The New Deal: Revolution or Reform?

Learning Objectives: 

This activity asks students to analyze a series of primary sources and categorize whether the document helps support a thesis of the New Deal as a revolution or the New Deal as a reform. For grades 6-12. Approximate time needed is 60-90 minutes.

Instructions: 

1. As a warmup activity, discuss definitions of the terms revolution and reform. Create a definition for each term using information provided by students. As you create the definitions, ask students to consider the following questions:

• What other topics have students studied that were called revolutions?
• What other topics have students studied that were called reforms?
• What makes a change revolutionary as opposed to a reform?
• Does it concern the significance of the change?
• How quickly changed occurred?
• How long lasting the change was?

Encourage students to think about their responses to these questions throughout this activity.

2. Divide students into small groups. Present the activity to the class so that students can see all of the documents on screen at once. Model careful document analysis with one of the documents.

3. Explain that, in their groups, they will analyze each individual document before moving it to the scale. Instruct students to write a list of specific evidence supporting either revolution or reform for each document.

4. Demonstrate how the scale works. Explain to students that they will place the photograph and textual documents on the scale based on their careful document analysis.

5. Following the activity, conduct a class discussion based on the questions found after clicking “When You’re Done” (or ask students to reflect on these in small groups or in writing).

• Which documents were placed where? Why?
• Which documents were given greater weight? Why?
• What historical conclusions did you draw about the New Deal?

Find more teaching activities and documents related to National History Day topics on the DocsTeach National History Day page. Find more NHD resources from the National Archives.