Economic Bill of Rights

PART A: Which of the following best identifies the central idea of this speech?

• While winning World War II was at the time the most important problem facing America, the country can no longer ignore economic issues.

• Securing equal employment opportunities for all American citizens would ultimately lead to a vibrant middle class.

• Without a guaranteed income, a person or group of people cannot possibly be considered safe or secure.

• The United States cannot be considered a success if some of its citizens live in poverty, since those conditions do not allow for personal liberty.

PART B: Which phrase from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

• “It is our duty now to begin to lay the plans and determine the strategy for the winning of a lasting peace...” (Paragraph 1)

• “We cannot be content, no matter how high that general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people — whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth — is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure.” (Paragraph 1)

• “People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.” (Paragraph 4)

• “And after this war is won we must be prepared to move forward, in the implementation of these rights, to new goals of human happiness and well-being.” (Paragraph 7)

How does this quote develop the author’s main ideas?

“This Republic had its beginning, and grew to its present strength, under the protection of certain inalienable political rights...” (Paragraph 2).

• It places FDR's proposed new rights as a logical continuation of the rights that have helped the country prosper since its creation.

• It demonstrates that the United States had outgrown the original political principles that guided its founding.

• It reveals that the country’s weak economy is a result of the lack of rights, ones that have existed since the creation of the country.

• It proves that a person cannot make use of his or her political rights without corresponding economic rights.

How does this quote refine the author’s claim of the passage?

“People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made” (Paragraph 4).

• The quote reveals that ever since the founding of the country great leaders have been concerned with preventing a dictatorship.

• The quote is used to support Roosevelt’s argument that U.S. citizens may begin to favor a dictatorship if new rights are not granted to them.

• The quote demonstrates that all people who live in a dictatorship are hungry.

• The quote presents Roosevelt as the only possible savior to stopping the rise of dictators in the United States.