What can you learn about Roosevelt from this Source?

What can you learn about Roosevelt from this Source? Explain your answer, using details from the source. (6 marks)

One thing that I think you can learn from source A about Roosevelt is that he was clearly a kind and caring man. Although Source A has been taken out of context it is clear that the writer of this letter thought that Roosevelt was a very fine president.

From source A we can assume that the writer of this letter was having difficulties and was having trouble extending his mortgage so he wrote to the president asking for help. We can then assume that the President sent a letter in reply saying that he will send one of his workers or acquaintances to try and help the man/ woman get their house/furniture back for them. This shows that Roosevelt was very considerate and did not set himself back from the ordinary people of America. With acts like these, he inspired the American people and gave them courage throughout the Depression and Second World War.

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Though there are many things that can be learnt from source A about Franklin D. Roosevelt, there are still important things that cannot be learnt. We cannot learn whether the writer of this letter previously knew the President or find out who he or she was. Another important thing that we cannot find out from source A is the precise facts of what went on, i.e. was the house gong to be repossessed? Or what were his or her financial details? Without this information, it is hard to find out whether Roosevelt would have been as generous to everyone as he was to this person.

Question 2 - Study sources B and C

How far do these two sources differ in their view of Roosevelt as president?

Explain your answer-using details from the sources and your own knowledge.

(7 marks)

Sources B and C differ in many ways. For example, one is anti-Roosevelt, and one is pro-Roosevelt. The cartoons were both drawn in the mid-1930's but source C clearly attacks Roosevelt while source B is optimistic and shows that Roosevelt is trying to remove the bad and clean America up. These sources are both cartoons that are opposite and show the views that were circulating at that time. Source B shows that the treasurer is counting the cost of this clean up and shows that FDR is ready for work as his sleeves are rolled up, and portrays him as a very dedicated president.

The cartoon for source B shows FDR carrying out his promises, one of these were to take 'action and action now!' Roosevelt worked alongside the Brain Trust, which was a group of experts, which passed new laws; one of these was called 'The New Deal'. America's economy was in such a state that Roosevelt was given emergency powers and with these he carried out his three aims which were: Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Roosevelt was prepared to provide a large amount of Government money to relieve the poor but to raise Government money taxes had to be raised and this, along with many other factors, is why the rich did not like FDR.

In the mid-1930's the newspapers were not in support of FDR, neither were businessmen and the Republicans, this was because they thought for one, that the New Deal would be making people lazy, and certain people would just depend on Government help and handouts. They also did not like the New Deal, as it was the well off that had to pay for the Social Security of their workers.

Source C differs from source B completely, as source C shows the taxpayer's money is being completely wasted and that all of the money that is getting put into the New Deal is not giving a just return. It shows that the actual New Deal has flaws in it that make the New Deal dysfunctional, whereas source B is pro-Roosevelt and shows that he is cleaning up the mess that President Hoover left America in. Source B shows that FDR is getting rid of all of the promises and things that Hoover was unable to carry out and things that were associated with Hoover.

Source C and Source B can be seen as the rich and the poor people's views at this time of American history. Source C as the rich and Source B as the poor and those affected by the Great Depression. Source B shows that FDR is clearing the old (bad) and making way for the new (good). He is giving moral to the citizens by showing them how to forget the past and to focus on the future. The sources differ, and another way of explaining this is the way in which source B states the year that the cartoon was drawn and says who it was by, whereas source C shown the cartoon and assumes that it was drawn in the mid 1930's but does not say who by.

Question 3 - Study sources D and E

Which source is more reliable on the popularity of Roosevelt as president?

Explain your answer, using details from the source and your own knowledge.

(8 marks)

The source that I think is more reliable on the popularity of Roosevelt as president is source E, I think for the following reasons.

Source D is written by Roosevelt himself and shows his view on the previous government and what they did not do. He says and acknowledges that the previous government was dysfunctional and says that America had to go through nine years of allusions that Hoover and his government put forth. Roosevelt says that 'powerful influences' (businessmen, rich and Republicans) are still trying to bring back the old government that 'failed' and did not care for the ordinary people of America. This is probably because they did not have to pay as much money for Tax and did not have to pay for the Social Security of their workers. FDR states that government by organised money, i.e. rich businessmen, is as dangerous as decree by 'thugs'. He says that it is the first time that he has been hated by these united forces, but he welcomes their hatred.

Source E was written by a Republican opponent of the New Deal that clearly damned the New Deal. He says the deal is taking away far too much of 'their' money (the tax-payers) in an attempt to reap equality he also says that this is a defiance of all the ideas upon which our civilisation has been founded. He also says that the cautious with money are being taxed while the lazy poor simply inherit.

I think that source E is the most reliable source to see how popular was, because it is written by an opponent to FDR and his laws but still says how much FDR is helping to 'relieve, recover and reform' those badly affected by the Great Depression. By doing so, it proves that those affected by the Great Depression and those left jobless were greatly helped by Roosevelt and were very fond of him as a president, whereas the republicans and the rich businessmen did not like him at all. So, taking into account that almost everyone in America was affected by the Great Depression and were looking for a president that would help them out, FDR would have been extremely popular with the general population, excluding the rich, which were at this time a minority. Source E, as written by an anti-FDR citizen shows this, which is why I have chosen source E as the most reliable source.

Question 4 - Study sources F and G

Which source is more useful for assessing the success of Roosevelt's New Deal?

Explain your answer, using details from the source and your own knowledge

(8 marks)

The source that I think is more reliable on the popularity of Roosevelt as president is source G, I think for the following reasons.

Source G shows a table that illustrates the performance of the US economy during the 1930s and from this chart it is clear to see some very important facts about the great depression and how it affected the labour force and the unemployed people of America in the 30s. It is very useful because you can easily see the evidence and Information of the facts of the depression and what the new deal achieved.

Source G is more useful than the other source because it shows how successful the new deal actually was, it also allows us to see how much unemployment was reduced and was the new deal actually achieved. Source G shows us that that when the Second World War occurred countries were in high demand of manufactured goods and that is how America was lifted out of the depression. It also shows us that the graph on source G shows us that the new deal continually needed money to be pumped into it in order to stop the situation getting any worse and hopefully improve it.

Source F shows us that the new deal made many citizens happy. Therefore source F shows us how successful the new deal was at gaining popularity from the cartoon, though this is not reliable evidence and a cartoon on the from of an NRA song book can not prove to us that that was the impression of Roosevelt though we can speculate. Source F shows us popularity and is not particularly accurate as it was an artist's impression and the artist that drew the cartoon would have been commissioned so they would have been made to embellish.

Source F is not really an accurate source to analyse Roosevelt's success. It is not useful because it just shows people marching and shows Roosevelt's popularity with the people. The two sources show two different types of success of the new deal. but. Source F shows us how successful the new deal was but it is not useful like source g.. Source F does not show us how successful the new deal was it just shows us that it had popularity... Source G therefore shows us more things and is therefore more useful and it is more reliable than source f. Source G shows so much more than source F and is therefore more useful in showing how successful the new deal was and what it achieved.

Question 6 - study all of the sources and use your own knowledge.

The following are two different views of Roosevelt:

(i) He was a great leader, who inspired his country

More sources support the interpretation that Roosevelt was a great leader than that he was an inconsistent president. The evidence that supports the interpretation that Roosevelt was an inconsistent president was unreliable. Source C is attacking the New deal. This source is unreliable because many of the newspaper owners were hostile to Roosevelt. Source E is also attacking the New deal but his is unreliable because an opposition of Roosevelt wrote it and it was written at a time when Roosevelt was unpopular. Also sources J and I are attacking Roosevelt but these are also unreliable. From this I can say that the evidence that says that Roosevelt was an inconsistent president is unreliable.

From the evidence that suggests that Roosevelt was a good president there are still unreliable sources. An unreliable source A because it could have been written by anyone who supported Roosevelt. Source B is an inaccurate source because we do not know who Drew the carton. Source d is also unreliable because Roosevelt himself wrote the speech. Source F is unreliable because people who supported Roosevelt drew it. But Source G is reliable because it is a government document and therefore unlikely that it would be inaccurate. Source H is reliable because an historian wrote it and therefore the historian would have a balanced opinion because he would have analysed lots of evidence and he was not intimately involved with the depression.

From this there are two pieces of evidence that are reliable and support the statement that Roosevelt was a great leader. The best-supported interpretation is that Roosevelt was a great leader, who inspired his country, relieved poverty and distress and dealt with the depression in an imaginative way.

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