White station history



US HistoryExtra Credit - DUE: Friday, 3/10!The New Deal and MemphisBackground: (adapted from )Perhaps one of the greatest challenges for young historians of the Great Depression is grasping the severity of the economic problems of the time and the extent of human suffering. Losses were immense and not just of fortunes and wealth, but of human dignity, hope for the future, and the sense of a stable society. While the Great Depression meant poverty, unemployment, homelessness and frustration for many, this was not the universal experience. Indeed, for some Americans it was a period of great creativity, political change, and social innovation – a time when government created institutions and legislation to improve the lives of many people. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s government responded to the Great Depression with the policies and programs of the New Deal. The legacy of this era remains in the built environment (not only buildings, but infrastructure projects such as flood protection and park development), and in the emergence of some basic social services. Memphis’ public landscape of the New Deal — schools, hospitals, parks, roads, sewers, airports, amphitheaters, bridges, golf courses, aqueducts, power stations, city halls, art works, and more — were constructed by a half dozen federal agencies created by the Roosevelt administration. Many of these New Deal-built structures, public works, and art are still in use by the public today. The largest of the New Deal public works agencies was the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which employed over 8 million nationally from 1935-43 and was renamed the Works Project Administration in 1939. The workers of the WPA built vast projects such as the Memphis International Airport, the Overton Park Levitt Shell in addition to improving many public spaces such as the Memphis Zoo and National Guard Armory. Instructions: *You will choose between 2 potential opportunities to earn points: Option 1: Research Memphis New Deal Projects using the interactive website, as well as other sources (primary and/or secondary). Collect information on 5 New Deal Projects from the Memphis area (you may include places that are in a one hour driving radius). Answer all of the questions on the attached guide for EACH New Deal project you read about. (you will have to make copies of the analysis sheet)Write a 1 page analysis of the effects of the New Deal on Memphis: Taken as a whole, do you think the New Deal projects were a positive contribution to the city of Memphis? (1 Page; typed; single-spaced)*This option will be worth up to 50 points total (based on completion and quality of the assigned work)Option 2: Research Memphis New Deal Projects using the interactive website, as well as other sources (primary and secondary)Collect information on 5 New Deal Projects from the Memphis area (you may include places that are in a one hour driving radius). Create a poster, pamphlet, map, or other creative presentation of 5 New Deal projects that were completed in Memphis. Be sure to include information required (*respond to questions found on the attached guide) as well as creative visuals that best portray the information required. Write a “news story” regarding 1 of the New Deal projects you researched. Be sure to write as if you were writing during the era in which the New Deal occurred. (1 Page)Write a 1 page analysis of the effects of the New Deal on Memphis: Taken as a whole, do you think the New Deal projects were a positive contribution to the city of Memphis? (1 Page; typed; single-spaced)*This option will be worth up to 100 points total (based on completion and quality of the assigned work). *Find information about Memphis New Deal projects here: Deal Programs: MEMPHIS, TNAnalysis GuideChosen New Deal project: ____________________________________________________________Where is this New Deal project located? (Be Specific to its location in Memphis/Shelby County):____________________________________________________________________When was it constructed? __________________Which New Deal agency constructed it? ______________________________________________What was this New Deal agency created to accomplish?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Describe the project: (5-7 Sentences)____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What is its use today?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Has the use changed over time? How and why?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Do you think this project helped create jobs and/or solve any problems of the Great Depression?Explain why or why not?__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download