ADVANCED PLACEMENT UNITED STATES HISTORY
UNIT 8 – PROSPERITY, DEPRESSION, AND THE NEW DEAL
Reading Schedule
The reading schedule means you come to class having read the assigned pages. Be prepared for
a quiz or some other assessment related to the reading.
 Monday, February 25th – pp. 739-746
 Tuesday, February 26th – pp. 746-756
 Wednesday, February 27th – pp. 756-761
 Thursday, February 28th – pp. 761-764
 Friday, March 1st – pp. 764-766 and 769-773
 Monday, March 4th – pp. 774-787
 Tuesday, March 5th – pp. 787-794
 Wednesday, March 6th – pp. 797-800
 Thursday, March 7th – pp. 800-804
 Friday, March 8th – pp. 804-813
 Monday, March 11th – pp. 814-822
Essential Questions
 When Warren G. Harding ungrammatically promised America a return to "normalcy," what
did he mean?
 It has been said that "when America is afraid, it turns inward and gets mean." Discuss the
extent to which this is true especially in regard to the period in American history
immediately after World War 1.
 Why beliefs or assumptions led to Hoover's failure to adequately deal with the deteriorating
economic situation during his years as President?
 Assess the validity of the following statement: The social, political, and economic stresses
of this period demonstrate that American society is fundamentally racist.
 Discuss how the decade of the 20s paved the way for the collapse of the American
economy in the decade of the 30s.
 To what extent and in what ways did the role of women change during the 20s and 30s?
 It has been said that the Depression changed forever the relationship between the American
people and the government of the United States. How and in what ways is this true?
 Why wasn't there a radical revolution in the United States when its economy failed in the
late 20s and its government apparently could not deal with the disaster?
 Why didn't all of the legislation produced in the Roosevelt years "cure" the Great
Depression? What did end it?
Content Outline
 Changes in technology, industry,
business, mass communications
 Republican politics: Harding, Coolidge,
and Hoover
 Elections of 1920, 1924, 1928
 Political changes
 Al Smith
 Social changes
 religious fundamentalism
 nativism
 Prohibition
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Espionage Act
Sedition Act
Red Scare
Palmer Raids
Rural vs. Urban struggle (“old” vs.
“new” Americans)
Racism/nativism/KKK
equality: African Americans and women
Causes of the Great Depression
The Hoover administration’s response
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Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New
Deal
Eleanor Roosevelt
Specific Acts
Positives and Negatives of the New Deal
Elections of 1932 and 1936
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Labor and union recognition
The New Deal coalition
critics from the Right and the Left
American society during the Great
Depression
POTENTIAL ESSAYS
All classes will have the option of this essay
1. In what ways did economic conditions and developments in the arts and entertainment
help create the reputation of the 1920’s as the Roaring Twenties? (1999)
One class will have the option of these three essays
2. Analyze the ways in which the Great Depression altered the American social fabric in the
1930’s. (1996)
3. 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? (2003)
4. How successful were the programs of the New Deal in solving the problems of the Great
Depression? Assess with respect to TWO of the following. (2002)
a. Relief
b. Recovery
c. Reform
One class will have the option of these three essays
5. Compare and contrast the programs and policies designed by the reformers of the
Progressive era to those designed by the reformers of the New Deal period. Confine your
answer to the programs and policies that addressed the needs of those living in poverty.
(2004)
6. Identify THREE of the following New Deal measures and analyze the ways in which
each of the three attempted to fashion a more stable economy and a more equitable
society? (1993)
a. Agricultural Adjustment Act
b. Securities and Exchange Commission
c. Wagner National Labor Relations Act
d. Social Security Act
7. The New Deal did not radically alter American business, but conserved and protected it.
Assess the validity of this statement. (1973)
Test Date
Essay – Tuesday, March 12th
For 3rd and 5th periods
Multiple Choice – Thursday, March 14th
Unit Review – Thursday, March 14th
For 4th period
Multiple Choice – Wednesday, March 13th
Unit Review – Wednesday, March 13th
For those not continuing with the class third trimester, please bring your textbook to class
with you the last day of the term!