Analyzing Hoover’s Response to the Great Depression: A Primary and Secondary Source Comparison

Most high school textbooks describe Hoover’s response to the Great Depression as ineffective, and most Americans associate his name with failed economic policy. Was it? Through this lesson, students will analyze primary and secondary sources to learn how Hoover responded to the Great Depression. Then, they will create their own interpretations of Hoover’s response.

Lesson Author

Name:	Dan Covino
School:	Grinnell High School

Lesson Audience

Grade Level	9th-10th	# of Class Periods	2
Class	U.S. History	Length of Period	60 mins.

Objectives Back to Navigation Bar

Student will:

1. Students will analyze primary and secondary sources to understand the policies Herbert Hoover proposed to combat the Great Depression.

2. Students will compare and contrast primary documents with secondary sources to assess the strengths and weaknesses of secondary sources.

3. Students will see an example of how history “gets made” and begin creating their own history.

Materials Back to Navigation Bar

Handouts (Handouts embedded in Appendix)

Secondary Sources

i. Excerpt from Gary B. Nash’s American Odyssey: The Twentieth Century and Beyond

ii. Excerpt from Glen Jeansonne’s The Life of Herbert Hoover—Fighting Quaker, 1928-1933

Primary Sources

i. Hoover Radio Address, Feb. 12, 1932

ii. Hoover’s 1931 State of the Union Address (for advanced readers)

iii. Hoover’s 1932 State of the Union Address (for lower readers)

iv. Hoover’s Statement on Public v. Private Financing of Relief Efforts

Handout: “Your Turn: How did Hoover Respond?”
Written Argument Rubric

Classroom Procedures Back to Navigation Bar

Prior Learning (background information, vocabulary)

The student will need to know:

What primary and secondary sources are; how we can distinguish one from the other.

Day 1:

1. Students work in pairs to read Gary Nash’s interpretation of Hoover’s response to the Great Depression from American Odyssey. When finished, students will answer the questions found at the end of the document.

2. Review students’ answers to American Odyssey. Create a chart for sources on the board [see: Fig. 1 below], and write students’ answers to the American Odyssey questions on the column devoted to that source.

Fig. 1

	American Odyssey	Fighting Quaker
According to the text, what policies did Hoover propose to combat the Great Depression?
According to the text, what were the effects of Hoover’s policies? Were they successful or unsuccessful?
Do you think the text portrays Hoover in a positive or a negative light? Why? Include citations from the source!

3. Have students read an excerpt from Glen Jeansonne’s The Life of Herbert Hoover—Fighting Quaker: 1928-1933. Students will answer the questions found at the end of the document. Note: This text requires an advanced vocabulary. Depending on the reading level of your students, you may want to read the text with them, and fill in the paraphrase box as a class. Or, you can fill in the paraphrase yourself and simply read it with the students. Alternatively, if you’re confident in your students’ ability to understand the text, you may assign them to read it individually, or in pairs, and fill in the paraphrase box on their own.

4. Review students’ answers to the Fighting Quaker source, and add students’ answers to the chart. Discuss the differences between the two secondary sources’ interpretation of Hoover’s response to the Great Depression. How is it possible for historians to create two completely different versions of the past? What if we relied solely on secondary sources to understand the past?

5. Have students work in groups, in pairs, or individually (depending on their ability) to read the primary documents and answer the questions found at the end of each. If working in groups or pairs, teachers should assign one document to an entire group or pair. Teachers may also require students to fill in the “paraphrase section” to assess and reinforce student understanding. Teachers may wish to model the reading of primary documents by having reading Hoover’s radio address of Feb. 12, 1932, as a class and have the class paraphrase as they read. After students are done reading, they should fill in the chart below [see: Fig. 2 below] to reinforce their understanding of the primary source they read.

Fig 2:

	Hoover Radio Address, Feb. 12, 1932	1931 State of the Union Address, Herbert Hoover	1932 State of the Union Address, Herbert Hoover	Hoover’s Statement on Public v. Private Relief Efforts
According to the text, what specific policies did Hoover propose to end the Great Depression?
According to the text, what role should the federal government play in the recovery? What role should individuals and/or local governments play?
Which secondary source most accurately reflects your primary text?
If you were a historian, would you rely only on the primary documents to interpret Hoover’s response to the Depression? Why/why not?

6. When students have finished reading the documents, discuss, as a class, what the primary documents said. Review the questions students answered.

7. “Ticket out the Door”: Have students individually answer the following questions and hand in answers before they leave class:

i. Did the secondary sources agree or disagree with the primary sources?

ii. Are the primary sources biased? If so, how do you know?

iii. What if we solely relied on this primary source to understand Hoover’s response to the Great Depression?

iv. Are secondary sources always accurate?

v. Why is it important to use a variety of sources when analyzing history?

Day 2:

1. Assign students to create their own interpretation of Hoover’s response. (See Handout: “Your Turn: How did Hoover Respond?”). Students may use their notes and sources from Day 1 to help them answer the paragraph response question. This should take the entire period, but if students finish early, have them critique and score their own paragraphs and assign themselves a grade with justification.

Extension Back to Navigation Bar

1. Classes can continue the same sort of primary and secondary source comparison and analysis when studying FDR’s New Deal. An essential question for a future lesson could be: How do the primary and secondary sources reinforce or upset prevailing notions about the success of FDR’s New Deal?

2. Students will revisit the primary source analysis they conducted when they compare Hoover’s response to the Depression to George W. Bush’s and Barack Obama’s responses to the 2008 financial crisis.

Evaluation Back to Navigation Bar

Rubric

The rubric below may be used to grade students’ paragraphs.

Exemplary (5 pts.) Needs Improvement (1-4 pts.) Unacceptable (0 pts.)

Topic Sentence (6 pts.)	Topic sentence introduces the claim argued in the paragraph.	Topic sentence states a main claim but the claim is unspecific or not arguable OR the topic sentence’s claim is not referred to in the paragraph.	No main claim evident anywhere in paragraph.
Evidence (6 pts.)	Multiple pieces of evidence provided to fully support claim. Interprets and uses evidence (quotations/ examples) reasonably.	A few pieces of supporting evidence provided. Interpretation and use of evidence is mostly reasonable.	Very little evidence provided, or evidence provided does not support the claim.
Organization (6 pts.)	The paragraph’s content is organized logically and cohesively.	The paragraph is somewhat logical.	The sentences are presented with little reason or logic.
Mechanics (6 pts.)	Very few spelling, punctuation, and/or grammatical mistakes. The paragraph has concise prose, active verbs and varied vocabulary.	Minor spelling, punctuation, and/or grammatical mistakes exist, but do not obstructing readers’ understanding.	Students commit numerous spelling, punctuation, and/or grammatical mistakes.

Appendix Back to Navigation Bar

Handouts