This unit will explore President Hoover's unprecedented efforts to involve the Federal Government in addressing the woes of the U.S. economy at the beginning of the Great Depression of the 1930s. It is meant to be used as part of the instruction concerning the Great Depression at an appropriate point in U.S. History, or during units in U.S. Government or Economics classes concerning government regulation of and involvement in the economy.

Critical Questions:

1. What were Hoover's motivations and experiences that moved him to address the beginnings of the Great Depression the way he did?
2. Why did Hoover involve the Federal Government in major economic efforts during a time of peace?
3. What were the major directions and programs of the administration, and what problems were they established to address?
4. How did Hoover's efforts concerning the economy fare?

As a result of exploring these questions, students will have addressed the following themes from the National Council of Social Studies:

II. Continuity and Change
IV. Individual Development and Identity
V. Individuals, Groups, and Institutions
VI. Power, Authority, and Governance

Please see http://www.socialstudies.org for details.

This unit is designed for the teacher and students of a class to use the Internet and a variety of websites in order to collect, analyze, and draw conclusions from the data. Other lesson ideas are included that don't use technology as much.

Most of the materials in this unit are primary in nature and come from the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library (http://hoover.archives.gov). Other sites will be listed throughout the unit.