The New Deal on Trial: 1939

THE NEW DEAL ON TRIAL: 1939 Final Exam Activity OBJECTIVES: 1) This exercise assesses controversial aspect of FDR’s New Deal program that many of us do not recognize because of our distance from the events. 2) To sort out the New Deal’s intrigues and give as clearer picture of FDR’s motives and actions during the 1930s. 3) To comprehend the reality of the Great Depression as it often defies understanding by those who haven’t lived through it. 4) To demonstrate understanding of the novel, The Gapes of Wrath, its themes and characters ROLES FOR THE TRIAL: Judge-maintains control of the trial, rules on objections, instructs the Bailiff and Jury. Should dress for the trial & will write a position paper at the conclusion of the trial. It should be a first person objective analysis of the evidence provided during the trial. It should be no more than two (2) pages double-spaced. Bailiff-keeps order, swears in witnesses, and aids the court in any way possible. Should dress for the trial & will write a position paper at the conclusion of the trial. It should be a first person objective analysis of the evidence provided during the trial. It should be no more than two (2) pages double-spaced. Attorneys (2 per side)-prosecution will be responsible for submitting information that makes a case against the defendant based on the charges below. Defense attorneys will choose order of presentation and defend their client. Both sides will give opening and closing statements. All lawyers will turn in their notes in a binder at the trial’s conclusion.

Charge: The New Deal was a socialistic power grab by FDR which failed to solve the problems of the Great Depression.

ACCUSED: Should dress the part and write a 1 1/2 page bio paper which explains the intent of the New Deal programs and why you feel you are innocent. Franklin Delano Roosevelt: the President of the U.S., defends his New Deal programs and his pragmatic philosophy of experimenting until something lessens the economic woes and human suffering. WITNESSES: Should dress the part and write a 1 1/2 page bio paper which also explains the significance in the trial. PROSECUTION Alfred E. Landon: former Republican candidate for President against FDR in 1936 paints his party’s view of FDR-”a socialist and a dictator.” Robert Taylor Green: 1930s businessman who experienced an economic roller coaster ride, explains how the New Deal affected his company’s struggle for recovery. (fictional character) Charles Evans Hughes: the influential Supreme Court Justice, explains that he and his colleagues found some New Deal acts and agencies unconstitutional and “socialistic.” Herbert C. Hoover: President of the United States from 1929-1933 and candidate against the successful FDR in 1932, speaks out against FDR’s New Dean and what he feels is its destruction of America’s self-reliance and “rugged individualism.” Huey P. Long: His share our Wealth plan claimed to have the true solutions for the Great Depression which went beyond Roosevelt’s feeble new deal ideas. Mary Hall: Starved to death in 1938. Comes back as a ghost to say that FDR didn’t do nearly enough to help her and her two daughters who perished due to starvation. Ma Joad: Like Eva Mohnike she is destitute and has a family to feed. She tries, in vain to keep her family together as the family struggles to find work in California. She is promised the world and is unable to keep her family together despite Roosevelt’s New Deal See The Grapes of Wrath. You may want to look up some critical analysis about her either online or in the reference section of the library. DEFENSE: Clarence T. Richmond: is a Tennessee farmer who left ruin and near starvation under President Hoover to reclaim self- respect by surviving under President Roosevelt. He has particularly interesting information to present regarding the TVA. (fictional character) Eva Mohnike: is a destitute mother who heroically tries to keep her family together during the “hard times’ until the New Deal rescued her, her family, and others like her-persons who had been facing starvation and permanent poverty. (Mrs. Mohnike’s grandmother: Mrs. Mohnike is your reference source) Millard D. Smithers: is a 19 year old young man who gained meaningful employment in a CCC camp after months of wandering New York City’s streets as a vagabond. He tells the court about one of the New Deal’s most successful and least criticized agencies, the Civilian Conservation Corps. Muley Graves: The banks have driven him and his family off the land in Oklahoma, but he has chosen to stay despite having to live like a “graveyard ghost.” See Chapters 5 - 6 in The Grapes of Wrath for character details Willy (Joe Davis’ Boy) Feely: He remains in Oklahoma and has to help the banks drive out his own neighbors in order to save his own family. See Chapters 4, 5, and 6 in The Grapes of Wrath. Louis Banks: Black man who suffered prejudice, poverty and additional hardships during the Great Depression due to both his skin color and the lack of jobs. Will give evidence on how blacks will were treated under the New Deal. Louise Ma Kinkaid: loves Roosevelt for helping save her family and employing her son in the FERA program. Jury: will take notes during the trial, make a one minute speech based on their notes and write a position paper at the conclusion of the trial. It should be a first person objective analysis of the evidence provided during the trial. It should be no more than two (2) pages double-spaced.