Great Depression and Dust Bowl

Question 1

What were the 3 main causes of the Great Depression and the Stock Market Crash

Answer 1

1. Overproduction
2. Uneven Distribution of Wealth
3. Easy Access to Credit

Question 2

what is overproduction and how did it lead to the GD

Answer 2

when you produce too many goods (surplus in farms and factories

• farmers increased production during WW1 but then demand decreased after war
• factory workers got laid off, workers couldn’t buy goods, and prices dropped

Question 3

what is uneven distribution of wealth and how did it lead to the GD

Answer 3

the rich became richer, while industrial workers simply stayed poor (the poor got poorer)
-created economic problems; wealthy didn’t buy even goods for money to trickle down to those who needed it most and to keep the economy booming

Question 4

what is easy access to credit and how did it lead to the GD

Answer 4

people bought on credit and but couldn’t pay back later

• installment plans: take home today pay later
• buying on margin: buy stock by just paying a small portion of what it is worth

Question 5

when did the Stock Market crash

Answer 5

Black Tuesday October 29, 1929

Question 6

what were the effects of the GD and the stock market crash

Answer 6

• banks collapsed
• businesses closed
• unemployment rose
• Hawley-Smoot Tariff (June 1930)

Question 7

what was the Hawley-Smoot Tariff

Answer 7

a “protective tariff” to protect American products from american competition

• raised prices on foreign imports
• the tariff destroyed international trade because countries put tariffs on our products as well

Question 8

what were Hoover’s responses to the GD

Answer 8

• volunteerism
• localism
• reconstruction finance corporation (RFC)

Question 9

what is volunteerism

Answer 9

calls on business leaders to maintain employment, wages, and prices

Question 10

what is localism

Answer 10

problems could best be solved at local and state levels

Question 11

what was the reconstruction finance corporation

Answer 11

more than 1 billion dollars was given to railroads and large businesses

• “trickle down economics”
• unfortunately the money did not trickle down to the people who needed it most

Question 12

what was the bonus army

Answer 12

• WW1 veterans seeking bonus promised to receive (but not until 1945)
• 1931 they called for early payment
• marched on Washington
• Hoover would not meet them -instead he sent General Douglas MacArthur and federal troops

Question 13

what is GDP

Answer 13

gross domestic product

-value of all goods produced within a nation during a year

Question 14

what is a business cycle

Answer 14

a pattern of up-and-down movements that occur in economic activity
-occurs in every economy

Question 15

what are the four parts of the business cycle

Answer 15

• expansion/recovery
• peak
• recession/depression
• trough

Question 16

what is expansion/recovery

Answer 16

the period in which GDP increases

Question 17

what is the peak

Answer 17

the highest point before GDP decreases

Question 18

what is a recession

Answer 18

a short downturn

Question 19

what is a depression

Answer 19

a longer downturn

Question 20

what is the trough

Answer 20

the economy’s lowest point

Question 21

what led to dust storms in the South that destroyed crops

Answer 21

a drought

Question 22

what was a result of dust storms in the south

Answer 22

• crops turned into dust = no food to be sent out
• homes buried
• fields blown away
• south was in state of emergency
• Dust Bowl was the #1 weather crisis of the 20th century

Question 23

what was black sunday

Answer 23

the worst storm of the decade

Question 24

what were some man made factors of dust storms

Answer 24

• over-farmed land
• grew crops on unsuitable land
• bad farming techniques

Question 25

who did the GD affect

Answer 25

it affected everyone (including pablo)

Question 26

what were the effects for the workers in the cities

Answer 26

- worker's wages and hours got cut | - many lost jobs and all their savings

Question 27

what were the effects for those in rural america

Answer 27

- farmers suffered even before depression hit - crop prices fell and debts added up - unable to pay mortgages

Question 28

what types of people migrated during the GD

Answer 28

- hoboes rode the rails - "okies" migrants who went west to find work (some jobs available in CA) - push factors: weather - pull factors: jobs

Question 29

how did people react during the GD

Answer 29

- some people searched for new jobs - some left their families - some committed suicide

Question 30

what happened to women and children during the GD

Answer 30

- family distress (abandonment) - women lost their jobs to men with families - starvation; malnutrition

Question 31

what happened to minorities during the GD

Answer 31

- suffered the worst - denied jobs - lost jobs first - denied aid

Question 32

when was president Roosevelt elected

Answer 32

election of 1932

Question 33

what were brain trusts

Answer 33

FDR used professors and experts to develop programs to fight the depression

Question 34

what did FDR promise

Answer 34

a "new deal"

Question 35

what was the "New Deal"

Answer 35

a bunch of programs to help get out of the GD

Question 36

what was "hundred days"

Answer 36

a period of intense activity in which Congress passed a lot of New Deal legislation

Question 37

what did FDR do as soon as he came into office

Answer 37

- declared a banking crisis | - closed ALL banks/4 day bank holiday

Question 38

what was the Emergency Banking Relief Act

Answer 38

passed by congress, allowed only sound banks to reopen, the rest remained closed

Question 39

what were fireside chats

Answer 39

- FDR told americans by radio that banks were safer than "money in a mattress" - 30 more chats americans listened to during FDR's presidency

Question 40

what was the purpose of New Deal Agencies

Answer 40

- RELIEF for the unemployed - plans for RECOVERY - REFORMS to prevent more depressions

Question 41

what agencies provided relief for the unemployed

Answer 41

- Civilian Conservation Corp. (CCC) - Public Works Administration (PWA) - Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) - Social Security Administration (SSA)

Question 42

what agencies were recovery plans

Answer 42

- National Recovery Administration (NRA) | - Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

Question 43

what agencies were for prevention reforms

Answer 43

- Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) | - Securities and Exchange Commissions (SEC)

Question 44

did the New Deal end the GD

Answer 44

no

Question 45

what ended the GD

Answer 45

WW2

Question 46

what did the New Deal do

Answer 46

- gave country confidence - ended banking crisis - helped with some jobs - built the infrastructure (buildings, schools, bridges, electricity, art work)

Question 47

what safeguards were set in place for future economic cycles

Answer 47

FDIC SEC NLRB (National Labor Relations Board set minimum wages)

Question 48

How do these agencies protect America from another great depression

Answer 48

- FDIC insures your money so if the bank closes the government will give you your money back - the SEC made buying on margin illegal which was one of the reasons of the GD - the NLRB protects worker's rights

Question 49

What establishments were set up to provide for a welfare state and how

Answer 49

SSA (Social Securities Act) provides income for elderly, disabled, and unemployed -supplied through the taxes paid by the working class

Question 50

what is a welfare state

Answer 50

a welfare state is a government that provides for the total well-being of its citizens -makes an effort to provide for persons in need through numerous social service programs known as welfare