U.S. history final (Great Depression, New Deal, and World War II)

Question 1

What was the Great Depression?

Answer 1

The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.

Question 2

What financial event took place in 1929 and is considered the start of the Depression?

Answer 2

The Stock Market Crash, it lowered consumer spending, caused panic that worsened an ongoing recession.

Question 3

What is Speculation?

Answer 3

Speculation is a risky investment strategy where the goal is more focused on making a quick profit by taking advantage of price fluctuations in the markets.

Question 4

What is Overproduction?

Answer 4

An excess of supply over the demands of products being offered to the market/Producing more goods than people wanted or could afford.

Question 5

What is buying on credit? What are the dangers?

Answer 5

A person would purchase stocks uncredited with a loan from their broker. Later they would sell the stocks at a higher price, pay back the loan, and keep the profit.

Dangers: It is very easy to buy on credit and overspend so when its time to pay up the loans then it becomes very difficult and it could lead to debt.

Question 6

What is it called when you borrow money in order to buy more stock?

Answer 6

Buying on Margin

Question 7

Where did people get free food during the Depression?

Answer 7

People got free food from soup kitchens. They often had to wait for hours in long “soup lines” to be served.

Question 8

What was life like during the Depression?

Answer 8

• High rates of unemployment
• Lost wages
• Barely any food
• Unharvested crops
• Poor and malnutrition in children
• Long term health issues
• Dust bowl ruined crops
• Higher Crime rates
• Lost homes
• Families traveling for jobs

Question 9

What were Hoovervilles?

Answer 9

They were shantytowns built by homeless citizens for a desperate need of shelter.

Question 10

What was the Dust Bowl?

Answer 10

The Dust Bowl was the name for the drought-stricken region of the United States that suffered severe dust storms and ecological damage. Mainly affecting the Great Plains by killing people and livestock, destroyed crops, and forced families to migrate.

Question 11

Why did many Americans prefer FDR over Herbert Hoover?

Answer 11

Many Americans prefer FDR over Herbert Hoover because he was willing to do more to combat the Great Depression. Also he was talking about how he was going to focus on the poor and he was talking about he was actually going to try to help them.

Question 12

What was the Bonus Army? What happened to them?

Answer 12

The Bonus Army was a gathering of 12,000-15,000 World War I veterans who demanded bonus payment for wartime services to alleviate the economic hardship of the Depression. They did not pass the Patman Bill and the Bonus Army was evicted from their camps and disused buildings by the heavy hand treatment of the US Army. Many suffered from tear gas inhalation, 100 injuries, and 4 deaths.

Question 13

What was FDR trying to accomplish with the New Deal?

Answer 13

New Deal-series of programs and projects he aimed to provide immediate economic relief and to bring about reforms to stabilize the economy after the Great Depression by using the New Deal.

Question 14

What are relief, recovery, and reform?

Answer 14

• Relief: Immediate/Short term
• Help the poor($), feed the hungry, and stop people from losing their homes or farms
• Recovery: Overtime
• Revive the economy by getting industry going and people working in good jobs
• Reform: For the future/Long term
• Make the USA a better place in the future and prevent another Great Depression

Question 15

What are some different agencies from the New Deal, and what were their goals?

Answer 15

AAA - Paid farmers for not planting crops
CCC - Took unmarried men aged from 18-25 from relief rolls and sent them to build outdoor recreational areas
FDIC - To restore confidence in banks and encourage savings
SEC - Serves as a federal “watchdog” administrative agency, no buying on margin

Question 16

What was the goal of Social Security?

Answer 16

Social security is where people pay part of their income into social security fund when they work, and they collect it when they retire.

It was supposed to help old people, unemployed people, people with disabilities, children with a parent who is disabled or has passed away.

Question 17

Why did some people oppose Social Security?

Answer 17

Some people oppose Social Security because of..
- charges of socialism
- high taxes
- weakened economy
- large powerful bureaucracy

Question 18

Why did some people oppose the New Deal?

Answer 18

Some people oppose the New Deal because they believed that it harmed America’s business interests and ever-greater control to the central government in Washington.

Question 19

Who was Huey Long, and what did he believe?

Answer 19

Huey Long was Roosevelt’s most dangerous opponent, he believed that the richer should give some money to the poor so that they could enjoy the luxuries of life as well. Overall he wants to limit poverty and help care for veterans and prevent overproduction in agriculture.

Question 20

Why did FDR not agree with the Supreme Court?

Answer 20

FDR did not agree with the supreme court because his New Deal programs were being stopped for being declared unconstitutional.

Question 21

What was “Court Packing?”

Answer 21

Court-packing was the practice of increasing the number of seats on a court in order to admit judges likely make decisions in one’s favor.

Question 22

Why was Eleanor Roosevelt important?

Answer 22

Eleanor Roosevelt was important because she was the eyes, ears, and legs of the white house when FDR got polio. Also she received a lot of mails asking for help, letters came from little girls and boys and even adults who couldn’t really support themselves or their families. She gave people a sense of trust and hope in her that she will actually make a change or difference.

Question 23

What made the New Deal a success?

Answer 23

The New Deal was a success in that its reforms prevented future economic depressions. It also provided important temporary relief to Americans in the 1930s that kept millions from experiencing total ruin.

Question 24

What made the New Deal a failure?

Answer 24

The New Deal was a failure in that it did not end the Great Depression. Also several of its laws and programs were struck down by the supreme court. It also failed to help minorities and bring unemployment to acceptable levels.

Question 25

Why did many dictators rise to power during the 1930s?

Answer 25

Many countries faced tremendous economic hardships due to an economic depression that spread rapidly after the American stock market crashed. This led to many protests and revolts by citizens to change or overthrow their systems of government. Several nations turned to authoritarians rulers or militaristic dictatorships to bring some semblance of structure.

Question 26

Who were the dictators of Germany, Italy, the USSR, and Japan?

Answer 26

The dictator of Germany was Adolf Hitler.
The dictator of Italy was Benito Mussolini.
The dictator of the USSR was Joseph Stalin.
The dictator of Japan was Emperor Hirohito.

Question 27

What were Hitler’s goals for Germany?

Answer 27

Hitler’s goals included establishing a new racial order in Europe dominated by the German “master race.” Throwing off the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, incorporating territories with ethnic German populations into the Reich, acquiring a vast new empire in Eastern Europe, and forming alliances. Also he aimed to reverse the domestical political situation in Germany.

Question 28

What is appeasement?

Answer 28

A policy of giving in to the demands of an aggressive power to avoid conflict. It’s like trying to keep the peace by giving someone what they want so they don’t get angry or start a fight.

Question 29

What was the Lend-Lease Act?

Answer 29

The Lend-Lease Act was a policy under which the US supplied its World War II allies with war machines, such as ammunition, tanks, airplanes, trucks, and with food and other raw materials. This allows the US to remain neutral.

Question 30

What happened at Pearl Harbor? Why is it important?

Answer 30

It was when the Japanese unleashed a surprise aerial attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. This attack caused a ton of damage. The attack was important because this led to the entry of the United States into World War II.

Question 31

How did the war affect women?

Answer 31

Women took many different roles during the war, including combatants and workers on the home front. It opened the door for women to work. By the end of the war, more than 19 million women were in the workforce and 350,000 women had served in the U.S. armed forces.

Question 32

How did the war affect African-Americans?

Answer 32

African-Americans pursued a double victory: one over the Axis abroad and another over discrimination at home. Major cultural, social, and economic shifts amid a global conflict played out in the lives of these Americans. World War II generally had a positive economic impact on African-Americans.