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Part IV: The New Deal
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by Jeff Bloodworth
Gannon University
Erie, Pennsylvania
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Unlike Populism and Progressivism, the New Deal was born out of a single event -- the Great Depression. During this era, FDR built his political coalition and a fledgling welfare state, which became a foundation for postwar American life. The Great Depression produced such profound economic and social shocks that the era is almost unrecognizable to today's students. In contrast to Populism and Progressivism, the New Deal emanated from Washington and had one clear leader -- Franklin Roosevelt. Moreover, there is very little debate as to who the New Dealers were, what reforms resulted from the period, and the era's historical legacy.
America in the 1930s
To humanize and demythologize the 1930s, this Web site offers scores of sounds, images, and artifacts of the era's material culture that will broaden students' understanding of and interest in the time period. An outstanding source of cultural history from the era, the site features five major sections, categorized as film, print media, radio, art and architecture, and a timeline. The "On Film" category offers essays on film in the 1930s as well as a number of movie clips. The "In Print" section features a variety of material ranging from newspaper, books, and magazines to cartoons. The "On the Air" section includes essays on radio programming in the 1930s and links to audio of FDR, pop music, serials, and slang.
Of lesser classroom value is the "On Display" section, which features some of the art and architecture of the decade. Lastly, the "Timeline" section offers a multimedia list of each year's significant events in the arts, politics, science, and world affairs.
This site is packed with useful information and entertaining links. It is one of those rare sites that really help make an era come alive. Whether someone loves sports or architecture, there is something in this site that will speak to them. Rather than have a teacher explain FDR's Fireside Chats, now the students can hear them firsthand. Some content, especially the essays, is too sophisticated for even advanced AP students, but the site has a little bit of everything for all knowledge levels.
 America in the 1930s
The New Deal Network
Like a large and complicated giant, the New Deal casts an intimidating shadow across any lesson plan. The programs, agencies, and historical actors inspired by Roosevelt's response to the Great Depression are daunting material for graduate students and experts in the field, not to mention AP students. The New Deal Network Web site is a great resource for both teachers and students. It offers a wide array of documents, photographs, features, and lesson plans that renders the New Deal less intimidating and more explicable for teachers and students.
The most valuable resources in this site are the "Links" and "Classroom" tabs. The "Classroom" category offers lesson plans, timelines, and even book lists that provide age-appropriate outside reading material. The "Links" tab features even more lesson plans, oral history resources, and K-12 projects for use in the classroom. The New Deal Network is a premier Web site that furnishes resources that have been tested in the classroom.
The "Features" and "Photographs" sections are great for students because they are visual or auditory, powerful, and contain historically significant items. There are 24 separate topics highlighted in the "Features" section ranging from "Dear Mrs. Roosevelt," which includes the letters from constituents to the First Lady, to "A New Deal for Carbon Hill, Alabama," which is a photo documentary of the New Deal's influence upon a small southern town. All the "Features" are either visual (photographs) or auditory (oral histories) and most include lesson plans for the teachers. The "Photographs" section offers a photo library that documents thirty assorted categories associated with the New Deal; topics include the Rural Electrification Administration and Depression-era art.
The New Deal Network does not simplify the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt, or the 1930s, but it is a great resource for humanizing the era and its history. AP students will need to have the Web site's resources contextualized, but the site is user-friendly and accessible.
The New Deal Network
FDR Cartoon Archive
This collection of editorial cartoons was not compiled by presidential historians or any other assortment of stuffy academics. Rather, Franklin Roosevelt's former law partner amassed this collection of political cartoons pertaining to Roosevelt. These political cartoons are rare gems taken from a cross section of newspapers, and offer insights into how opinion leaders looked at various aspects of the Roosevelt presidency.
This Web site, built and maintained by New York high school students, is useful on several fronts. The site is centered on the "FDR Cartoon Archive," which is a collection of editorial cartoons chronicling the New Deal, the Great Depression, and World War II. The cartoons themselves are organized into nine topic categories ranging from "The Road to Pennsylvania Avenue," to "The War Years." The archive is searchable by region and content. Thus, if students want to understand how New Yorkers perceived the WPA, they can enter their search by state and content. If this fails, teachers can email the New York AP history class charged with maintaining the site and they will conduct a search on your behalf.
The site offers lesson plans, links to additional information, teacher resources, and full-text copies of Roosevelt's four inaugural addresses. In addition, the material within the site is ideal for compiling a portfolio, which has become a state requirement for many AP history courses. The site's major fault is that some cartoon captions are not legible. This Web site is not flashy, but it offers a very sound tool for broadening students' understanding of Roosevelt, the Great Depression, and World War II.
FDR Cartoon Archive
Worth a Thousand Words: Depression-Era Photographs
Edsitement offers scores of useful and interesting Web sites complete with lesson plans. This Web site is specifically built to develop AP-level critical thinking skills. Through the use of documentary photography of the 1930s students will learn about the New Deal and hone their analytical skills.
Before using this site teachers need to provide the basics of the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Once those facts are established, teachers can introduce a series of photographs titled "Lucille Normand, WPA Seamstress." As the teacher unveils the photographs, students will record their "observations" and "inferences," which will later be compared to the photograph's captions hidden from view during their introduction. Thus, students can recognize the difference between "observation" and "inference."
In addition to the lesson plan and the Lucille Normand photographs there are a number of other useful links in the site. For example, the link to the New Deal Network's "Photo Gallery" offers scores of images from the 1930s ranging from children's theaters to zoos. These photographs are excellent ways for students to wrap their minds around a distant era and make that age's human suffering real. Another useful link to "American Life Histories" documents the life stories of the Federal Writer's Project staff and includes thousands of documents, images, and case histories.
This Web site is well suited for AP students and for teachers looking for a ready-made lesson plan.
Worth a Thousand Words: Depression-Era Photographs
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