Name: 

 
New Deal Document Based Question 
 
Directions:​ Construct a well developed essay in response to the following question. In your 
answer, you must synthesize your knowledge of the Great Depression era, spanning from 
1929-1941, with evidence from the following documents to defend your thesis. A minimum 
of four documents must be analyzed in your response.  
 
1. Analyze the effectiveness of the New Deal program in responding to the crisis of 
the Great Depression. How did Roosevelt’s New Deal agencies change the role of 
government? 
 
Document A  
 
Source: President Hoover, Radio Address, February 12, 1931 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Document B 
 
Source: Will Rogers, Comedian, 1933
America hasn’t been as happy in three years as they are today. No money, no banks, no work, no nothing, but
they know they got a man in there who is wise to Congress, wise to our big bankers and wise to our so-called
big men. The whole country is with him. Even if what he does is wrong they are with him. Just so as he does
something. If he burned down the Capitol, we would cheer and say, “Well, we at least got a fire started
anyhow.”

 
 
Document C 
 
Source: Social Security Agency, 1934-1936 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
Document D 
Source: Senator Huey Long, “Every Man a King,” Congressional Record, March 1, 1934 
 

 
 
Document E 
 
Source: New Deal Remedies, 1935 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Document F 
 
Source: The Republican Party Platform, 1936 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Document G 
 
Source: “The Roosevelt Record,” editorial in T
​ he Crisis​, 1940 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Document Based Question Rubric 9th Grade U.S. History 

Thesis  Points Received  Possible Points 

1. Presents a logically developed, descriptive 

thesis that makes a historically defensible 
   
claim and responds to all parts of the prompt.   2 
2. The thesis is introduced within the 
introductory paragraph and revisited in the 
conclusion.  

Outside Information  Points Received  Possible Points 

1. Provides evidence of external knowledge by     

including specific details or examples from the   
period not included within the documents.  
2. External information relates directly to the 
2 
argument or document being discussed.  

Document Evidence  Points Received  Possible Points 

1. Utilizes evidence from at least four documents     

to support the thesis or related argument.    
2. Addresses the reliability of the author by 
examining potential bias and the historical 
6 
significance of the author’s point of view 
within at least two documents.  

Explanation/Reasoning  Points Received  Possible Points 

1. Develops logical arguments to explain the     

relationship between documents and the 
overall thesis or related argument.  
1 
 

Contextualization  Points Received  Possible Points 

1. Contextualizes the argument by explaining a     

range of events, figures, and developments 
directly related to the prompt.  
1 
Total Points    12 
Score Breakdown 

12 = 100% 8 = 67% 4 = 33%  

11 = 92% 7 = 58% 3 = 25% 
10 = 83% 6 = 50% 2 = 17% 
9 = 75% 5 = 42% 1 = 8%