Oklahoma Academic Standard 4. The student will analyze the cycles of boom and bust of the 1920s and 1930s on the transformation of American government, the economy and society.

Objective 4.2  Analyze the effects of the destabilization of the American economy.

  C. Analyze how President Herbert Hoover’s financial policies and massive unemployment as exemplified by the Bonus Army March and Hoovervilles impacted the presidential election of 1932.  

In a Nutshell

This objective requires students to examine government policies designed to address the initial effects of the Great Depression. Students should understand Hoover’s philosophy that local organizations and wealthy individuals needed to take on the responsibilities of providing for the poor. Veterans of WWI were especially desperate for assistance, taking their concerns to Washington. In addition, many rural Americans were migrating in search of better opportunities, while others retained hope that the government would provide for their needs. Students should also understand the extreme hardships and living conditions, which played a significant part in a call for new leadership.

Teacher Action 

Student Action 

• Assist students in gathering, organizing and analyzing various kinds of primary and secondary sources to compare presidential plans to address economic conditions.

• Provide opportunities for students to evaluate the extent to which historical and cultural perspectives affect an author’s stated or implied purpose when examining evidence of the Great Depression's effect on the American republic.

• Analyze information from visual, oral, digital, and interactive texts (e.g. maps, charts, images, political cartoons, videos) in order to draw conclusions.

• Construct visual and/or multimedia presentations, using a variety of media forms to enhance understanding of findings related to the impact of the Great Depression on Americans and the nation.

Key Concepts 

Misconceptions 

• Great Migration

• loss of homes and farms

• unemployment levels and sectors most impacted 

• evidence of conditions reflected in art, photography, and music

• Dorothea Lange, Woody Guthrie

• efforts of charitable and religious organizations to meet public needs 

• Most students will possess prior knowledge of economic conditions during the Great Depression from previous coursework as the topic related to state or world history. However, many students may continue to have difficulty grasping the enormity and extent of the suffering experienced by the vast majority of Americans.

• Some students have prior knowledge of basic economic theories; however, the study of this era lends itself particularly appropriate to focus on multiple causation for economic cycles and the potential interventions that governments can take to impact economic conditions.

Instructional Resources