<p>Being a sophomore taking APUSH, my teacher doesn't grade our DBQ on the 9 point scale, and normally just grades them out of 50. Using your best judgement can you guys grade my DBQ on a 9 point scale? And constructive criticism would be fantastic. :)</p>
<p>Franklin Delano Roosevelt has led America to prosperity during its biggest depression. It is also said that Roosevelt was a liberal while Hoover was a conservative. Although this is a broad generalization, I believe that these characterizations are very much indeed valid, for Hoovers policies during the Great Depression were those of a shriveled prune, while Roosevelt tried to liberate the poor with his New Deal policies. Hoover believed that the Great Depression was just another panic and that prosperity would soon come, without government intervention. Roosevelt, on the other hand, took issues and enacted acts and programs to liberate the poor from the crutch of poverty. Moreover, he and his wife had initiated programs which represented and helped the forgotten minorities of the Great Depression.
A conservative believes in personal responsibility, limited government and traditional values. Hoover did not want government intervention, and wanted to revert to traditional view of help coming from state and local governments. The best contribution of government lies in encouragement of this voluntary cooperation in the community. (Doc. B) After black Tuesday had hit, he believed that prosperity would return soon and urged businesses not to cut wages, unions to not strike, etc. It was not until 1930, he had taken action upon the economy, and however, even then, he was hesitant for he believed government assistance would ruin self-reliance. The very essence of equality of opportunity and of American individualism is that there shall be no domination by any group or combination in this republic, whether it is business or political. (Doc. A) Instead of helping out the economy, Hoover had passed the Hawley-Smoot tariff which raised the highest protective tariffs in history, for he had wanted to protect Americas markets from foreign competition. In turn, instead of protecting the American system, it had caused Europe to retaliate with higher tariffs as well, causing an all out global depression. As a contribution to the situation the federal government is engaged upon the greatest program of waterway, harbor, flood control, public building, highway, and airway improvement in all our history. (Doc.B) He had created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) which tried to help out faltering railroads, banks, etc, hoping that with their success it would trickle down to smaller businesses and bring recovery. With the conservative value of self reliance, in 1932 a thousand World War 1 veterans marched to Washington D.C. demanding their bonuses to come earlier (originally scheduled to come 1945), instead, Hoover ordered the army to break up the march and MacArthur, used tear gas and tanks to destroy the encampment the veterans made outside of Washington. Hoover was a prune when it came to government association, he believed in conservative values of self-reliance, thus why he believed the veterans could maintain themselves, and why he had helped only the big businesses and why he had passed the Hawley-Smoot tariff to ensure self reliance in the economy. Moreover, he advocated traditional values for minimal government intervention, believing that the economy would be fine without government assistance and that if any assistance was needed it would come traditionally from local governments.
Roosevelt was a high advocate of liberal ways of government action for equal opportunity and was the governments responsibility to ensure no one was in need. During his presidency, he had expanded the size of the government and its influence on its people. And if I have aught to say it will continue on its course and it will solve those problems (Doc. H) He had a new deal philosophy for the three Rs, relief, recovery, and reform. For government intervention to relieve the people for the turmoil of the Great Depression. His first 100 days he and the congress passed new laws and programs for relief of the people, taking upon the liberal view of government responsibility for the welfare of the people. Because of how many programs he initiated they were known by initial, thus being called the alphabet soup. To restore the peoples trust into banks, he had taken into his authority to hold a 4-day bank holiday, to close every bank to make sure they were safe and up to the governments standards. Later he created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which guaranteed an individuals bank deposits up to $5,000. He had taken into his own accord to restore the publics faith into its banks and relief for those losing their money to banks going under. Moreover, he had created programs and institutions for those that were unemployed; he had created such institutions like the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, which gave grants to local governments that were operating soup kitchens and relief for the homeless. Moreover, he created jobs on federal lands and construction, with his programs of the Public Works Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps. He had enacted reform by instituting the Securities and Exchange Commission which was used to regulate the stock market and place limits on speculation. He believed it was the role of the government to regulate and ensure that its citizens would not be in need.
Moreover, Roosevelt advocated equal opportunity for all and to protect civil liberties and human rights. He had made sure his programs had reached those that were almost always forgotten when federal institutions and acts were enacted. Here is the Dust Bowl beginning to blow again-NOW! (Doc. H) He had made sure to reach his arms out to the ever-failing Agricultural industry, when their crops were faced with deflation, overproduction, and horrendous dust storms that ruined their crops. He had created the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) which asked farmers to reduce production to boost the deflated prices of agriculture. He had extended his reaches to the highly criticized union members and employers. He had created the National Recovery Administration which set regulations on fair wages and hours for labor, and gave workers the right to bargain collectively and to organize. When announced unconstitutional by Scheter v. U.S. he had passed the Wagner Act which was an alternative to NRA which had outlawed business practices unfair to labor and created the National Labor Relations Board to enforce it. He had enforced the liberal values of equal opportunity, thus offering workers the right to join a union and bargain collectively. With the voice of Eleanor Roosevelt she had influenced Franklin to support minorities and the less fortunate. For his programs, like the Works Progress Administration he had provided jobs to 3.4 million men and women regardless of race, color, or ethnicity. In giving his New Deal life he had a group of advisers, known as the Brain Trust who was the most diverse individuals appointed to high administrative positions. Moreover, his secretary of labor, Frances Perkins, was the first woman to ever serve in a presidents cabinet. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the epitome of liberal values and advocated equality and reform for more liberal pathways.
To say that Roosevelt was not a liberal and that Hoover was not a conservative is highly flawed. The statement that they are, however, is highly agreed upon. Hoover was a prune when it came to government intervention and clung onto his conservative values of letting the individual fix it and the more traditional sense of help coming for local governments. Roosevelt was the polar opposite, who believed in government assistance would bring the American people out of its turmoil. Moreover, he did not discriminate and advocated the liberal ways of equality and civil reform for the forgotten people of society. In retrospect, to think of Roosevelt as a liberal and Hoover as a conservative prune is a tremendously accurate characterization.</p>