The+1940+Presidential+Election+Campaign

There has been a lot of discussion, even debate, over the effectiveness of the New Deal, both during the 1930s and even today. Supporters hail the legislation as necessary government intervention whereas critics label it as an abuse of government power, ineffective, or in some cases, not going far enough. We will be re-enacting that debate in this class by holding a "mock" Election of 1940.

In teams of 4-5, you will be assigned to a political party. We'll have three parties in here vying for power: Republicans (conservatives), Democrats (liberals, also the incumbents) and what I'm going the Socialists (although, you may come up with your own party name, but your premise is that the New Deal didn't do enough and capitalism must be changed in order for the US to survive).

In your groups, you will be responsible for the following items: 1. Development of a campaign poster (yes, you will actually be decorating my room) 2. Development of a campaign strategy (bear in mind that you must appeal to the masses) 3. Preparation for a presidential campaign debate which will focus primarily on domestic policies (political, economic, and social), although I may ask a question on the lack of intervention in foreign affairs (i.e. the outbreak of WWII)

During the first two days of this unit, you will have time to work on the campaign project. **By the end of the second class**, you must have your poster up on my wall (I will not be providing you with materials for this project). Your poster should have a clear slogan and message, be one-sided, attractive, and easy to understand. It should be promoting both your candidate and your party.


 * Sometime prior to the third class**, you must submit your campaign strategy, explaining how you will market your candidate and your platform to the masses (Keynote or written out are acceptable forms for this). Do NOT hand this to me at the beginning of class - I want it well in advance. Your strategy should include how you will market your candidate to the masses (techniques such as posters, radio ads, etc.), how you will fund this strategy, and the actual message that you will be trying to convey (your platform along with any campaign slogans you may wish to use).


 * During the third class**, we will hold our debate. Your presidential candidate will be expected to deliver a brief (2-3 minute) opening statement after which, I will ask a series of questions on the following topics


 * Economy** (Was the deficit spending, approximately $20 billion, incurred as a result of the New Deal an effective use of money?)
 * Banking** (Does the Glass-Steagall Act do enough to ensure the safety of deposits in banks? Was this an example of the federal government overstepping its constitutional powers or not?)
 * Farming** (Should the government engage in activity which restricts the amount that farmers can produce in exchange for subsidies? Should the government step in and lower mortgage rates for farmers?)
 * Race Relations** (What should the federal government's role be in reducing tensions between various ethnic groups in America?)
 * Labor** (Is the government's role in ending yellow dog contracts and mandating collective bargaining for unions an unfair restriction on business owners? Why or why not?)
 * Foreign Affairs** (To what extent should the US be involved in the current war in Europe? - For those of you who don't know, WWII had been going on for over one year at this point. Be sure to consider financial and military aid, not just actual combat involvement.)

(Please note that I have put sample questions in parenthesis after each topic. Bear in mind that I may or may not use these exact questions.)

Each candidate will have two minutes to respond to the question. Prior to answering the question, I will allow each team to "huddle" for one minute to prepare a response. (You will have to know the material and your stance pretty well prior to this as one minute will not allow you time to research.) At the end of the debate, you will have two minutes to deliver a closing statement.

Here is how you will be graded on this project:

10 pts - Effective Use of Class Time 10 pts - Quality of your poster 10 pts - Quality of your Campaign Strategy 20 pts - Debate performance


 * __The Teams__** (Note: We will "democratically" decide who will represent each party during Monday's class)

Team 1: Hoon Ho, Zea, DK, Andrew Y., Nick Team 2: Dennis, Dean, Lisa, Henry, David Team 3: Hyun Woo, Jaeook, Andrew K, SeJune
 * Block D**

Team 1: Soobin, Joshua, Harin, Ashley, Jane Team 2: Yu Sun, Brandon, Angie, Soojin, Hannah Team 3: Alena, Soho, Jenny, Lynn, Jihee
 * Block F**