The Somoza Era ( PDF file)

• Objectives
• Materials
• Activities

Objectives:

As a result of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. analyze the political, economic and social characteristics of Nicaragua in the Somoza era.
   
2. describe the policies developed by the Somoza family and evaluate their impact on the Nicaraguan people.
   
3. compare the principles of democratic government to the policies developed by the Somoza dynasty.
   

Materials:

1. Student Handout: The Somoza Dynasty
   
2. Student Handout: Somocismo and Democracy: A Comparison
   

Activities:

1. Distribute the student handouts entitled Somocismo and Democracy: A Comparison.
   
   a. Begin the exercise by asking students to answer the first question for the government of the United States.
   b. Place the dates January 1, 1937 and July 19, 1979 on the chalkboard.
   c. Ask students if they know how many presidents the United States had in that time period. (Eight: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Gerald R. Ford, and Jimmy Carter.)
   d. Ask students to answer the second question for the government of the United States. (All were all either elected to the office or assumed the office upon the death or resignation of the previous president.)
   e. Ask students to answer the third question for the government of the United States and explain the concept of checks and balances contained within the U.S. Constitution.
   f. Place the following statement on the chalkboard or display it on an overhead transparency: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"
   g. Ask students to answer the fourth and fifth questions for the government of the United States based on the principles stated in the above excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.
   • Key concept: Government exists to protect the natural rights of the citizen and should, therefore, make decisions in the public interest.
   • Key concept: All legitimate power derives from the will of the people (popular sovereignty).
     
2. Direct the attention of the students to the two dates listed on the chalkboard.
   
   a. Explain that the first date (January 1, 1937) represents the date Anastasio Somoza García officially gained control of the Nicaraguan government.
   b. Explain that the second date (July 19, 1979) represents the date when his son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was removed from power by a popular revolution.
   c. Explain that during this forty-two and a half year period Nicaragua was governed by three men from the same family. They established a system of government known as Somocismo.
   
   
3. Distribute the student handout entitled The Somoza Dynasty.
   
   a. Divide the class into work groups.
   b. Direct each group to read through the handout and to use the information it contains to answer the questions about Somocismo on the comparison chart.
   c. When students have completed their research and answered the questions, ask spokespersons from each group to share their findings with the class.
   
   
4. Concluding Activity
   Direct students to write a brief essay in which they answer the following question: "In your opinion, what are the most important differences between Somocismo and democratic government."