■ COMPARATIVE AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ■

1. Question

   What aspects of Keynes’s critique of the Treaty of Versailles (Document 26-3) are confirmed by the cartoon depicting the impact of hyperinflation and the German Communist Party poster (Document 26-4)?

2. Question

   What policies might Keynes (Document 26-3) have suggested in response to the problems outlined in the report on the Special Areas (Document 26-5)?

3. Question

   If the nineteenth century’s science was defined by certainty, in what ways do these documents undermine that certainty? Do any of these authors see this loss of certainty as a good thing? Why or why not?

4. Question

   How might the Social Darwinists, particularly Herbert Spencer (Document 22-7) respond to the report of the commissioner for the Special Areas (Document 26-5)? In what ways might the depression support or undercut Spencer’s ideology?

5. Question

   Compare the report on the Special Areas (Document 26-5) with Hauser’s narrative (Document 26-6). How do their perspectives differ? What differences might that lead to in their approach to the problems of the depression?