The New Deal: what the programs did

Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Banks, 1929 to 1934. Card A, a summary in our words of FDIC history. Bank suspensions per year: 1929, 659; 1930, 1,350; 1931, 2,293; 1932, 1,453; 1933, 4,000. On March 6, 1933, the President declared a bank holiday. On March 13, 1933, banks began to reopen in stages. The Banking Act of June 16, 1933 created the FDIC. From January 1, 1934, deposits were insured up to $2,500 per depositor. In 1934, nine insured banks failed. Card B, from the inaugural address of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933 (two published copies matched; cuts marked): "…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…"

2. 1.

   Card A gives suspensions of 2,293 in 1931, 1,453 in 1932 and 4,000 in 1933. Which reading of 1932 is best supported, Ari asks?

   • 1932 showed the failures were ending, since the count fell by more than a third from the year before.
   • 1932 was the turning point, since the March 1933 holiday came after the count had already fallen.
   • 1932 was a lull, not a recovery, since the next year's total was the largest on the card.
   • 1932 showed failures had settled near the 1930 level, so 1933 broke a steady pattern.
3. 2.

   A depositor in 1934 has $4,000 in an insured bank that fails. What do the cards let Bo say about the loss?

   • Up to $2,500 would be covered, so insurance eased fear but left the other $1,500 exposed.
   • The loss would be $1,500, so insurance covered most of the deposit and ended the risk of failure.
   • The loss would be $2,500, the amount of the limit, since the limit caps what a depositor can lose.
   • Just nine insured banks failed in 1934, so a depositor's chance of any loss was already very small.

4. Use this

   Work relief, 1933 to 1943. Card A, a summary in our words from the National Park Service. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), created in 1933, took men from families on relief into work camps for $30 a month, most of it sent home. Crews planted millions of trees and built trails, bridges and campgrounds from more than 4,500 camps; by 1942 more than 2.5 million men had served. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), 1935 to 1943, gave jobs to the unemployed on public projects, including the Federal Art, Theatre and Writers' Projects. Card B, a summary in our words of economist Price Fishback's 2017 review. Unemployment was between about 14 and 25 percent for most of the 1930s (the National Park Service gives 25 percent at the worst). Relief work paid about half to two-thirds of normal earnings. Native Americans in the CCC worked near their reservations, and older veterans also served. Card C, from the inaugural address, March 4, 1933: "Our greatest primary task is to put people to work."

5. 3.

   Card A says CCC men earned $30 a month, most of it sent home. What does that show Jun about the CCC's purpose?

   • It aimed at conservation work, since crews planted millions of trees and built trails and bridges.
   • It aimed to help families on relief with money, as well as to put men to work on projects.
   • It aimed to pay men normal wages for conservation work, since the camps ran on steady monthly pay.
   • It aimed to train men for private jobs, since crews learned to build trails, bridges and campgrounds.
6. 4.

   Card B says relief work paid about half to two-thirds of normal earnings. What does that suggest Kira about relief jobs and private jobs?

   • Relief jobs were meant to replace private jobs, since they paid half or more of normal earnings.
   • Relief jobs paid less than normal work, so workers had reason to take private jobs when they could.
   • Relief jobs lowered private wages, since the government set a pay level that employers then had to match.
   • Relief jobs kept workers out of private work, since a steady relief check was safer than private pay.
7. 5.

   Card A says the WPA ran Federal Art, Theatre and Writers' Projects. What does that show Luz about relief jobs?

   • Relief work was meant for skilled trades, since art, theatre and writing projects needed trained workers.
   • Relief work for artists replaced the CCC's conservation work after 1935, since the CCC ended then.
   • Relief work for artists and writers was paid at normal rates, since their skills were scarce.
   • Relief work included jobs for artists, actors and writers, not just building and conservation.

8. Use this

   The Social Security Act. Card A, a summary in our words from Social Security Administration history pages. The Social Security Act was signed on August 14, 1935. It set old-age benefits for workers from age 65, to begin in 1942 (a 1939 law moved monthly payments up to 1940), paid for by taxes on wages and payrolls. It also created unemployment insurance and aid for dependent mothers and children and for people who are blind. The Act's definition of employment leaves out farm labor and domestic service in private homes.

9. 6.

   Under the Act's definition of employment, what follows for a farm laborer in 1936, Noah asks?

   • The laborer was covered once the 1939 law moved payments up, since it widened the Act's reach.
   • The laborer was covered, since farm work is steady employment taxed like factory work.
   • The laborer's work was left out of the Act's definition of employment, so old-age benefits did not cover it.
   • The laborer was covered, since the Act also gave aid to dependent mothers and to people who were blind.
10. 7.

    Card A says benefits were paid for by taxes on wages and payrolls. What does that tell Pia about who received them?

    • Benefits came from general funds, since the Act was a national program run by the government.
    • Benefits went to workers of 65 in every job, including farm and domestic work, since the taxes were on wages.
    • Benefits were tied to work that was taxed, not given to everyone aged 65.
    • Benefits went first to the poorest elderly, since the Act also aided mothers and people who were blind.

11. Use this

    Banks, 1929 to 1934. Card A, a summary in our words of FDIC history. Bank suspensions per year: 1929, 659; 1930, 1,350; 1931, 2,293; 1932, 1,453; 1933, 4,000. On March 6, 1933, the President declared a bank holiday. On March 13, 1933, banks began to reopen in stages. The Banking Act of June 16, 1933 created the FDIC. From January 1, 1934, deposits were insured up to $2,500 per depositor. In 1934, nine insured banks failed. Card B, from the inaugural address of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933 (two published copies matched; cuts marked): "…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…"

12. 8.

    Roosevelt said on March 4, 1933 that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He declared a bank holiday two days later. What does Ren take from the two facts?

    • The speech gave his view of the crisis and the holiday was a separate act, so the speech alone did not show his plan.
    • The speech announced a plan for the banks, since it named fear as the thing to remove.
    • The two facts show the crisis was mainly one of confidence, since banks began to reopen on March 13.
    • The holiday shows Roosevelt acted on the speech's point, since it came two days after the speech.

13. Use this

    Work relief, 1933 to 1943. Card A, a summary in our words from the National Park Service. The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), created in 1933, took men from families on relief into work camps for $30 a month, most of it sent home. Crews planted millions of trees and built trails, bridges and campgrounds from more than 4,500 camps; by 1942 more than 2.5 million men had served. The Works Progress Administration (WPA), 1935 to 1943, gave jobs to the unemployed on public projects, including the Federal Art, Theatre and Writers' Projects. Card B, a summary in our words of economist Price Fishback's 2017 review. Unemployment was between about 14 and 25 percent for most of the 1930s (the National Park Service gives 25 percent at the worst). Relief work paid about half to two-thirds of normal earnings. Native Americans in the CCC worked near their reservations, and older veterans also served. Card C, from the inaugural address, March 4, 1933: "Our greatest primary task is to put people to work."

14. 9.

    The 1933 speech named putting people to work as the greatest primary task, and the CCC was created that year. What can Tala say?

    • The CCC began as a response to the speech, since the program was created later in 1933.
    • The goal and the program fit together, but the speech alone does not show the CCC was planned from it.
    • The goal in the speech was met by the WPA, since the WPA put people to work on public projects.
    • The speech shows the CCC was planned in advance, since it names the goal the CCC met that year.

15. Use this

    Banks, 1929 to 1934. Card A, a summary in our words of FDIC history. Bank suspensions per year: 1929, 659; 1930, 1,350; 1931, 2,293; 1932, 1,453; 1933, 4,000. On March 6, 1933, the President declared a bank holiday. On March 13, 1933, banks began to reopen in stages. The Banking Act of June 16, 1933 created the FDIC. From January 1, 1934, deposits were insured up to $2,500 per depositor. In 1934, nine insured banks failed. Card B, from the inaugural address of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, March 4, 1933 (two published copies matched; cuts marked): "…the only thing we have to fear is fear itself…"

16. 10.

    The quotation on card B has cuts marked by an ellipsis at each end. Why do the marks matter to Zee?

    • They show the quotation is the full sentence, since both copies were matched word for word.
    • They show the sentence ends where the marks sit, since the marks are at the ends.
    • They show words were left out, so the full sentence may add context that changes the meaning.
    • They show the speech was edited later by others, since cuts are marked in the quotation.