Rykken Notes: 2003 DBQ
Question:
Analyze the responses of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration to the problems of the
Great Depression. How effective were these responses? How did they change the role of
the federal government?
Starting Point: The Thrust of the Question
This question really has a 2-part focus. First, analyzing the responses of FDR’s administration to
the problems of the Depression: inherent in that question is your understanding of what the
“problems” of the depression were and examples of responses, based on those problems; along
with that, you will need to comment on how effective were those responses? That means going
beyond simply knowing what the problems were and the responses – were they effective? That’s a
judgment call.
And second, how did they (the responses) change the role of the Federal Government?
Your Thesis will need to address both parts of that. It’s a bit tricky, but you can do it.
Another Starting Point: Tell the Story!
Once you have a handle on what the question is asking, tell me the story! History is essentially
the stories that make up our individual and collectives lives. This question involves the story of a
President who faced a horrible economic crisis and how he chose to respond to that. Were the
responses appropriate? Were they dangerous? In the process of responding, did he
fundamentally change the nature of the federal government? Was he successful or not? (A
Rykken Trick: “Talk your essay through” before you do any writing – actually verbalize the story
(out-loud) to engage your brain – you might feel silly doing that, but it can be very helpful).
“Telling the Story” will also help you with CONTEXTUALIZATION! Remember the opening
of “Star Wars” that I showed you in class! A little “dramatic flair” is always good!
RED ALERT! Outlining the Answer (without the documents):
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Remember that your BEST BET with any DBQ is to formulate an answer AS IF YOU HAD NO
DOCUMENTS. That will force you to think about that ALL-IMPORTANT outside information.
My suggestion is that you develop a simple outline or a graphic organizer of some kind that
includes things that you know about the period of time and the question at hand. THIS
APPROACH IS THE MOST DIFFICULT THING THAT STUDENTS STRUGGLE WITH IN
DOING DBQs. Work on that this time!
The potential information that you could bring into this type of WIDE-OPEN question is
huge. Refer to Chapter 32. Also remember to examine the DBQ Rubric so you are aware of “how
you score” in this area. Here is some outside information that could be utilized in this essay:
Some Basics:
The Three R’s: Relief, Recovery, Reform
New Deal and its connection to Progressivism
Herbert Hoover/ Limitations in approach/ rugged individualism
The Brain Trust (people like Rex Tugwell, Harold Ickes, and Harry Hopkins
“fireside chats”
“Hundred Days”
laissez-faire thinking vs. deficit spending (Keynesian approach) “priming the pump”
The Roosevelt Recession (1937-38)
Banking, Business, Stock Market:
Crash of the market
Banking Holiday
Margin-Buying
FDIC
Glass-Steagall Act
Securities and Exchange Commission
Agricultural Issues
Dust Bowl
Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath
Agricultural Adjustment Act
Rural Electrification Administration (REA)
Unemployment Issues
Hoovervilles
Bonus March
Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)
Civil Works Administration (CWA)
Public Works Administration (PWA)
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
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Labor Related
Wagner National Labor Relations Act
National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
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National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)
National Recovery Administration (NRA)
Section 7a
Blue Eagle: “We do Our Part”
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)
Fair Labor Standards Act
Social Security
Unemployment Compensation
Aid to Dependent Children
Debates about the “welfare state”
Dr. Francis Townshend
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Federal Writers’ Project
Federal Theater Project
Federal Music Project
National Youth Administration (NYA)
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) the concept of “private-public” partnerships
Other Voices
Huey Long and “Share Our Weath”
Father Coughlin, the “Radio Priest”
Eleanor Roosevelt and her role
Frances Perkins (first woman cabinet member)
Infusing the Documents in your Answer
There are 10 documents in the set. Study them and apply your “mark-up” skills as you do that –
remember to include “marginalia” (notes) that indicate close and active reading. Think of
“groupings” of documents – i.e. supportive of the New Deal, not supportive. Look at the source of
each document – sources provide clues for POV (point of view). As a side note, always keep in
mind that documents provide clues to “outside information” when writing a DBQ.
As you go through the documents, think about two questions:
What information are you getting from the document?
What inferences can you draw from the document?
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I’m going to walk you through three of the documents and provide suggestions for document
combinations – you will find those further on in the notes.
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Open with appropriate outside information
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HERE IT IS! THE MAGICAL FORMULA!
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Once you have studied the documents, GO BACK to the ORIGINAL OUTLINE you had for your
answer and see where documents naturally will fit in and support your assertions. Then,
remember the FORMULA I have promoted with you:
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Identify the document by author, source, and date
Paraphrase
Brief quoting
Parenthetical reference at the end
Commentary including documents “talking to each other” if possible
EXAMPLE OF HOW THAT MIGHT LOOK:
Franklin Roosevelt believed that capitalism needed to evolve in order to survive.
In a glowing editorial from The New Republic (1940), the author talked about how FDR
“strengthened and renovated” the government as an “instrument of democratic action”
(Document H). Many viewed this approach by Roosevelt as dangerous. In a letter to
Senator Wagner from 1934, the writer warned how the government was “accelerating its
pace toward socialism and communism,” something the writer viewed as a disaster
(Document B). Roosevelt, it is fair to say, thought he was actually saving capitalism with
the New Deal reforms.
EXAMPLE #1: Document A: Meridel Lesueur, New Masses, January, 1932
What information are you getting?
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Many women are unemployed
Some forms of assistance are available
Fewer women than men seek assistance
Probably as many women suffer from poverty as men
What can you infer from the document?
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Women seem invisible during the Great Depression
Lack of attention to concerns of unemployed and poor women
Pre-New Deal assistance to unemployed and poor was not sufficient
Highlights urban unemployment
Rykken Commentary on Document A: Document A certainly forces you to think about women in
our history and how their story is often overlooked or downplayed. This could be paired with
Document I which is a commentary on the status of African-American people during the New
Deal (a mixed commentary). Your text has good background on this also – check pages 751-52
and the “Varying Viewpoints” on 766-67 discusses the issue of women as well.
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New Deal represents change, but not revolutionary change
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What information are you getting?
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EXAMPLE #2: Document C: Editorial Cartoon of Roosevelt
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Depicts the development of the New Deal as a natural progression
New Deal established an abundance of federal agencies, many of which are still around
today
What can you infer from the document?
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Cartoonist is supportive of the New Deal
The role of federal government was definitely expanded
Roosevelt is trying to appease New Deal critics
The “brain trust” of academics played a leading role in the New Deal
Rykken Commentary on Document C: I’m sure you have noticed that editorial cartoons are often
included in DBQs, so your ability to “read” them is important. This document easily could “talk”
to both Document H (a positive commentary on the New Deal) and/or Document E (Social
Security poster). I highly recommend a careful reading of 764-66 for background here – the New
Deal, in many respects, defined the debate about the role of the federal government in our lives –
a debate we continue to have in the first part of the 21st Century (i.e. Obama Care).
Example #3: Document F: Charles Evans Hughes, majority opinion, Schechter v. US, 1935
What information are you getting?
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Case examined the codes of hours and wages for workers
The case refers to workers who are not employed in interstate commerce
The court rules expansion of federal government power
What can you infer from the document?
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Court invalidates the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) because it gave the federal
government powers of economic regulation that could not be justified under the interstate
commerce clause
Court rules that federal government could not regulate the economy in a significant way
Decision was perceived as threatening to other New Deal economic measures
Rykken Commentary on Document F: I wanted to include this one due to the fact that the
conflict between Roosevelt and the Supreme Court was significant, but often somewhat
misunderstood by students. On pages 761-63 there is an excellent section on that conflict. The
Schechter case is briefly mentioned on page 753 if you need more reference.
BEST OF LUCK.
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As always, we are the hope of the world.