Great Depression Lesson Plan <br> The Hoover Reaction Illustration

Great Depression Lesson Plan
The Hoover Reaction

Transition Lesson Plan from Hoover to FDR (1928 vs 1932)

Tell your class: Herbert Hoover was a great humanitarian. He helped Americans stranded in Europe when World War I began. He worked successfully to get food to millions of starving people in Europe, and food to US troops overseas. After World War I was over, he continued to help people who had been hit hard by the war. He spearheaded the construction of the Hoover Dam and the St. Lawrence Seaway, two projects that helped a great many people at home. He was an extremely popular candidate when he ran for U.S. president and won in 1928. Eight (8) months into his first year in office, the stock market crashed. Although this crash was not the only cause of the Great Depression, it led the way. People began losing their jobs by the hundreds, then by the thousands, and then by the millions.  

Ask your class: Imagine you are the president of the United States. You are watching banks fail, wiping out the savings of the lower and middle class. Businesses are closing daily, throwing people out of work. Unemployment is reaching the 25% mark. People are going hungry. There are no programs in place to feed, clothe or shelter the population. Congress does not know what to do and is looking at you for direction. What do you do?

Lead students into a brainstorming session about the different actions the President could have taken.

Transition Statement: OK. Many of these ideas were discussed and debated during the Hoover years. What did Hoover actually do?

Get answers from the class. Make sure to include President Hoover's belief that government should not interfere with business. The public works that Hoover started (including Boulder nee Hoover dam), the buying of farm surplus, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and the Home Loan Bank Act.

Transition Statement: How effective were these programs? We know that the depression deepened. More and more people were out of work and eating at soup kitchens, including many children. Can you describe some of the other things that were going on that showed how little faith people had in Hoover's ability to lead the country out of the depression?

Lead discussion about some of the depression activities. Ensure that the following items are discussed: Hoovervilles, Hoover Flags, Hoover Blankets, and the Bonus March.

Transition Statement: It is now 1932. It is a presidential election year. The mood around the country is bleak. People are getting desperate. Even the President has said: "We are at the end of our string". President Hoover's opponent in 1932 was not so pessimistic. The Governor of New York State, Franklin D. Roosevelt, saw ways to help the country as he had helped in New York. (Play "Happy days are here again.") Who do you think won that presidential election?

Say: Yes, of course. Franklin D. Roosevelt won the presidential election in 1932 by a landslide.

Transition Statement: FDR had a plan, a vision of what he thought government should do. And the people were ready for government action. As the great comedian Will Rogers said: We wanted FDR to succeed. If he had gone and burnt down the Capital Building, we would have said: At least he got a fire started."  Hoover was a good man, but he was the wrong man for the times. FDR, once elected, went right to work. FDR put all his programs under one umbrella that he called The New Deal. Some worked. Some didn't, but they were all New Deal programs, and they were all designed to turn things around.