About This Lesson
This film from the height of the Depression era explores the possibility of a president assuming autocratic power to solve the nation’s social and economic problems. Students apply their knowledge of dictatorship to analyzing scenes from the movie. This lesson, one of three on cinematic depictions of the American presidency, is from "Portraits of America: Democracy on Film," a comprehensive curriculum using classic movies to explore ideals and challenges of our society. Thanks to generous funding from AFSCME, all materials are free of charge and can be downloaded at https://www.storyofmovies.org/.
