FDR'S First Fireside Chat-The Banking Crisis

Hello again.

Click here for FDR's first fireside chat and answer the following questions.

1. Who does FDR believe his audience to be?

2. How does FDR make his listeners feel like he understands them and he needs their help?

3. How do banks work according to the speech?

4. Why did FDR issue the bank holiday?

5. What did Congress do that allowed FDR to take bold action?

6. What actions did FDR to make the banks solvent again? (Be specific)

7. In the paragraph that starts with "Is it possible...," what is FDR trying to do?

8. How does FDR shift the message to a personal one about the American people? What is the tone of this section?

9. How would you have felt listening to the speech in 1933?

FDR's Inaugural Address Assignment

Hey ya'll.

Click here for the link to the text and audio of FDR's First Inaugural Address.

While reading, answer the following questions:

1. The first paragraph contains the most famous line from the speech, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself...," what does FDR mean by this phrase? What was he trying to tell the American people?

2. The 2nd and 3rd paragraph lists the problem that America faces. What are those problems in your own words?

3. What is the message of paragraph four? Why does FDR follow paragraphs 2 and 3 with this paragraph?

4. Who does FDR blame for the problems at the end of paragraph 4 and in paragraph 5?

5. What does FDR says needs to change in paragraph 6?

6. In paragraph 7 FDR calls for action, the next 3 paragraphs describe the action he plans to take. What are those actions?

7. Which is more important to FDR, the national or international economy? Why?

8. What does he ask of the American people?

9. What role does FDR say he will play in this "battle" against the Depression?

10. How does FDR say he might have to adjust the normal balance of power set up in the Constitution? How does he justify this change based on the role he says he will play?

11. How does the end of his speech respond to those who fear he will take this crisis and create a dictatorship?

12. Overall, what is the tone of the speech and what are the key points that FDR wanted to tell the American people?

Composite People for Chart and EC Journal Entries

Composite People: Read through these descriptions to decide which one of them would be most likely to be impacted by the event you are writing about.

Inez Kline is a 23 year old white woman. She lives in an apartment in Chicago with women she went to the University of Chicago with. After college, she worked for a year in a munitions factory until they declared armistice in World War I. She is single and plans to stay that way for a few more years since she has yet to find a person she wants to marry. She works as a clerk at department store for $80 a month. (barely middle class)

Salvadore Sabantini is a 30 year old Italian immigrant living in Boston. He works at a glass factory and supports a family of four on his salary. He refuses to let his wife work but two of his sons work at the factory and contribute to the family income. One of his sons has recently gotten involved with an anarchist organization and Salvadore is worried that he will be fired for it. (barely middle class)

Roy Pearson is a 28 year old African American from Ruleville, Mississippi. He volunteered for service during World War I where he experienced a number of life or death situations. One of his best friends lost a leg. He is now back home in Ruleville living with his family and looking for work. His high school sweetheart Irene waited for him during the war and is looking forward to getting married and starting a family. His parents are both sharecroppers who own their own home but are always afraid of losing it. Roy’s brother, Edward, moved to New York during the war to find work and to get out of the Jim Crow south. Roy envies the move but knows that he will never leave the south as long as his parents are alive. (Poor)

Thomas L. Friedman III is a 45 years old white man who is the vice-president of the Bank of New York. His grandfather was an immigrant tailor from Russia and his father owned a very successful clothing store on 5th Avenue. Friedman attended New York University and the University of Chicago graduate school. He lives in a huge apartment on the top floor of a building that overlooks Central Park. He is married to Minna Friedman (a woman of great wealth herself) and has one son who escaped the draft because of efforts made by Thomas Friedman. Friedman is Jewish and was known as a radical in his youth. In addition to the bank, he is heavily invested in the stock market and is partial owner of a number of businesses in New York that both sell to stores in America but also export their goods abroad. (Very wealthy)

Ethel Riesling is a 68 year old white woman living in Dayton, Tennessee. Her parents were German immigrants who came to America in 1845 because of the failure of the German revolution. She grew up in Ohio but moved to Tennessee when she married John Riesling who is the preacher at Dayton Baptist Church. Her only son was killed in the war. She and her husband live off of his meagre salary. (Poor)

Journal

Sample Journal Entry: Your journal entry should expand on one of the topics listed and personalize it. Below is an example of one journal entry. The bolded information is from my further research into the 1918 flu epidemic. An entry with that much information will get 5 out of 5 points.

Person: Roy Pearson
Topic: 1918 Flu Epidemic

Today I lied in my bunk for the entire day. All around me I could hear the moans from my bunkmates. They are clearly in worse shape than I am. What amazes me is that this hit us in our prime. I mean we are all in our 20s...and healthy. The guy next to me sounds like he is slowly drowning in his own mucous. I can hear him struggling a little more with each breath. If that isn’t enough, they LOOK almost dead. The spots show up awful quick and their color changes. We are in a segregated ward and don’t get the same attention as the white soldiers. That’s why this epidemic has hit us the hardest. We are dying at twice the rate of the white guys. Even the doctors and nurses we do get often come down with the illness and are no longer any use to us. I heard the death toll will be over 500,000 when this is all over and that is just in the U.S. Although I hate to say it, it makes me wonder what we have done down here on earth take make god hate us this much. First the war and then the flu. I am hoping for better days ahead.

Reading Assignment Pages 684-699

The Great War and American Neutrality

-Why did many Americans have a personal interest in the war in Europe in 1914?
-Whose foreign policy advice is mentioned in this section? Why didn't the US follow that advice?

"The One Great Nation at Peace"

-What were the two sides in the war and what countries were on each side?
-Why does your book say "neutrality was profitable"?
-How had industrialization changed the nature of warfare?
-How might the European war impact American unity?

Reform Priorities at Home

-What three areas topped Wilson's reform agenda? What did each action do for the country?
-Why did unions celebrate the Clayton Anti-trust Act?
-What did the Clayton Act and Interstate Trade Commission do to regulate businesses?
-What other laws were passed under Wilson that helped workers?

Skip "Great Migration" Section (you'll read about it this weekend)

Limits to American Neutrality

-What led US policy on World War I to lean toward the Allied nations?
-What did opponents say was the cause of this "lean"?

The United States Goes to War

-What did Wilson say was the purpose of the war in his War Message to Congress?
-In what ways did US entry into the war help the allies?

The Logic of Belligerency

-How was American neutrality tested on the high seas?
-What was the Lusitania and what role did it play in American efforts to remain neutral?
-What promises did Germany make for limited its unrestricted submarine warfare?
-Why does the book say that both the Central Power and the Allies were guilty of killing civilians?
-Why did Germany restart its unrestricted submarine warfare?
-What was the Zimmerman Telegram?
-How did Wilson's language enable the US to claim moral authority in the war?

Mobilizing the Home Front

-What agencies did the Wilson administration create to help mobilize the country for war? What was the purpose of each of those agencies?
-How did the war affect American pocket books?

Ensuring Unity

-How did the war exacerbate racist and nativist tensions in America? Be sure to include the language changes, immigration restrictions and the Espionage and Sedition Acts
-What did the court case Schenk v U.S. decide?
-What events occurred between workers and owners/government during this time?
-How did the Great Migration impact black/white worker relationships?

The War in Europe

-What problems did the Allies face early on?
-How did the war change American opinions of Europe?
-Why did Russia pull out of the war?
-What was the "fourteen points" speech?
-What did Wilson hope to accomplish with the speech?
-How did Wilson and Lenin differ in their views of democracy?

The Struggle to Win the Peace: Peacemaking and the Versailles Treaty

-How did the "Big Three" go about making a "New World Order"? (Be specific)
-What danger did Wilson's aides see in using the word "self-determination"?
-How did Wilson get around this promise?
-How did the Americans differ from the French and British in terms of the degree to which Germany should be punished?
-What, in the end, was decided about Germany?
-What was the League of Nations?
-Why was it bad strategy that Wilson did not invite any Republicans to go with him to Versailles?
-What did the Republicans object to about the treaty? Why did they object to it?
-How did Wilson's passion for the treaty kill him in the end?

Reading Questions and Historical Thinking Matters Assignment

Created Equal Reading Questions

Pages 627-636

American Imperialism
-What were the motivations behind American imperialism according to this section? (Be thorough, they list many different reasons)

Skip the Section Called "Cultural Encounters with the Exotic"

Initial Imperialist Ventures
-What spurred the growth of the American navy in the 1880s?
-Which Robber Barons might have benefited the most from America's shift to steel ships?
-What did Alfred Mahan argue in his book? What did America need Pacific Islands for?
-How was the Monroe Doctrine used during this period? What was the Monroe Doctrine?
-Create a mini-timeline of when missionaries arrived in Hawaii and when they began to ship crops to the US duty-free.
-Who made up the plantation workers in Hawaii and what problems did they face?
-How did the McKinley Tariff help lead to the overthrow of the Hawaiian government by the Marines?
-What was Cleveland's response?

The Spanish-American-Cuban-Filipino War of 1898
-Who led the Cuban revolt against Spain? Why did American investors not support the insurgents?
-What did the Spanish do to quell the rebellion?
-Create a mini-timeline from the de Lome letter through the declaration of war with Spain.
-What is yellow journalism and what role did it play in exacerbating the tensions with Spain over Cuba?
-What was the Teller Amendment and how did it help America maintain its moral authority?
-How did the US take over the Philippines? What Filipino rebel leader assisted the Americans?
-What role did the Rough Riders play in the war in Cuba? Who helped them in their charge up San Juan Hill?
-What did Sec. of State Hay call the war?
-How did most soldiers die in the war?
-How did the US violate its promise in the Teller Amendment?
-What were McKinley's motivations in purchasing the Philippines?
-How did Aguinaldo become the George Washington of his people?
-What were the "Open Door Notes" and what was the European response? What, in the end, helped America get a foothold in China?

Critics of Imperialism
-How was Teddy Roosevelt perceived by his supporters? By his enemies?
-Who were the critics of imperialism and what reasons did they give for their position?
-What were the reasons pro-imperialists gave for their position?
-Who was McKinley's running mate in the election of 1900?

Conclusion
-I would read the conclusion as a review. It's always a good idea.

Inquiry Assignment

Click here for inquiry assignment
Go to: Begin the inquiry
Find the documents: The documents are listed across the top (i.e. "Awake U.S." and "McKinley")
Find the questions: For each document, answer the questions (usually 3 or 4) for each document
Answer the questions: Bring your answers to the questions to class