Question

boondoggling out of the depression
creating connections social studies: us history ii
united states politics has some unusual
language. esteemed leaders regularly
employ terms like filibuster, lame duck,
gerrymandering...the list goes on and on.
back in the 1930s, another totally peculiar
term—boondoggle—went from being a craft
that boy scouts made for fun to a wasteful
government activity.
the story begins with franklin delano
roosevelt (fdr), who had the unenviable
task of being the u.s. president during most
of the great depression (circa 1929 - 1939).
the great depression was a time of
economic turmoil, when at one point roughly one - quarter of americans were
unemployed. a huge part of fdrs job as president was to get the economy
going again...so he came up with a plan called the new deal.
part of the new deal included the creation of a new government organization
called the works progress administration (wpa), which aimed to get people
back to work by employing them on public works projects, like constructing
public buildings and roads. fdr saw it as a win - win. the wpa got people
back to work and took care of critical government projects at the same time.
question 4
the authors purpose for writing this article was probably to
__________.
a. show the results of the new york times investigation into
how the wpa was spending government funds
b. explain how the term boondoggle changed from its original
meaning as a result of the great depression
c. argue how fdrs new deal would not have been as
effective without the training provided to unemployed
artists
d. discuss the positive impact the arts program of the wpa
had on changing the outcome of the great depression

Explanation:

The article starts by introducing the term "boondoggle" and then traces its origin from a Boy Scouts' craft to a term related to government activity during the Great Depression. The focus is on how the meaning of the term changed due to the events of that time. Option A only mentions a New York Times investigation which is not the main focus. Option C about the New Deal's effectiveness without artist training is not the core. Option D about the WPA arts program's impact on the Depression's outcome is not the main point. The article is centered around the term's meaning change.

Answer:

B. explain how the term boondoggle changed from its original meaning as a result of the Great Depression