APUSH Chapter 36 Essay Questions

1. Account for Franklin Roosevelt’s election victory in 1932. Account for his landslide election in 1936.
2. Compare and contrast the first two years of the New Deal with the later New Deal after 1934. Account for the differences.
3. Explain how each of these contributed to New Deal plans for recovery from the Great Depression:

1. ending prohibition. b. abandoning the gold standard. c. the Court-packing scheme.

4. How "revolutionary" was the New Deal? Evaluate the significant changes wrought by the New Deal and conclude how different the nation became because of it.
5. List the major factors that brought a close to the New Deal in the late 1930s. Separate the list into those that President Roosevelt had some control over and those he did not. Explain how the combination of these factors ended the New Deal.
6. Select the three most important programs of the New Deal, explain what they did, and tell why you chose these three.
7. Had you lived at the time, do you think you would have been pro- or anti-Roosevelt? Why? Cite specific actions of President Roosevelt and the New Dealers to illustrate your position.
8. Cite at least three New Deal programs that were clearly the rebirth of pre-World War I progressive-movement reforms. Also, explain how government action during World War I itself can be viewed as a precursor to President Roosevelt’s approach to waging his campaign against the Great Depression.
9. Who do you think was the most interesting government personality of the thirties? Explain why.
10. The text’s authors conclude that Franklin Roosevelt "was in fact Hamiltonian in his espousal of big government, but Jeffersonian in his concern for the ‘forgotten man.’" With this as a thesis sentence, write an essay that uses specific parts of the New Deal program to support both halves of your thesis.
11. A popular slogan of the midthirties claimed that "Roosevelt wants you to join a union." Explain why this assertion carried some truth.
12. Cite evidence to demonstrate that "the most damning indictment of the New Deal was that it failed to cure the depression." Then cite what of value the New Deal did in fact accomplish.
13. Compare and contrast Herbert Hoover's economics policies with those of Franklin Roosevelt.
14. Analyze the role of three of the following in explaining the Great Depression:

a. farm problems b. income distribution c. world trade and finance

d. government policy e. stock market

15. "Those on the right criticized the New Deal for attempting too much, while those on the left criticized it for not doing enough." Illustrate this statement with reference to the views from each side.
16. "Roosevelt's first New Deal favored business, while his second New Deal favored labor." Assess the validity of this statement.
17. Select three New Deal agencies or commissions and assess how well each satisfied the three R's of relief, recovery, and reform.
18. The "Court Packing" scandal was both and blessing and a curse for Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. Assess the validity of this statement.