What events occurred here in Youngstown in the later 1930s, and how did the depression come to an end, such that Roth stopped keeping his diary?

Questions for Fourth Essay
History 3712-42599
Length of 5 pages MAXIMUM
Due: October 25
Roth, Benjamin. The Great Depression: A Diary. James Ledbetter and Daniel B. Roth, editors. New York:
Public Affairs, 2009.
Give a BRIEF (one paragraph, no more than four sentences) paragraph describing what the book is about
as an introduction. Then, answer ALL of the following questions in the body of the five-page paper.
1. In his first entry, to what does Roth attribute the coming of the depression? What were the economic
factors, and what were the cultural factors?
2. During Hoover’s presidency, what were the problems Roth saw in the way the government was handling
the economic crisis? In short, who did Roth see as being responsible for the continuation of the crisis?
Give two examples.
3. With the coming of the Roosevelt administration, what did Roth think of Roosevelt’s policies toward
dealing with the depression? What in particular did he think of the NRA, and how did he respond to it?
Did he think it would work? Why or why not?
4. Roosevelt won the 1936 election – how did the depression change in his second administration,
according to Roth? What events occurred here in Youngstown in the later 1930s, and how did the
depression come to an end, such that Roth stopped keeping his diary?
5. According to Benjamin Roth’s depiction of it, how did the Great Depression change Youngstown, how
did it become a different place, if at all?

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