President Roosevelt promised that his New Deal would deliver 3 R’s: relief, recovery and reform.
The New Deal involved increased government intervention in the economy.
Many Americans were lifted out of poverty by the New Deal.
The New Deal did not end unequal treatment of women nor African Americans in the USA.

Common misconception

The only focus of the New Deal was to create new jobs and reduce unemployment.

Relief and reform were also important aims of the New Deal. Major policies like the Emergency Banking Act and Social Security Act were more concerned with reform and relief, respectively, than job creation.

Keywords

Relief - food, money or services provided to people in need is called relief
Federal government - the federal government is the national government of the USA
Alphabet Agencies - the Alphabet Agencies were organisations set up to manage the New Deal
Pension - a pension is money paid to a person once they are elderly and no longer work
Domestic servant - a domestic servant is a person who works in someone else's home, performing duties such as cooking and cleaning

At the beginning of LC3, present students with a range of statistical date (i.e. bank closures, unemployment, GDP) from the New Deal period. In pairs, ask students to judge the overall success of the New Deal based on these statistics. Open up to a wider class discussion.

Teacher tip

Content guidance

Depiction or discussion of discriminatory behaviour

Supervision

Adult supervision recommended

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

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6 Questions

Q1.

Write the missing word. When people are extremely poor and struggle to meet some of their basic needs, we can say they are living in .

Correct Answer: poverty, Poverty

Q2.

Which event triggered the Great Depression?

World War One

Correct answer: Wall Street Crash

World Disarmament Conference

World War Two

Q3.

Write the missing word. The rise of fun, fast and exciting popular entertainment meant the 1920s becoming known as the Twenties.

Correct Answer: Roaring, roaring

Q4.

Which political party did all US presidents belong to between 1921 and 1933?

Conservatives

Democrats

Labour

Correct answer: Republicans

Q5.

Why did US agriculture struggle in the 1920s?

Correct answer: foreign tariffs

limited access to technology

Correct answer: overproduction

shortage of workers

Q6.

Which statement is most accurate?

All groups of Americans suffered equally from the Great Depression.

All Americans suffered, but to different extents, during the Great Depression.

Correct answer: Most Americans suffered during the Great Depression but not all did.

Most Americans were not affected by the Great Depression.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.

Match up each keyword with its correct definition.

Correct Answer:relief,food, money or services provided to people in need

food, money or services provided to people in need

Correct Answer:pension,money paid to a person once they are elderly and no longer work

money paid to a person once they are elderly and no longer work

Correct Answer:unemployment,the state of not having a job

the state of not having a job

Q2.

How many Americans were employed by the Public Works Administration (PWA)?

40 000

400 000

Correct answer: 4 000 000

40 000 000

Q3.

Select the correct missing word. The Emergency Banking Act temporarily closed all banks and only allowed those judged to be to re-open.

Correct answer: reliable

relief

Republican

responsible

Q4.

What was the main focus of the Social Secuirty Act?

Correct answer: relief

recovery

reform

Q5.

The US unemployment rate was 17.2% in 1939. Based on this, which conclusion is most valid?

The New Deal failed to reduce the problem of unemployment.

Correct answer: The New Deal created some recovery but this was not complete.

The New Deal led to most Americans becoming poorer.

The New Deal led removed the problem of unemployment.

Q6.

Starting with the earliest, sort the following events into chronological order.

1 - World War One

2 - Wall Street Crash

3 - Roosevelt elected president

4 - Most Alphabet Agencies established

5 - Second New Deal, including social security, introduced

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