-hour work week.
FSA:
Farming Security
Administration
Brought farmers together to work on large governmentowned farms using modern techniques; Provided loans
for farmers to buy land
Public Works Administration
Received $3.3 billion appropriation from Congress for
public works projects.
Securities and Exchange
Commission
An agency of the U.S. government that regulates
transactions in securities (stocks and bonds) to protect
investors against malpractice.
Social Security Act
Provided pensions, unemployment insurance, and aid to
blind, deaf, disabled, and dependent children.
Tennessee Valley Authority
Build dams, provided electricity, and bought modern
farming methods to the Tennessee River Valley, a poor
and region of the U.S. at that time.
Works Progress
Administration
Employed 8.5 million workers in construction and other
jobs; provided work in arts, theater, and literary projects.
AAA:
CCC:
CWA
EBA
NRA
FDIC
PWA
SEC
SSA
TVA
WPA
DOCUMENT 4
Guiding Thoughts:
When were the New Deal plans started?
What was happening in the world during the greatest decrease in unemployment?
DOCUMENT 5: ALPHABET AGENCY POSTERS
Guiding Thoughts:
What promises are these posters making?
How would these posters make people feel?
DOCUMENT 6: FEDERAL WRITER’S PROJECT BOOK
I do think that Roosevelt is the biggest-hearted man we ever had in the White
House…It’s the first time in my recollection that a President ever got up and said,
“I’m interested in and aim to do somethin’ for the workin’ man.’ Just knowin’ that
for once there was a man to stand up and speak for him, a man that could make
what he felt so plain nobody could doubt he meant it, has made a lot of us feel a lot
better even when there wasn’t much to eat in our homes.
*Recollection - memory
Source: George Dobbin was a 67-year old cotton-mill worker when he was interviewed for the
book These Are Our Lives, a book put together by the Federal Writer’s Project in 1939.
DOCUMENT 7: HOT LUNCHES FOR SCHOOLCHILDREN (Modified)
One million undernourished children have benefited by the Works Progress
Administration's school lunch program. In the past year and a half 80,000,000 hot
well-balanced meals have been served at the rate of 500,000 daily in 10,000
schools throughout the country…
For many children, who are required to leave home early in the morning and travel
long distances after school hours to reach their homes, the WPA lunch constitutes
the only hot meal of the day…
Through the daily service of warm, nourishing food, prepared by qualified, needy
women workers, the WPA is making it possible for many underprivileged children
of the present to grow into useful, healthy citizens of the future.
*Constitutes - is
Source: Speech by Ellen S. Woodward, Assistant Administrator; Works Progress
Administration.
DOCUMENT 8: WITHER THE AMERICAN INDIAN? (Modified)
Roosevelt appointed John Collier, a leading reformer, as Commissioner of Indian Affairs in
1933. Collier pushed Congress to create the Indian Emergency Conservation Program (IECP), a
program that employed more than 85,000 Indians. Collier also made sure that the PWA, WPA,
CCC, and NYA hired Native Americans.
In 1934 Collier convinced Congress to pass the Indian Reorganization Act, which provided
money for tribes to purchase new land. That same year, the government provided federal grants
to local school districts, hospitals, and social welfare agencies to assist Native Americans.
Congress is authorized to appropriate $10 million from which loans may be made
for the purpose of promoting the economic development of the tribes…
About seventy-five of the tribal corporations are now functioning, with varying
degrees of success, and the number continues to grow. The Jicarillas have bought
their trading post and are running it; the Chippewas run a tourist camp; the
Northern Cheyennes have a very successful livestock cooperative: the Swinomish
of Washington have a tribal fishing business. There are plenty of others to prove
these corporations can be made to work…
The truth is that the New Deal Indian administration is neither as successful as its
publicity says it is, nor as black and vicious a failure as the severest critics would
have us believe. Many Indian problems remain unsolved, but every one has been
addressed.
Source: Alden Stevens, “Whither the American Indian,” Survey Magazine of Social
Interpretation, March 1, 1940.