MODULE 8: THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Question 1

Charlie became an American business owner in the 1920’s. How will the economic circumstances leading up to the stock market crash affect the success of Charlie’s business?

Answer 1

Charlie’s business will likely prosper due to increased spending, consumer demand, little government regulation, and public optimism. The era of the 1920s was marked by increased spending, consumer demand, little government regulation, and risk-spending optimism as shown in advertisements of the time.

Question 2

Which of the following may be a consequence of a saturated market?

Answer 2

increased unemployment rates

Question 3

Imagine that Susie was an investor at a brokerage firm during the stock market crash of 1929. Which event would have caused Susie to lose confidence in the market?

Answer 3

The sharp drop in stock values

Question 4

Which of the following claims could be used as evidence to support the economic and political circumstances in America leading up to the stock market crash of 1929?

Answer 4

Most Americans experienced improved lives because of humanitarian efforts and increased confidence in the prospering economy.

Question 5

Which of the following was a major part of the stock market crash of 1929?

Answer 5

Black Thursday, which would be followed by Black Tuesday, caused the New York Stock Exchange to lose 11% of its value. This became the first warning sign of the decade to follow.

Question 6

What two underlying weaknesses in the economy resulted in the Great Depression?

Answer 6

questionable banking practices and poor income distribution. Although many countries owed America war reparations after WWI, America was not paying money to other countries. However, America’s decision to loan money to defeated nations intensified the financial crisis of the time.

Question 7

How did poor income distribution contribute to the Great Depression?

Answer 7

Income distribution increased the gap between rich and poor and caused decreased demand for consumer goods. Inequality in wealth distribution was a result of the return of conservative politics and decreased buyers contributed to the market failure of the time.

Question 8

What is an effect of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff?

Answer 8

decreased international trade and closing markets to American manufacturers. Although Hoover intended the opposite, the increase on imports proved to have negative effects on American manufacturers.

Question 9

What is the Smoot-Hawley Tariff

Answer 9

A law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States.

Question 10

What was the outcome of the Bonus Army Protest in Washington during the spring of 1932?

Answer 10

The protest failed because Hoover was unwilling to pay out cash bonuses in fear of what it would do to the federal budget. The federal government was unable to provide the cash bonuses early to WWI veterans.

Question 11

How did President Hoover’s belief in American individualism influence his response to the Great Depression?

Answer 11

He encouraged businesses to retain workers and encouraged individuals to buckle down and keep working hard. Hoover believed that hard work would save many Americans from poverty during the Great Depression.

Question 12

What bill did Senator Robert Wagner of New York endorse to fund state and local public works projects?

Answer 12

The Emergency Relief and Construction Act.

Question 13

What was the Emergency Relief and Construction Act?

Answer 13

was an expansion of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation that was meant to provide aid to fund local public works projects.

Question 14

What is the significance of Hoover’s Federal Emergency Relief Bill?

Answer 14

The Federal Emergency Relief Bill could have brought aid to many Americans, but was opposed by Hoover and never passed.

Question 15

How did Hoover advocate for Native Americans during his presidency?

Answer 15

He elected Charles Curtis, a member of the Kaw Tribe, as his running mate and head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Question 16

What was the cause of the Ford Hunger March?

Answer 16

Rising layoffs of the automotive workforce.
Companies like Ford Motor Company started to cut workers wages and conduct layoffs in order to stay afloat during the Great Depression. Angry workers turned to protesting in the Ford Hunger March.

Question 17

What is an example of how President Hoover encouraged local communities to combat the Great Depression?

Answer 17

Hoover encouraged people to make private donations and volunteer for relief agencies.
Hoover’s strong sense of “American individualism” and his refusal to provide direct federal aid did not prevent him from assisting the American people. Hoover encouraged volunteerism and donating to prevent widespread poverty.

Question 18

What was widely considered a success of Hoover’s presidency?

Answer 18

His foreign policy decisions

Question 19

Which group protested to the government to have their goods sold in surplus on the world market?

Answer 19

farmers. Farmers across the northern states banded together and demanded the government commit to selling their produce in surplus on the world market.

Question 20

What was the outcome of Hoover’s request for business leaders to continue production and retain workers?

Answer 20

Business leaders had to withhold demands of wage increases and risk bankruptcy.
Business leaders had to do whatever they could to keep their business running, including pay low wages and layoff employees.

Question 21

How did the drought of 1931 exacerbate problems for farmers in the Great Plains?

Answer 21

The drought exposed overworked soil that turned to dust and churned it into storms unfit for agricultural production.
Farmers had faced years of consistent production until the drought increased environmental problems that resulted in the long and difficult disaster called the Dust Bowl.

Question 22

How did the Dust Bowl impact the rural banking system?

Answer 22

Country banks closed due to their inability to fund farms and mortgages and were swallowed up by larger banks.
Country farms, who understood the plight of farmers, were closed up by urban farms. The urban banks then foreclosed on farms.

Question 23

What type of farming did rural Black Americans turn to in order to survive the Great Depression?

Answer 23

subsistence farming

Question 24

What is subsistence farming

Answer 24

the type of farming when farmers use all of their crops and livestock to maintain the family’s survival. This type of farming was a means of survival during the Great Depression.

Question 25

How did the “deserving poor” survive despite the government’s initial unwillingness to provide them with assistance?

Answer 25

They turned to state governments, private agencies, and religious organizations even though they weren’t able to provide much help.

Question 26

Did State and local organizations attempt to help those in poverty due to no circumstances of their own by providing food, small allowances, and fuel? T or F

Answer 26

True.

Question 27

Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath demonstrated a shift in values from individualism to collectivism. Which term reflects a political ideology that favors the community as a whole?

Answer 27

communism.
There was an increase in support for communism, a political theory that favors the community as a whole rather than individualism and competition.

Question 28

How did the Great Depression impact women?

Answer 28

Women faced unemployment—they were expected to take care of their family and rely on their husbands.
The Great Depression caused many women to leave the workforce and men were hired over women because it was believed that they needed the employment more.

Question 29

Which of the following is a primary way in which families adapted to survive the hardships of the Great Depression?

Answer 29

Families would conserve food and make home-sewn clothing.
Families tried to prevent food waste and stretch their dollar at every meal, some even made clothes from cotton flour sacks!

Question 30

Which group of Americans were considered less of a priority to employers when competing for jobs during the Great Depression?

Answer 30

Black Americans.
At a time when jobs were hard to come by, employers were more likely to hire white Americans over Black Americans making their ability to find reliable employment rather difficult.

Question 31

Which of the following explains the public’s response to westward migration during the Dust Bowl?

Answer 31

Migration was not favored by most communities, but people became more sympathetic toward migrants after John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath demonstrated their suffering.

Question 32

How did American culture represent the shift in values from the 1920’s to the 1930’s?

Answer 32

The arts emphasized collectivism and preserving family life rather than luxury.

Question 33

Although the Industrial Revolution increased agricultural productivity, how did the new machinery increase farmers’ debt during the Great Depression?

Answer 33

The machinery, along with decreasing demand, led to farmers owing more money than they could make.

Question 34

Which of the following statements best describes the experience of immigrants during the Dust Bowl?

Answer 34

Immigrants were being deported in the thousands and were often unwelcomed because it was believed they would exacerbate the economic crisis.

Question 35

Why were immigrants being deported and unwelcome in the US?

Answer 35

Hoover and the State Department worked to limit immigration to America and push out those who were here competing with Americans for jobs.

Question 36

Who might provide food to starving Americans during the early years of the Great Depression?

Answer 36

religious organizations and clubs.
Clubs like the Elks, college student organizations, and churches were dedicated in their efforts to provide food to starving Americans.

Question 37

Which of the following statements best represents the transition in values from the 1920’s to the 1930’s?

Answer 37

Americans showed an increase in sexuality as shown in increased contraceptive sales.
The birth rates of the 1930’s were dropping, but new contraceptive sales and flirtatious pop culture demonstrated the shift in values of many Americans.

Question 38

Which of the following is an example of challenges Black Americans faced during the Great Depression?

Answer 38

Black Americans faced employment discrimination and were unable to find or keep jobs.
Many employers at the time were more willing to hire White Americans. When businesses had to layoff workers, African Americans were the first to go.

Question 39

Which of the following was an effect of the Great Depression as defined in the historical hack?

Answer 39

Homelessness and the development of Hoovervilles.

Question 40

Which of the following were the prior vulnerabilities that contributed to the Great Depression?

Answer 40

Speculative investing and the lack of banking regulations.

Question 41

Which of the following was a long-term result of the Great Depression?

Answer 41

The Social Security program.
The Social Security program was created in response to the economic hardships caused by the Great Depression. The program still provides a safety net for Americans to this day.

Question 42

What is the significance of the Scottsboro Boys trial?

Answer 42

This case laid early groundwork for the civil rights movement.

Question 43

How did Hoover strengthen relations with Latin America?

Answer 43

By shaping the Clark Memorandum he emphasized assisting America’s Latin American neighbors from European interference.

Question 44

The structural weaknesses that existed prior to the Great Depression included

Answer 44

speculative investing and the lack of banking regulations.

Question 45

Which of the following populations were most vulnerable during the Great Depression?

Answer 45

Elderly, children, Black Americans, and farmers

Question 46

How is a saturated market connected to the Great Depression?

Answer 46

A saturated market resulted in a cycle of failing businesses which spiraled America into the Great Depression.

Question 47

How did protests and riots influence the public opinion of President Hoover?

Answer 47

The Ford Hunger March lowered public favor of Hoover because he failed to increase employment opportunities.

The violence of the Bonus Army Protest that was shown across America in newsreels and photographs decreased Hoover’s popularity.

Question 48

What political philosophy aligns with Hoover’s belief in American individualism?

Answer 48

Limited government