Friday, January 13th

Advanced American Studies

NHD research day -- meetings continue, and you should use the time to begin to organize all of the research you conducted in the past few days at UWGB.

FDR image courtesy authentichistory.com

American Studies

Shortly after his inauguration, Franklin Roosevelt set about to fulfill his campaign promise that he would offer Americans a "New Deal."  In the first 100 days of his presidency, the president instituted a dizzying array of programs to try to stabilize banks, deal with unemployment, and infuse some hope into the American economy.  To keep Americans aware of what the government was doing, FDR used "Fireside Chats", or radio addresses to inform Americans.

For Monday, examine one of Roosevelt's earliest fireside chats found here:

http://newdeal.feri.org/chat/chat02.htm

Text and audio can be found here:

http://millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3299

Monday - Thursday January 9-12

Advanced American History

NHD meetings/research will be conducted for much of this week.  Be sure to have a project ready thesis, system of research organization and the beginnings (at least 5 sources) of a bibliography in the proper format.

**UWGB Cofrin Library field trip Wednesday/Thursday


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.

courtesy youtube.com

Thursday / Friday January 5th- 6th

American Studies

Thursday - Quiz #1.  If absent, you have 3 days to make up the quiz.

Friday - After a discussion and analysis of some items related to the Dust Bowl, we collectively reviewed some of the problems related to the Depression, from massive unemployment to systemic financial collapse.   The discussion then turned to Herbert Hoover and his economic philosophies, as well as the prevailing philosophies to that point.  For example, laissez-faire philosophies and worries about "moral hazards" led Hoover to pursue policies relying on volunteerism and "trickle-down" economics.  These policies ultimately did not work, and the 4 million unemployed of 1929 became 16 million unemployed by 1932.

Tuesday / Wednesday January 3-4

American Studies

Our study of the Great Depression continues.  Tuesday we discussed the complex causes of the depression, from uneven distribution of wealth to easy credit to unbalanced trade.  Wednesday, we examined some video to show just how dire the situation was in 1929-1930.

Assignments:  p. 373-381 (4,5,6).  Quiz Thursday!

"Bonus Army" WWI veterans protesting unpaid pensions courtesy wisc.edu

Monday, January 2nd

Advanced American History

This week's schedule for 20's exhibition/performances is as follows:

Mon/Tue:  LMC - Project development
Wed:  LMC/Auditorium - rehearsals
Thurs/Fri:  Performances in Auditorium

image courtesy stockmarketcrashof29.net

American Studies

The prosperity of the Roaring Twenties gave way to the despair of the Great Depression in 1929.  The first visible sign of a massive economic crisis was the Stock Market Crash of 1929.  How does a market "crash?"  Why does it matter?  We will examine these questions and others as we begin to discuss the complex causes of the Great Depression.

Assignment:  Read text 366-72 (handout on the causes of Depression)