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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why was Hiram Sherman removed from Equity leadership?

2. What is Stanley Kell's community organization trying to prevent at the time he is interviewed?

3. What did Harry Hartman do in the 1930's when he felt bad for the indebted people he was serving?

4. What accusation was made against Dr. Francis Townsend in his time?

5. Why was Ward James fired from his job in the 1930's?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Ray Wax's life disillusion him to the idea of strive-and-succeed?

2. Who was Martin Dies?

3. What did Hiram Sherman do after The Cradle Will Rock?

4. What humiliation did Ward James face seeking relief in the 1930's?

5. What was the most controversial component of the New Deal?

6. Why does Myrna Loy think she never got to meet Roosevelt in person?

7. How did Wilbur Kane experience the Joe Louis fight against Max Schmeling?

8. What was Edward Burgess's experience of the 1930's?

9. What strange dichotomy exists in Stanley Kell's interview in Honor and Humiliation?

10. How does Alf Landon recall his 1936 campaign against Roosevelt in the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

During the Depression, the United States government offered amenities to its people that were unheard of in the past: farmland, housing, camps for the indigent. Write an essay about the public reaction to these amenities. How did each of them prove a model of cooperation? To what extent did people view them as a stepping stone to private ownership? Which of these amenities are still in existence? Why did some disappear and others degrade over time?

Essay Topic 2

The federal government went through a series of processes in its attempt to react to the 1929 crash of the stock market and to stem the sinking of the national economy. Write an essay about these attempts at governmental assistance and how they did or did not succeed:

Part 1) How did the Hoover administration react in the immediate aftermath of Black Tuesday? Discuss what sort of governmental initiatives went into place, and whether the administration succeeded in stemming the decline or allaying fears in the general populace. What unrest cropped up at this time?

Part 2) Discuss the first steps taken by the Roosevelt administration upon its arrival into office. What, specifically, was the NRA? What powers did this administrative body offer Roosevelt to place limits on the private sector? Why was the NRA preemptively shut down soon after its creation?

Part 3) How did the Works Progress Administration prove to be more effective at stemming destitution than simple relief? What did this desire of Americans for work programs say about the country's work ethic? What were some material results of the WPA?

Essay Topic 3

The 1930's, as a result of the abject poverty and of Prohibition, became an era of romanticized criminality. Write an essay on the popularity of illegal behavior at this time. What was the nature of the industry dedicated to circumventing Prohibition laws? Why were figures like John Dillinger and Machine Gun Kelly folk heroes for robbing the banks? To what extent were they enacting public disgust with failed institutions?

(see the answer keys)

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