Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming question to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • What was the Great Depression, and what was/were the cause(s)?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip for your students. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer. Note: all clips in this lesson feature Herbert Hoover biographer George Nash speaking at the Acton Institute.

  Clip #1: Herbert Hoover's Background (1:30).

  • Based on the clip, when and where was Herbert Hoover born?
  • According to George Nash, what work was Hoover engaged with in 1914?
  • What did Hoover become after the outbreak of World War I, according to Nash?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: This is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you previewing the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• BACKGROUND

  Direct students to the background section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the two video clips that provide background information on Hoover's political career and 1928 campaign for the presidency. Direct your students to share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #2: The 1920s (2:58).

  • What was Herbert Hoover “called” during the 1920s?
  • In which role did Hoover become “one of three of four most influential men in U.S. Government?”
  • Summarize Hoover’s philosophy of “American Individualism.”
  • According to George Nash, what action did Hoover take in 1921 and what was the long term impact?
  • How could the national economy be “managed,” according to Hoover?

• Clip #3: The 1928 Election (1:28).

  • How was Herbert Hoover viewed by the public on the eve of the 1928 Presidential Election, according to George Nash?
  • View the Master of Emergencies video (YouTube) that Nash mentions. Skim through the video and list three things you learned about Hoover from watching the video.
  • What does Nash mean when he says that Hoover was “not as sanguine” in private?
  • Based on the clip, what did Hoover try to persuade the Federal Reserve to do?

• ENGAGEMENT

  Direct students to the engagement section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the five video clips that provide detail about the stock market crash, describe Hoover's initial response and subsequent public reaction, and why Hoover was distrusted by politicians in both parties. Direct your students to share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #4: The Crash and Intervention (3:12).

  • What was President Herbert Hoover’s “first response” to the Stock Market Crash of 1929?
  • According to George Nash, what did Hoover “realize” about the “national psyche?”
  • How did Hoover “intervene” in the economic and psychological issues?
  • What did Hoover “promise” in response to expected increases in unemployment?

• Clip #5: Public Reaction (2:31).

  • What was President Herbert Hoover “proud of,” according to George Nash?
  • Based on the clip, what did Hoover do on March 7th, 1930 and at later events?
  • Who “shared” Hoover’s belief of success, and how were Hoover’s claims “vindicated?”

• Clip #6: A Tariff and a Drought (2:19).

  • What did Congress “enact” in June 1930?
  • According to George Nash, which “provision” of the law gave President Herbert Hoover “solace?” Based on the clip, summarize the effect of the law.
  • What happened across the Midwest and South in the 1930s?
  • Based on the clip, of what was Hoover “accused” in 1930?

• Clip #7: Distrusted (2:50).

  • Why did “politicians in both parties” distrust President Herbert Hoover?
  • According to George Nash, what did Hoover believe about Congress?
  • Based on the clip, how did Hoover respond as the “political headwinds against him gathered force?”
  • What did Hoover mean when he said the government should encourage the “voluntary cooperation of the community?”

• Clip #8: Bank Collapses (3:01).

  • Why did the “pace” of bank failures quicken in 1931?
  • What decision “triggered a financial tsunami” across the United States?
  • How many U.S. banks collapsed in 1931, according to George Nash?
  • Based on the clip, how did President Herbert Hoover try to respond to the bank failure crisis? What impact did these efforts have?

• ANALYSIS

  Direct students to the analysis section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the two video clips that detail the steps that Hoover took as the economic crisis worsened. Direct your students to share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #9: Help from Congress (3:06).

  • Who did President Herbert Hoover call upon in December 1931, according to George Nash?
  • Based on the clip, what did Hoover ask to be done?
  • Summarize the impact of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, as described in the clip.
  • What does Nash mean when he says Hoover donned “heavy armor of fiscal conservatism?” Who shared his views?

• Clip #10: Human Misery (3:55).

  • What percentage of the American labor force was “out of work” by mid-1932?
  • According to George Nash, what had President Herbert Hoover resisted? What did he encourage instead, and why?
  • Based on the clip, what did Hoover establish in August 1931? What was the goal of this effort and what was its impact?
  • What program did Hoover propose in the spring of 1932 and what did the subsequent legislation “authorize?”

• APPLICATION

  C-SPAN regularly gathers a panel of leading historians to rank each American President in the C-SPAN Presidential Historians Survey. The most recent edition of the survey from 2021 ranks President Herbert Hoover at 36th of all the presidents: 2021 Survey Results (C-SPAN).

  Have your students explore both the criteria for the survey scores and President Herbert Hoover’s historical rankings (C-SPAN). Then, encourage your students to consider their learning from this lesson and reflect on whether or not they agree with Hoover's scores in the current and past surveys. Using the chart in their graphic organizers as a guide, have your students conduct additional research to prove their argument. Have your students prepare a brief presentation to share with their peers, making sure to address the following criteria:

  • Public Persuasion
  • Crisis Leadership
  • Economic Management
  • Administrative Skills
  • Relations with Congress
  • Vision/Setting an Agenda
  • Performance Within Context of Times.

• REFLECTION

  After students finishing sharing their presentations from the application section of the lesson, direct them to the reflection section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the two video clips that detail Hoover's life after the presidency and his legacies. Direct your students to share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #11: The 1932 Election (2:27).

  • What did President Herbert Hoover “reaffirm” as he campaigned for reelection?
  • According to George Nash, what did Hoover “warn” during the campaign?
  • Based on the clip, what work did Hoover undertake from 1933 until his death? Why?
  • How did Hoover become “a man of the right?”

• Clip #12: Later Life and Legacy (5:38).

  • What was among “the most enduring” of President Herbert Hoover’s legacies?
  • According to George Nash, why do historians deem Hoover’s presidency as a failure?
  • Summarize the “competing narrative” proposed by free market economists, as described in the clip.
  • Describe the third narrative of Hoover’s presidency, as shared by Nash.
  • How was Hoover “our modern Sisyphus?”

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished with presenting their findings from the application section of the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having now learned about President Herbert Hoover and the Great Depression, describe whether his efforts positively or negatively impacted the country during the era. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your argument.