10th Grade Q3: EEA #2

Name: ______________________________________ Date:___________________ Period:___

Passage 1: Excerpt from

“Every Man a King”
By Huey P. Long 1934 (Radio
Broadcast)

1 Is that a right of life, when the young children of this country are being reared into a sphere which is more owned by 12 men than it is by
120 million people? …

2 I contend, my friends, that we have no difficult problem to solve in America, and that is the view of nearly everyone with whom I have
discussed the matter here in Washington and elsewhere throughout the United States — that we have no very difficult problem to solve.

3 It is not the difficulty of the problem which we have; it is the fact that the
rich people of this country — and by rich people I mean the super-rich —
will not allow us to solve the problems, or rather the one little problem
that is afflicting this country, because in order to cure all of our woes it is
necessary to scale down the big fortunes, that we may scatter the wealth
to be shared by all of the people.

4 We have a marvelous love for this Government of ours; in fact, it is

almost a religion, and it is well that it should be, because we have a
splendid form of government and we have a splendid set of laws. We
have everything here that we need, except that we have neglected the
fundamentals upon which the American Government was principally "8a16229" by C. Thomas Anderson is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

predicated.

5 How many of you remember the first thing that the Declaration of Independence said? It said, "We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that there are certain inalienable rights of the people, and among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness"; and it said, further,
"We hold the view that all men are created equal."

6 Now, what did they mean by that? Did they mean, my friends, to say that all men were created equal and that that meant that any one
man was born to inherit $10,000,000,000 and that another child was to be born to inherit nothing? …

7 Now was it the meaning of the Declaration of Independence when it said that they held that there were certain rights that were
inalienable — the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Is that right of life, my friends, when the young children of this
country are being reared into a sphere which is more owned by 12 men than it is by 120,000,000 people?

8 Is that, my friends, giving them a fair shake of the dice or anything like the inalienable right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness, or anything resembling the fact that all people are created equal; when we have today in America thousands and hundreds
of thousands and millions of children on the verge of starvation in a land that is overflowing with too much to eat and too much to
wear? I do not think you will contend that, and I do not think for a moment that they will contend it.

9 So, we have in America today, my friends, a condition by which about 10 men dominate the means of activity in at least 85 percent of
the activities that you own. They either own directly everything or they have got some kind of mortgage on it, with a very small
percentage to be excepted. They own the banks, they own the steel mills, they own the railroads, they own the bonds, they own the
mortgages, they own the stores, and they have chained the country from one end to the other, until there is not any kind of business that a
small, independent man could go into today and make a living, and there is not any kind of business that an independent man can go into
and make any money to buy an automobile with; and they have finally and gradually and steadily eliminated everybody from the fields
in which there is a living to be made, and still they have got little enough sense to think they ought to be able to get more business out of
it anyway.

10 If you reduce a man to the point where he is starving to death and bleeding and dying, how do you expect that man to get hold of any
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 money to spend with you? It is not possible. Then, ladies and gentlemen, how do you expect people to live, when the wherewith cannot
be had by the people?

Excerpt from “Every Man a King” on CommonLit

Passage 2: “The Economic Bill

of Rights”
By President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1944

1 It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace and the
establishment of an American standard of living higher than
ever before known. We cannot be content, no matter how high
that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our
people — whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth — is
ill-fed, ill- clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.

2 This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present

strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political
rights — among them the right of free speech, free press, free
worship, trial by jury, freedom from unreasonable searches and
seizures. They were our rights to life and liberty.
"Fireside chat on the State of the Union (January 11,
1944)" by National Archives and Records Administration
is in the public domain.

3 As our nation has grown in size and stature, however — as our

industrial economy expanded — these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.

4 We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and
independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which
dictatorships are made.

5 In our day these economic truths have become accepted as self-evident. We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of
Rights under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all — regardless of station, race, or creed.
6 Among these are:

• The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;

• The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;

• The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;

• The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and
domination by monopolies6 at home or abroad;

• The right of every family to a decent home;

• The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;

• The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;

• The right to a good education.

7 All of these rights spell security. And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of
these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.
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8 America's own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been carried
into practice for our citizens.

From “The Economic Bill of Rights” on CommonLit

Assessment:

1. [LAFS.910.RI.1.2] This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______

Part A
What is the central idea of Passage 1?
a. The United States government was founded on the idea that everyone deserves equality and the right to a
comfortable life.
b. The economic crisis caused by the Great Depression can be easily solved by providing jobs for every working age
citizen.
c. The Great Depression has caused millions of Americans to fall into poverty, but the wealthiest in the nation are
going to help them.
d. The super-rich in the United States are hoarding most of the nation’s wealth while the majority of people are
impoverished and hungry.

Part B
Select two phrases from Passage 1 that provide explicit support for the central idea in Part A.
a. “being reared into a sphere which is more owned by 12 men than it is by 120 million people” (paragraph 1)
b. “we have no difficult problem to solve in America” (paragraph 2)
c. “that we may scatter the wealth to be shared by all of the people” (paragraph 3)
d. “we have a splendid form of government and we have a splendid set of laws” (paragraph 4)
e. “millions of children on the verge of starvation in a land that is overflowing with too much to eat” (paragraph 8)

2. [LAFS.910.RI.2.5] Select the paragraph from Passage 1 that refines the idea that the wealthy elite of the United States are greed
mongers who put people over profits.
PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______

a. Paragraph 3
b. Paragraph 5
c. Paragraph 6
d. Paragraph 9

3. [LAFS.910.RI.2.6] Complete the table by matching the author’s points of view in Passage 1 to the rhetorical techniques that
advance them.
PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______

Cites the Declaration Appeals to the emotions of those Repetition of the

of Independence sympathetic to children phrase “they own”
The super-rich refuse to
share their wealth with
citizens in need, and
instead continue to hoard
it.
It is unfair that in a country
with abundant resources
that there is so much
poverty and starvation.
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4. [LAFS.910.RI.1.2] Select three sentences from Passage 2 that represent key ideas that should be addressed in a summary.

PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______

a. “We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people…
is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.” (paragraph 1)
b. “This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable
political rights…” (paragraph 2)
c. “We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security
and independence.” (paragraph 4)
d. “We have accepted, so to speak, a second Bill of Rights, under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be
established for all—regardless of station, race, or creed.” (paragraph 5)
e. “The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation” (paragraph 6)
f. “And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals
of human happiness and well-being.” (paragraph 7)
5. [LAFS.910.RI.2.5] Select two sentences from Passage 2 that contribute to the claim that the inalienable rights under which
Americans are protected need to be expanded to include economic rights.

PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______

a. “It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a last peace…” (paragraph
1)
b. “They were our rights to life and liberty.” (paragraph 2)
c. “these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness.” (paragraph 3)
d. “true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence.” (paragraph 4)
e. “America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large parts upon how full these and similar rights have been
carried into practice for our citizens.” (paragraph 8)

6. [LAFS.910.RI.2.6] This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______

Part A
What is the author’s purpose for writing Passage 2?
a. To emphasize that the American people cannot be free if they are poor
b. To reveal the economic insecurities that the majority of Americans endure
c. To introduce new economic civil liberties that will provide security for more Americans
d. To expose the gross injustices that the wealthy have inflicted against impoverished Americans

Part B
How does the author develop this purpose in Passage 2?

a. The author cites amendments from the Bill of Rights that he believes can address economic issues.
b. The author lists a new set of rights that he believes should be the foundation of prosperity in America.
c. The author uses emotional appeals to highlight the financial distress many Americans are enduring during the Great
Depression.
d. The author quotes the Declaration of Independence to prove why Americans do not need the federal government to
address economic inequalities.

7. [LAFS.910.RI.3.9] This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.
PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______

Part A
How do Passage 1 and Passage 2 treat the concept of economic disparity similarly?
a. Both recognize the need for sweeping economic reform in the United States.
b. Both sympathize with the self-made wealthy elite who achieved the American dream.
c. Both portray the despicable greed of the wealthy elite who refuse to redistribute their wealth.
d. Both emphasize the United States as a country with a Bill of Rights that empowers its citizens.

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 Part B
Select two quotations, one from each passage, that illustrates this similarity.

a. “in order to cure all of our woes it is necessary to scale down the big fortunes” (Passage 1, paragraph 3)
b. “we have a splendid form of government and we have a splendid set of laws” (Passage 1, paragraph 4)
c. “they have got little enough sense to think they ought to be able to get more business out of it anyway” (Passage 1,
paragraph 9)
d. “these political rights proved inadequate to assure us equality in the pursuit of happiness” (Passage 2, paragraph
3)
e. “hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made” (Passage 2, paragraph 4)
f. “America’s own rightful place in the world depends in large part upon how fully these and similar rights have been
carried” (Passage 2, paragraph 8)

8. [LAFS.910.RI.3.9] How do Passage and Passage 2 differ in their message regarding economic issues in America?
PP: ______ PE:______ Percentage:______
a. Passage 1 highlights the solutions to financial inequality, while Passage 2 addresses the impacts financial inequality
has on American citizens.
b. Passage 1condemns the selfishness and greed of the wealthy elite, while Passage 2 provides specific economic rights
established by the president.
c. Passage 1 emphasizes the importance of a strong work ethic, while Passage 2 lists all the ways in which Americans
demonstrate their hardworking nature.
d. Passage 1 appeals to the logic of the audience by stating facts, while Passage 2 responds with emotional appeals
meant to evoke sympathy from the audience