The correct answer is A. Poverty and hunger persisted despite the New Deal.
Explanation:
A counterclaim should disprove the main claim, usually by providing a statement or evidence that shows the main point defended by the claim is false. This implies the counterclaim should prove the New Deal (set of policies to recover from the Great Depression) did not provide relief to Americans during this period because the main claim states the New Deal provided relief.
According to this, the best counterclaim is "Poverty and hunger persisted despite the New Deal" because persistent poverty and hunger showed the New Deal was not effective as expected in terms of helping citizens during the crisis, and therefore this counterclaim shows there was not a relief for Americans during the Great Depression.
