Lesson 1
Discussion Topics

  1. Use the ideas and questions below to journal about the concepts covered in the timeline.
  2. Talk to your parents and/or grandparents about the changes that have occurred since their birth. Ask them about cell phones, video games, CDs, and even color television. You might be surprised what they lived comfortably without! Write about the changes they have seen and speculate what changes may occur in your own lifetime and tell how you feel about them.
  3. Ask your grandparents and/or parents what they know about Herbert Hoover. Many people remember him only as the president during The Great Depression. However, that encompassed only four of his 90 years. Write about his accomplishments before and after his presidency. Hoover once said "Being a politician is a poor profession; being a public servant is a noble one." What do you think he meant by this?
  4. Hoover wanted to avoid using direct federal aid to improve people's lives during the Depression because he believed it would cause "corruption and the weakening of the morale of the American people." His philosophy cost him the presidency. How could direct federal aid cause corruption and morale problems?
  5. Hoover's successor, Franklin Roosevelt instituted many direct federal aid programs. Discuss whether Hoover's predictions of corruption and morale problems were accurate knowing what you know today about federal aid programs.