Topic 1 - Economic Downtown and Recovery

Question 1

Impacts of the Wall St. Crash - Unemployment (4)

Answer 1

1. Unemployment - 1.5M (‘29) ==> 13M (‘32)
2. 1 in 4 workers were without a job
3. Many businesses shut down as people didn’t want to buy products in the USA or abroad
4. Banks failed and savings were lost

Question 2

Impacts of the Wall St. Crash - Countryside (3)

Answer 2

1. Farmers couldn’t sell produce - food left to rot in the fields
2. More than 1M people left homes looking for work
3. 1931 drought left soil to blow away

Question 3

Impacts of the Wall St. Crash - Hoovervilles (4)

Answer 3

1. People who lost their homes moved to the edges of towns/cities
2. Named Hoovervilles to mock President Hoover
3. Hooverflags - out turned pockets to show no money
4. Hooverblankets - newspapers

Question 4

Impacts of the Wall St. Crash - Bonus Marches (4)

Answer 4

1. Men who fought in WW1 were promised a bonus
2. Over 12k people marched in Washington DC to get an early payment which would have cost $2.3M
3. Hooverville set up outside the White House
4. Hoover got an army to remove the marchers ==> 100 injured and a baby was killed

Question 5

Impacts of the Wall St. Crash - Family Life

Answer 5

1. Marriages fell
2. Birth rate fell
3. Suicide rate increased
4. In Arkansas, schools closed as they couldn’t pay teachers

Question 6

When was the Wall St. Crash

Answer 6

October 1929

Question 7

Republican ideology is called ___________.
What does it mean?

Answer 7

Rugged individualism
Individuals were responsible for themselves and shouldn’t rely on or expect government help

Question 8

Slogan against Hoover

Answer 8

“In Hoover we trusted, now we’re busted”

Question 9

3 policies Hoover introduced to deal with the Great Depression

Answer 9

1. Reconstruction Finance Corporation - $2B of federal aid to banks and insurance companies
2. Emergency Relief Act - $300M to state governments to help the unemployed
3. Home Loan Bank Act - 12 regional banks set up to aid house building and home ownership

Question 10

1932 election - Republican unpopularity (4)

Answer 10

1. They were blamed for the Great Depression
2. Hoover didn’t offer solutions
3. Bonus marchers outrage
4. Banks and businesses continued to fail and confidence fell

Question 11

1932 election - Democrat popularity (4)

Answer 11

1. Democrats had more of a caring image
2. Simple + optimistic message
3. Promised Americans a New Deal
4. Roosevelt had overcome personal hardship - polio

Question 12

Roosevelt’s 3 R’s

Answer 12

Relief Recovery Reform

Question 13

3 R’s: Relief

Answer 13

Immediate short term solutions

Question 14

3 R’s: Recovery

Answer 14

Improvements that allow for circumstances to get better

Question 15

3 R’s: Reform

Answer 15

Ensure America never fall into a Great Depression again - long term solutions

Question 16

Alphabet Agencies

Answer 16

Nickname for organisations set up in FDR’s New Deal

Question 17

Notable Alphabet Agencies (6)

Answer 17

Fair Labour Standards Act
EBA
CCC
TVA
NIRA
AAA

Question 18

AAA

Answer 18

Agricultural Adjustment Administration
Solution to rural poverty and low crop prices
The government bought and slaughtered livestock and paid farmers to not plant on part of their land
Farmers’ incomes doubled in the 1930s

Question 19

NIRA

Answer 19

National Industrial Recovery Act
Solution to the poor economic condition
Set up the National Recovery Administration to improve employee working hours/conditions, minimum wage ect.
The Blue Eagle symbol was used for companies complying with NRA

Question 20

TVA

Answer 20

Tennessee Valley Authority
Solution to flooding in the Tennessee Valley
Public works programme to build 21 dams ==> generated hydroelectric power

Question 21

CCC

Answer 21

Civilian Conservation Corps
Solution to unemployment in young people
Provided 6 months of work for men 18-25 in conservation projects
2.5M employed as a result

Question 22

EBA

Answer 22

Emergency Banking Act
Solution to lack of American confidence in banks as many had gone bankrupt
The government closed banks for 10 days and backed 5000 banks to help restore confidence

Question 23

Fair Labour Standards Act

Answer 23

Solution to unfair pay for workers
Tightened up on child labour laws and minimum wages
300k - higher wages
1M - shorter working week

Question 24

Fireside Chats

Answer 24

FDR set up fireside chats on the radio for over 60M Americans listening
He explained plans, reassuring people that their money was safer in the bank than at home

Question 25

Criticisms of the New Deal

Answer 25

There was still a large gap between the rich and poor
The New Deal Discriminated against black people
Opposition:
1. Huey Long (Governor of Louisiana) - “US wealth should be shared more equally”
2. Dr. Francis Townsend - “Pensions should be more generous”
3. Republicans - “The New Deal went too far”
4. Business Owners - “There’s too much government interference”