QUESTIONS about The Century, Americas Time, 1929-1936: Stormy Weather

I have included an excerpt from the documentary series on20th century American history, The Century: Americas Time, hosted by PeterJennings

The Century, Americas Time, 1929-1936: Stormy Weather https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSfzFWU5LbY&t=301s

 

1. How are the 1930s different from now? Why did Americans atthe time find it hard to ask for help? Who did they blame? How do you thinkAmericans would react now if faced with the same circumstances?
2. How did President Hoover react to the Great Depression? Whatwas it about his speeches, his body language and overall expression thatAmericans found problematic?
3. What was happening in some foreign countries as a result ofthe worldwide depression? Why were these countries behaving in a moreaggressive fashion? What factors were driving the anti-democratic changes inthese countries?
4. In one section of the video, an interviewee said that whenthere are riots because of the scarcity of food, you have the makings of adictatorship because people are so desperate. Did any American demagoguesappear in the 1930s to entice Americans to forgo democracy for a moreauthoritarian form of government? Why didnt America become more authoritarianduring the Great Depression, as some other countries did? (It is OK tospeculate to some degree with this last question.)
5. What were the greatest contributions that the Franklin D.Roosevelt administration made to the United States in dealing with the GreatDepression (OK to research for answer)?
6. Besides the radio, what form of American entertainment wasenormously popular during the Great Depression? What were the reasons why thistype of entertainment was so popular? What did if offer to the consumer duringthese turbulent times?