Standard:
SSUSH17 The student will analyze the causes and consequences of the Great Depression.
a. Describe the causes, including overproduction, underconsumption, and stock market speculation that led to the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. 
b. Explain factors (include over-farming and climate) that led to the Dust Bowl and the resulting movement and migration west. 
c. Explain the social and political impact of widespread unemployment that resulted in developments such as Hoovervilles.

Unit 5 Journal 5

Attention: This journal has four components, please complete all four to receive full credit.

Essential Question – How did the United States adapt to the cultural and political changes of the 1920’s?

Journal Entry 5A
Titled: “Political Cartoon (Primary Source)” 

  • This Pulitzer Prize–winning cartoon by John T. McCutcheon was published in the Chicago Tribune in 1931. Study the cartoon to find out who the “wise economist” is. How do you think the Great Depression changed people’s lives? Write a diary entry from the point of view of the man in this cartoon. Share your entry with classmates. Draw an original cartoon to illustrate the impact of financial collapse following the stock market crash.
  • Use the characters in this cartoon or invent your own. Display your cartoon in class.
Essential Question – Why was the New Deal so important to the outcome of the Great Depression?

Journal Entry 5B
Titled: “Hardship and Suffering during the Great Depression (Graphic Organizer)” 

  • As you read about how people coped with hard times, use the chart below to summarize the Great Depression’s effects on various aspects of American life. On the back of the paper, define each of the following terms.


Essential Question – Why was the New Deal so important to the outcome of the Great Depression?

Journal Entry 5C
Titled: “The Great Depression Takes its Toll (Map Interpretation)”

  • Directions: Read the paragraphs below and study the map carefully. Then answer the questions that follow about The Great Depression and Dust Bowl. 


Essential Question – Why was the New Deal so important to the outcome of the Great Depression?

Journal Entry 5D
Titled: “The Nation’s Sick Economy (Chart)” 

  • Complete the chart below by detailing how each entry adversely affected the nation’s economy.