History Essay Test.

Answer the following two questions with essays of 6-7 paragraphs each. Start with a very brief introduction that presents the main points you will make. Include details and examples from the lectures and book to support your points in the following paragraphs. End with a one or two sentence conclusion that restates your main points. You do not need to formally cite the book in your essays, but it would be helpful to include page references for specific ideas and quotations you include. I prefer typed essays.

1) 1. Parrish says that the 1920s and 1930s were the beginning of the modern era. Which Americans prospered during the 1920s? Include examples of how they prospered. Which Americans faced economic trouble during the 1920s? Include examples of how they were suffering.

2) 2. Was the New Deal a success? Consider the following questions in you answer: What were the goals of the New Deal? Why didn’t the New Deal end the Great Depression? Why didn’t the New Deal undermine the capitalist system and lead to a permanent socialist or communist state? Focus on which Americans were helped by the New Deal and how they were helped.

USE THE BOOK; ANXIOUS DECADES AMERICA IN PROSPERITY AND DEPRESSION, 1920-1941 BY MICHAEL E. PARRISH