Primary
Other

Ss Bulletin: Constitutional Background to the Social Security Act of 1935 [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
A very interesting discussion of the potential problems that plagued the implementation of the Social Security Act. Read about the cases brought before the Supreme Court which gave Congress the constitutional ability to tax and spend for...
Article
Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

Gilder Lehrman Institute: History Now: The Wpa: Antidote to the Great Depression?

For Students 9th - 10th
[Free Registration/Login Required] A good assessment of the Works Progress Administration and its contribution not only of providing jobs for the unemployed during the Great Depression, but for the lasting improvements it made in the...
Primary
Digital Public Library of America

Dpla: Roosevelt's Tree Army: The Civilian Conservation Corps

For Students 9th - 10th
This exhibition tells the stories of the CCC's administration and controversial policies, the men who joined, and the contributions its projects made to the history of conservation in the United States.
Website
University of Groningen

American History: Outlines: Government Involvement

For Students 9th - 10th
Ouline of the changing scope of government involvement in the private sector beginning in 19th Century America Progressive Era and reaching its peak during Roosevelt's New Deal programs.
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: New Deal

For Students 9th - 10th
Article on FDR's New Deal provides detailed facts and a summary of a series of relief programs during the Great Depression.
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Second New Deal

For Students 9th - 10th
Discussion of the programs and reforms launched in the period of the Second New Deal that provided for social and economic legislation to benefit the mass of working people.
Website
Harry S. Truman Library and Museum

Truman Library: Oral History Interview With Leon H. Keyserling

For Students 9th - 10th
A fascinating interview with Leon Keyserling, a member of the Roosevelt Administration who played a large part in the implementation of the New Deal, recorded for the Truman Library in 1971.
Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: Picture Review of the 1930's

For Teachers 6th - 9th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart can be used to introduce or review the major aspects of the 1930's, including the Stock Market Crash, Hoover's presidency, the Bonus Army, the Dust Bowl, FDR and his New Deal Programs.
Lesson Plan
US National Archives

Nara: Teaching With Documents: Fdr's First Inaugural Address

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Features background on FDR and his platform for dealing with the Great Depression. Included are primary source documents of his first inaugural address and photos related to his New Deal programs.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: Roosevelt's Critics

For Students 5th - 8th
This article lays out criticism of President Roosevelt and his handling of the Great Depression and the New Deal. Read about three men who developed a great following by insisting that the New Deal did not go far enough and not enough...
Website
University of Virginia

Miller Center at Uva: u.s. Presidents: Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Domestic Policies

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the scope of Roosevelt's New Deal from 1933 until 1939 and continue with his domestic policies during World War II. Find out how important Roosevelt's personality was to the implementation of his ideas.
eBook
Country Studies US

Country Studies: United States History: The Second New Deal

For Students 9th - 10th
This site describes how as a result of mounting criticisms and a need for more economic relief and recovery, FDR introduced another series of programs, known as the Second New Deal, aimed at fighting unemployment and poverty and...
Website
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Comission

Expore Pa History: Pa and the Great Depression: Public Works and Organized Labor

For Students 9th - 10th
A good look at how the Great Depression affected Pennsylvania. See how New Deal legislation brought relief to the unemployed in Pennsylvania after 1936.
Website
Digital History

Digital History: President Roosevelt and the Wpa [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
Franklin Roosevelt had to deal with the Great Depression quickly when he became president in 1932. Read about the early New Deal legislation, how the money was spent, and who administered the programs. Find out about the Works Progress...
Website
Digital History

Digital History: The Farmer and the Depression [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
One of the first laws passed in Franklin Roosevelt's first hundred days was the Agricultural Adjustment Act. Read about how it helped farmers in crisis. and how it was the forerunner of the federal farm program in existence today. [pdf]
Primary
Curated OER

History Matters: "Share the Wealth": Huey Long Talks to the Nation

For Students 9th - 10th
A radio address from April 1935 where U.S. Senator Huey Long criticizes Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. As an alternative, he outlines his proposed "Share the Wealth" program, where wealth would be redistributed to give everyone a more...
Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Civilian Conservation Corps

For Students 9th - 10th
Discover interesting facts and information about the Civilian Conservation Corps that was established to employ young men to work on conservation projects and was created as part of FDR's New Deal Programs.
Website
Other

Bienes Center for the Literary Arts: A Brief Overview of the Wpa

For Students 9th - 10th
Read descriptions of the various programs for unemployed artists that were part of the Works Progress Administration.
Handout
PBS

Flashpoints: The Federal Theater Project's the Cradle Will Rock

For Students 9th - 10th
This PBS site provides background information on the events happenning around the US that might have attributed to communist scare brought on by the Federal Theater's musical "The Cradle Will Rock".
Primary
Wisconsin Historical Society

Wisconsin Historical Society: A Brief Explanation of the Social Security Act

For Students 9th - 10th
The Social Security Act was brought into law in 1935. This booklet was published by the government in 1935 to explain how the Act worked.
Website
Wessels Living History Farm

Living History Farm: Farming in the 1930s: The Politics of the Rea

For Students 9th - 10th
Electrifying rural America revolutionized farm life. Read about how the Rural Electrification Administration was instituted and what had to be done to encourage rural families to form electric co-ops. Included is an interview with a...
Graphic
Other

Fdr Project/ the First 100 Days

For Students 9th - 10th
A school site that shows a collection of editorial cartoons from the 1930s responding to the First Hundred Days of Roosevelt's presidency. Great primary source material for viewpoints of the day.
Lesson Plan
Internal Revenue Service

Understanding Taxes : The Wealth Tax of 1935 and the Victory Tax of 1942

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson plan from the Internal Revenue Service gives the history of the progressive income tax which helped fund the social programs implemented during the Great Depression, and the war effort after the country joined the Allies in...
Article
Other

Mnhs: The Wpa Federal Art Projects in Minnesota, 1935 1943 [Pdf]

For Students 9th - 10th
An exhaustive look at the arts projects funded by the WPA Federal Arts program in Minnesota. These included music, writing, and pictorial projects throughout the state. This PDF file includes pictures and extensive footnotes.