Wednesday, January 27th

Advanced American History

NHD Work / Meetings will be in progress for the next 5 days.  Be sure to be ready to show a completed thesis statement, a bibliography with at least 15 sources, and a script or outline for your final project.


American Studies

Class discussion today was focused on the rise of Adolf Hitler.  If absent, be sure to get class notes in preparation for a quiz later in the week.

Tuesday, January 26th

Advanced American History

1.  Quiz #1
2.  The Rise of Adolf Hitler and Fascism -- class discussion today focuses on Germany between world wars.  We noted the failure of democracy, the rise of the Nazi party, and the activities of Hitler after his election in 1933 that eliminate civil liberties.

image courtesy www.maine.edu

American Studies

Today, our focus is the rise of Hitler and the actions taken by Nazi Germany in the late 1930's.  To begin, we are viewing The Century: America's Time--Over the Edge 1936-40.

 

Monday, January 25th

Welcome to Semester 2!  

Advanced American Studies

After a brief introduction to the Second World War, classes were assigned text reading pages 436-442.  Pay particular attention to the actions taken by Germany, Italy, Japan and the Soviet Union that lead to war.  Note the rise of dictatorships and the conditions unique to each nation.

Reminder:  Quiz #1 Tuesday

American Studies

After a brief introduction to WWII, students had time to complete the assignment listed below.

Assignment:  Read 436-442.  Complete note organizer on bottom of 436.

Wednesday - Friday January 20-22

All Classes

Wednesday -- Review for Great Depression Final Exam

Thursday  -- Exams hours 2, 6, 5, 4

Friday -- Exams hours 1, 3, 7

Tuesday, January 19th

Advanced American History

In class today we are focusing on the Second New Deal and the Social Security Act of 1935.  Reasearch done on the PBS website was discussed as was the New Deal Graphic organizer.

Assignment:  Read pages 412-421 (Effects of the New Deal)

WPA image courtesy newdeal75.org

American Studies

In class today we are completing the assignment on Social Security based on web research.  Most information can be found at this web link:

PBS Social Security History and Overview

Monday, January 18

Advanced American History

As we begin to culminate our study of the Great Depression and New Deal era, we are going to examine some of the nuts and bolts of the most noteworthy of all legislation from the New Deal era, the Social Security Act of 1935.  In small groups, answer the questions (handout) related to the background and overview of Social Security from the following website:

PBS Social Security NewsHour

Be prepared to discuss what you find here in class on Tuesday!

American Studies

After finishing a discussion of specific New Deal programs, please complete the following assignment on the legacy of the New Deal.

Assignment:  Read text 412-421 (complete 2-column notes).

Friday, January 15th

American Studies

To further analyze Franklin Roosevelt's response to the economic crisis of the 1930's, we are examining one of his early "Fireside Chats".  FDR made effective use of mass media to try to build confidence in the citizenry and get the economy back on track.  In the second of these chats, Roosevelt both assesses the first few months of his presidency in working to combat the problems of the economy and addresses arguments against his actions.  Text and audio of this radio address can be found here:

May 1933 Fireside Chat

FDR on the radio image courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

Thursday, January 14th

Advanced American History

NHD Work time -- use the time to organize the source information you got at UWGB last week and prep for 2nd meetings.

American Studies

In class today, we reviewed some of the key programs of the New Deal era.  Be sure to know the details of the New Deal note sheet.

Wednesday, January 13th

Advanced American History

To continue our discussion of the political and economic philosophies of FDR, we began by reviewing his 1933 inaugural address.  Then, we examined the ideals espoused in his inaugural put into action in the first 100 days of his presidency, the first New Deal.

Assignment:  Complete New Deal organizer using text pages 396-411.

WPA sign courtesy archives.gov

Tuesday, January 12th

dvanced American History

1.  Quiz #1 -- Causes of the Great Depression

2.  The remainder of the class is focused on providing support for the following thesis:

In the depths of the Great Depression in 1932, the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt ushered in an era of unprecedented federal activism and involvement in the economy and in doing so, changed the expectations of American citizens about the proper role of the federal government in times of economic crisis.

To do so, we began by examining Herbert Hoover's response to the economic crisis.  His response was characterized by volunteerism, trickle-down economics, and a refusal to provide direct relief for citizens.  

Finally, we began to contrast this approach with FDR's after the election of 1932.  Primary source support can be found in his first inaugural.  Audio of the speech can be found here:

Text and Audio of FDR's first inaugural address

Assignment:  Finish NHD style organizer.  In class tomorrow we will continue with FDR's philosophies in action with an analysis of the New Deal.

Monday, January 11th

Advanced American History

The focus of class today was the identification of the complex causes of the Great Depression and Stock Market Collapse.  Particular attention was given to uneven distribution of wealth, easy credit and unbalanced trade as being three substantial flaws in the late twenties economy that results in economic collapse.

Assignment:  Read Ch. 11.3  (Hoover's Response Fails).  Answer questions on handout in preparation for class tomorrow.  Quiz Tuesday.

American Studies

Early this week, we will be viewing the film Cinderella Man.  This is the true story of a boxer named James J. Braddock, whose experience through the late twenties and into the Great Depression mirrors that of many Americans. 

Below is the actual footage of the 15th round of the championship bout between James Braddock and Max Baer.

Friday, January 8th

Advanced American Studies

To introduce the Great Depression, we examined about 20 minutes of video from the series "The Century:  America's Time."  To begin our study of the Depression, this clip explained just how bad it got.  America faced an unemployment rate of 25%, half of all home mortgages were in default, 9 million savings accounts were wiped out as bank failures were rampant, and massive deflation all but froze capital. 

Assignment:  Read Chapter 12.1.  Answer the question -- "What caused the Great Depression?"

photo courtesy ourdocuments.gov

American Studies

The focus of the discussion for today was the contrasting efforts of Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt in combating the depression.  First, Hoover's efforts were discussed.  His policies were marked by:
1.  Volunteerism
2.  Trickle-Down Economics in the form of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
3.  A refusal to provide direct relief

With the election of FDR in 1932, the new president promised American's a "New Deal".  Components of this idea were instituted in the first 100 days of his presidency.

Assignment:  Read Ch. 13.1.  Complete New Deal organizer for Tuesday.

Thursday, January 7th

Advanced American History

Today is our field trip to UWGB's Corfin Library and the Area Research Center.  Be sure to bring the following:

• a bag lunch or money for food
• money for the copy pot
• flash drive
• your NHD binders

American Studies

In my absence today, the class schedule will be as follows:

1.  Great Depression Quiz #1
2.  Dust Bowl Assignment
3.  Hoover's Response Fails assignment -- Read 384-388 and answer questions on handout.

Wednesday, January 6th

American Studies

In class this week, we discussed how economic trends such as an uneven distribution of wealth,  overreliance on credit, and other economic flaws caused economic collapse marked by massive deflation, widespread unemployment and bank failures.  In class today, we viewed a few video clips to illustrate just how hard these economic factors hit Americans in both urban and rural areas.

Reminder:  Great Depression Quiz #1 -- Thursday.

Tuesday, January 5th

American Studies

Our analysis of the Great Depression continues today with a look at the complex causes of the economic collapse.  In class, we discussed how an uneven distribution of wealth, easy credit, mechanization and unbalanced trade combine with some other economic flaws set in place in the 1920's to cause massive deflation, bank failures, stock market collapse, and widespread unemployment.

Assignment:  Read Ch. 12.2.  (p. 378-381).  Answer questions 4, 5 & 6 on page 381.

Bank run photograph above courtesy answers.com

Monday, January 4th

Advanced American History

Welcome Back!  Monday and Tuesday this week we are scheduled to conduct NHD meetings.  Be sure you have all required components ready at your meeting time.

Reminder:  Our trip to UWGB is slated for Thursday.  We will leave after first hour and return at the end of the day.  Remember to bring $2 to add to the copy pot for use on the printers, copy machines and microfilm machines.  Thanks!

Stock Market Crash poster courtesy art.com

American Studies

Our study of the Great Depression begins today.  We will begin by reviewing the prosperity in the 1920's and begin to discuss how and why there were problems below the prosperous surface of the 1920's.  We will culminate with a discussion of the crash of 1929 and discuss how a stock market can "crash" and why it matters.

Assignment:  Complete Ch.12.1 "Causes of Depression" handout for class on Tuesday.