u/Emotional_Bed5963

hey, is anyone else sitting in 402 row J at the wildworld tour in D.C? me and my friend got separated so i wanted to know if anyone wanted to trade

the feedback i got for the DBQ was reallyyy helpful so ive come back for more advice😭😭

prompt: Evaluate the extent to which the Great Depression fostered ongoing reform in the United States in the period from 1929 to 1945.

LEQ

**During the period 1929 to 1945, the U.S faced difficult challenges economically and politically. After just winning WW1, the U.S felt pride for becoming one of the new global powers. With the rise of automobiles in the 1920s and the era of the stock markets, the U.S felt as if they kept winning economically. However, once the Great Depression happened, the U.S knew it needed a significant change. From 1929 to 1945, the Great Depression significantly fostered ongoing reform in the U.S due to it being the reason for new programs being created (**like the new deal) and the end of laissez-faire ideals due to an increased government role.

The Great Depression was able to significantly foster reform in the U.S by being the reason for the New Deal programs creation and its many successes. The purpose of the New Deal programs were to establish relief, reform, and recovery, in order to prevent another tragedy like the Great Depression from happening again. Various New Deal programs, like the FDIC and SEC, which established rules and guidelines for the banks so they wouldn't run out of money, focused on reforming the U.S and improving the economy. The FDIC and SEC were important parts in fostering reform because they aimed to make sure another situation like this wouldn't happen again by providing a series of regulations, emphasizing the change within the government during 1929 to 1945 and the benefits these reforms could bring. By providing programs focused on specifically reforming the banks, ongoing reform in the United States significantly changed. Because of the Great Depression, ongoing reform in the United States significantly reformed due to programs like the FDIC, a program that focused on the credibility of banks, and SEC, a program that focused on the credit and stocks part to prevent another tragedy, proving the significant reform the Great Depression brought and the change along with it.

The Great Depression also fostered ongoing reform by being the beginning of a future stop to the ideology of laissez-faire. During the Great Depression, Hebert Hoover believed that the economy would just fix itself, leading to him not doing anything to fix it. Hoover's ideas led to dissatisfaction throughout the country, and with homeless people blaming with for their problems, calling themselves "hoovervilles", Hoover's idea really revealed the need for change in the government. People began to look to the government in hopes of them regulating the disastrous situation. With Hoover believing that the government didn't have to do anything and that the economy would just do it themselves, this signified laissez-faire ideals that were popular during this time period, especially with rich and successful business owners. Laissez-faire ideals were the belief that the government should take a hands off approach when it came to regulating the economy. This could lead to a lack of reform; however, since many Americans were not happy with the way Hoover happened the situation, people began to look to the government for help. Roosevelt was then elected as president and quickly created programs to bring reform among the U.S. With the new election, the government began to become increasingly involved in regulating the economy, signifying a change in policies from the period 1929 to 1945 and how the Great Depression was able to foster ongoing reform to a strong extent.

However, it could be stated that the Great Depression fostered reform in the United States to a minimum extent. While the Great Depression did lead to the creation of programs like the New Deal that promoted reform and a step back from lassiez-faire policies, certain foreign issues like wars played a big part in the success of these programs. The U.S was going through WW2 during 1941, and in hopes to win, the U.S had to make a decision to pull money out of New Deal programs and into military spending. Although the New Deal influenced significant reform, after the U.S joined WW2, the government couldn't afford to spend as much money as they did on those programs and also the military. WIth this in mind, the U.S decided to pull money away from the New Deal to provide more funding to the military in hopes of winning and protecting its citizens. Although the New Deal programs helped foster reform during 1929 to 1945, the amount of reform began to become limited during 1940 because of the war and the need of the U.S to protect and defend itself. While the U.S did pull money out of the New Deal to provide for military spending, the New Deal and alphabet soup programs set the guidelines for more reform programs in the future, which can be shown later on in various reform movements and the Great Society programs--which were a continuation of the New Deal programs.

im kinda stuck😭 lmk what i can do to improve!

Prompt: from the 2025 exam Evaluate the extent to which the role of the federal government in the United States economy changed from 1932 to 1980.

https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap25-frq-us-history-set-1.pdf

Here's my DBQ: 

During the period 1932 to 1980, the U.S was experiencing a lot with the Cold War. With the Vietnam War going on for the majority of this timeline, defense spending rose significantly in hopes of fighting communism. Various new programs arose, like the New Deal and the Great Society, to help improve the standards of living. However, with the war going on and the government being focused on that, some of these programs were soon overlooked. From 1932 to 1980, the federal government began to become increasingly involved in the U.S economy because of new government programs aimed at fixing problems in society and new government officials that have certain financial policies.

The federal government began to give out various programs to help out its citizens, increasing its role in the economy from 1932 to 1980. Document 1, from women members of the Workers Council of Colored People, wrote a letter to the Head of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in order to advocate for more rights for women. The women workers mention that the WPA, a government program, was employing more people, signifying the government's increasing role in improving the economy; however, the women wanted the WPA to investigate why women were facing injustices when it came to getting hired. The women in this document wrote to the head of the WPA to fight for more equality, acknowledging that the government's attempt to provide jobs was helpful; however, it didn’t fairly include women and African Americans (document 1). Although the WPA offered jobs for those in need, it neglected to include women and people of color, which was eventually changed by the Great Society, another government program that caused a major breakthrough in the civil rights movement. Document 1 emphasizes how increasingly involved the government becomes over the years and foreshadows the implementation of the Great Society to help improve society's problems as well. More programs also provided significant support when it came to fixing problems in society. Document 2, a pamphlet from the United States War Food Administration, which was distributed to farmers, emphasizes the government's attempt to bring in skilled workers to fix problems in farms. The government issues a pamphlet to farmers claiming that if the job the U.S was doing wasn’t enough, they would bring in skilled and semiskilled workers to come and help the farmers (document 2). This was another New Deal program that had the idea of relief, reform, and recovery. By bringing in these workers, labor would improve and be faster, especially since the previous farmers who specialized in these areas had gone to war. Document 2 highlights the importance of bringing in workers to improve labor, proving the federal government's more involved role in the economy, which foreshadows future plans that involved the U.S economy, including the Marshall Plan, where the U.S provided its funds to the Western Hemisphere of Britain, to help build them up and fight against communism after WW2.

New government officials also significantly changed the involvement of the government in the economy through plans and motives. Document 4, the State of the Union Address from John F. Kennedy (JFK), the president at the beginning of the 1960s, explains to the U.S JFK’s plan for improving the economy during the Cold Wars/Vietnam War. JFK mentions the riches the government holds won’t mean anything if they don’t use it for the people, signifying the end of laissez-faire and a start in helping the people more directly (document 4). JFK encourages the government to extend coverage for Medicare healthcare for the elderly, emphasizing the stronger role the government would eventually take due to newly elected officials (document 4). JFK had a similar economic plan to Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), which involved helping out the elderly, providing that the government showed a change and decided to help out way more as the years went by. Some workers also began to have a stronger belief that the government could do its full job to help the people. Document 6, from Cesar Chavez, the leader of the National Farm Workers Association, proves firsthand the impact the government took to change the economy. With the Bracero program transporting Mexican workers from 1932 to 1980 to help out, the U.S. was now experiencing more skilled workers in labor, which helped the economy significantly (document 6). The Bracero system was designed to bring workers from Mexico to the U.S during the war and when times were rough to help keep the economy afloat and improve labor. The Bracero program strongly proved the government's new involvement in the U.S economy by highlighting first-hand the government's attempt to fix an economic problem, which was shown to be successful. Chávez also felt a strong belief in the government, feeling like he could write a message to the Senate for change. Although the government brought people to help out, these migrants felt as if they were being mistreated, causing them to speak up in order for change. These experiences are something that were seen throughout more than just migrant workers, but also laborers and more, causing a call for reform and better work treatment. These calls eventually led to new programs, like the Economic Opportunity Act from the Great Society, that helped oversee job programs and other programs to fight inequality and injustices, showing the government's new involvement.

However, while the government improved its role in helping out the economy, some government officials wanted to stick with the old ways of doing stuff. Document 5, from Barry Goldwater, a republican presidential candidate, emphasizes the continuous need for a laissez-faire government. Goldwater believed that as a Republican, the government should stick to encouraging a free and competitive economy, following the values of laissez-faire (document 7). Laissez-faire economics promoted a hands-off government, meaning there is limited government intervention in the economy. With Goldwater promoting laissez-faire economics, while JFK wanted a more hands-on approach, this proves that the type of elected official had a direct impact on the amount of involvement the government had in the U.S economy. While the government had an increasing involvement in the economy during the period 1932 to 1980, there were times when the government could be seen to fall short, depending on whoever was in office at that time.

I'm really aiming for a 5, so I'm wondering if anyone could help me!