UNIT ACTIVITY

FROM WAR TO RECOVERY

OBJECTIVES
In this activity, you will
● develop credible explanations of historical events and developments based on reasoned
interpretation of evidence
● gather, evaluate, and use evidence to make persuasive arguments in support of your conclusion

INTRODUCTION
This Unit Activity will help you practice skills for researching and analyzing historical documents. You will
also answer short-answer questions and write a short essay on a given topic. The tasks for this Unit Activity
will focus on President Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points and President Franklin Roosevelt’s response to
the Great Depression.

In a speech addressed to Congress, President Woodrow Wilson put forth his Fourteen Point proposal to
end World War I.

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SCORING
Your teacher will score this activity using the following scale (unless your teacher provides you with a
different scoring scale):

TASK 1: PRESIDENT WILSON’S FOURTEEN POINTS

Score Task 1: Criteria
● Includes an exceptional and thorough explanation for why the chosen point
is most important to Wilson’s goals
Distinguished
● Show a full understanding of the historical document
(20-25)
● Provides logical, thorough analysis
● Has few, if any, grammatical or spelling errors

● Includes a clear explanation for why the chosen point is most important to
Wilson’s goals
Proficient
● Shows good understanding of the historical document
(15-19)
● Provides logical analysis
● Has minor grammatical or spelling errors

● Includes a basic explanation for why the chosen point is most important to
Wilson’s goals
Basic
● Shows some understanding of the historical document
(10-14)
● Provides basic or insufficient analysis
● Has noticeable grammatical or spelling errors

● Includes an incomplete or inadequate explanation for why the chosen point

is most important to Wilson’s goals
Inadequate
● Shows an incomplete understanding of the historical document
(0-9)
● Provides little to no analysis
● Has numerous grammatical or spelling errors

Non-Performance ● Is completely off topic or blank.

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TASK 2: FDR AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Score Task 2: Criteria
● Includes a clear, well-constructed thesis statement focusing on the key
elements of the assignment prompt
● Effectively uses the provided resources to examine all key elements of the
assignment prompt
● Conducts notable research using outside documents, and references two to
Distinguished
three outside sources in the essay
(20-25)
● Correctly cites outside information with in-text citations, as well as on a
works cited page
● Clearly and effectively analyzes one or more arguments concerning the
thesis statement and assignment prompt
● Is well organized and well written, with few errors
● Includes a thesis statement, possibly not fully developed, addressing the
key elements of the assignment prompt
● Utilizes some provided resources to examine the key elements of the
assignment prompt
● Conducts research using outside documents, and references at least one
outside source in the essay
Proficient ● Provides citations that may be lacking information or contain formatting
(15-19) errors with in-text citations or on the works cited page
● Provides some basic analysis of one or more arguments raised in the thesis
statement and assignment prompt; however, argument may not be
balanced or fully developed
● Essay is effectively organized and well written
● May contain some errors, but those do not hinder understanding of the
meaning overall
● Includes a thesis statement that is poorly developed, lacking clarity, and
does not address the key elements of the assignment prompt
● Utilizes few provided resources to examine the key elements of the
Basic assignment prompt
(10-14) ● Does not reference outside documents
● Does not provide citations, or improperly cites outside information
● Essay is poorly written, with inadequate organization
● Contains significant errors, hindering understanding of the author's intent
● Does not include a thesis statement, or thesis is a simple restatement of
assignment prompt
● Refers to few, if any, provided resources
Inadequate
● Does not cite sources or outside information
(0-9)
● Contains little to no analysis
● Is poorly organized and/or poorly written
● May contain numerous errors, both major and minor

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Non-Performance ● Is completely off topic or blank.

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TASK 1: PRESIDENT WILSON’S FOURTEEN POINTS
World War I played a significant role in shaping global politics during the 1900s. The war also transformed
the identity of the United States. In January, 1918, less than a year after the United States entered the
fighting in World War I, President Woodrow Wilson delivered his "Fourteen Points" speech, which outlined
US goals for the post-World War I world.

QUESTION 1
Read Wilson’s Fourteen Points speech. In particular, consider the excerpt and points below, then answer
the questions that follow:
We entered this war because violations of right had occurred which touched us to the quick and
made the life of our own people impossible unless they were corrected and the world secured once
for all against their recurrence. What we demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to
ourselves. It is that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it be made safe for
every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to live its own life, determine its own
institutions, be assured of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world, as against
force and selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in this interest, and
for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be done to us.
The programme of the world's peace, therefore, is our program; and that program, the only
possible program, as we see it, is this:
II. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in
war, except as the seas may be closed in whole or in part by international action for the
enforcement of international covenants.
III. The removal, so far as possible, of all economic barriers and the establishment of an equality of
trade conditions among all the nations consenting to the peace and associating themselves for its
maintenance.
IV. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest
points consistent with domestic safety.
V. A free, open-minded, and absolutely impartial adjustment of all colonial claims, based upon a
strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests
of the population concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government
whose title is to be determined.
XIV. A general association of nations must be formed under specific covenants for the purpose of
affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small
states alike.

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Part A
In his speech, Wilson makes the following statement: “All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in
this interest, and for our own part we see very clearly that unless justice be done to others it will not be
done to us... The program of the world's peace, therefore, is our program…”
How does this quotation and Wilson’s speech reveal a changing US position concerning involvement in
foreign affairs during and after World War I?

Enter your answer to Part A here:

Part B
Consider the history of Europe up until World War I. Then consider this quotation from Wilson’s speech:
“The day of conquest and aggrandizement is gone by.” What is Wilson referring to, and what is the
significance of this statement?

Enter your answer to Part B here:

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QUESTION 2
Read the five points highlighted above from Wilson’s Fourteen Points. Choose the point you think is the
most important to the goals Wilson outlines in his speech. In two paragraphs, describe why you think that
point is the most important.

Enter your answer to Question 2 here:

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TASK 2: FDR AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION
Like World War I, the Great Depression made a deep and lasting impact on the United States. President
Franklin Roosevelt took office during the Great Depression, and his administration created programs aimed
at fixing the economic and social problems of this period. On this topic, you will write a one- to two-page
essay that answers the following prompt:
Analyze the responses of President Franklin Roosevelt’s administration to the problems of the
Great Depression. How effective were these responses? How did they change the role of the federal
government?
Follow the Process section below, and use the links to help you formulate a well-organized essay with a
clearly stated thesis, or argument, in response to the assignment. Upload your final version along with this
assignment submission. Include any notes taken during the course of your essay development.
Here are some helpful resources you can use for your additional research--online or otherwise--to
formulate your answer and essay:
● Examining and Evaluating Reference Sources
● Research and Writing Info Center
● Creating a Thesis Statement
● Developing a Thesis Statement
● Developing an Argument
● Methods for Writing a Quality Paper
● Chicago Manual of Style: Author-Date System
Your essay should discuss the following concepts:
● the events that caused the Great Depression
● the effects the Great Depression had on US citizens
● the measures President Roosevelt’s administration took to fix the Great Depression
● the effectiveness of the programs put in place
● the changing role of the federal government during Roosevelt’s presidency
Process