Deck 32: The Politics of Boom and Bust

Question 1

Which of the following was most adversely affected by the federal nonintervention policies pursued after World War I?

A) The cement industry
B) The railroad industry
C) American veterans
D) Immigrants
E) Organized labor

Answer 1

Organized labor

Question 2

The Teapot Dome scandal involved corrupt deals regarding

A) the leasing of naval oil reserves.
B) the construction of veterans' hospitals.
C) contracts for Bureau of Indian Affairs.
D) banking arrangements for European war-debt payments.
E) campaign contributions in exchange for presidential pardons.

Answer 2

the leasing of naval oil reserves.

Question 3

The 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact

A) formally ended World War I for the United States, which had refused to sign the Treaty of Versailles.
B) set a schedule for German payment of war reparations.
C) established a battleship ratio for the leading naval powers.
D) condemned Japan for its unprovoked attack on Manchuria.
E) outlawed war as a solution to international rivalry.

Answer 3

outlawed war as a solution to international rivalry.

Question 4

Which of the following was not among the legal doctrines promoted by the Supreme Court in the 1920s?

A) declared federal ownership of western oil reserves unconstitutional
B) declared federal child-labor laws unconstitutional
C) severely restricted government intervention in the economy
D) stripped away labor's organizing rights
E) overturned laws providing special protection for women

Question 5

The Fordney-McCumber Tariff had the economic effect of

A) encouraging American manufacturers to produce for overseas markets.
B) forcing European producers to lower their prices in order to sell in American markets.
C) inducing Europeans to raise their own tariff barriers, virtually killing international trade.
D) enabling American farmers to dump their products overseas and thus maintain higher prices at home.
E) creating increased American trade with Mexico and Canada, which were not covered by the tariff barriers.

Question 6

In the mid-1920s President Coolidge twice refused to sign legislation proposing to

A) exempt farmers' cooperatives from the antitrust laws.
B) defend the family farm against corporate takeovers.
C) make the United States a member of the World Court.
D) raise taxes on farmers.
E) subsidize farm prices by selling surpluses overseas.

Question 7

The nonbusiness group that realized the most significant, lasting gains from World War I and its aftermath was

A) labor.
B) blacks.
C) immigrants.
D) women.
E) veterans.

Question 8

Warren G.Harding's weaknesses as president included all of the following except

A) a lack of political experience.
B) a mediocre mind.
C) an inability to detect moral weaknesses in his associates.
D) an unwillingness to hurt people's feelings by saying no.
E) administrative weakness.

Question 9

One of the major problems facing farmers in the 1920s was

A) overproduction.
B) the inability to purchase modern farm equipment.
C) passage of the McNary-Haugen Bill.
D) the prosecution of cooperatives under antitrust laws.
E) drought and insects like the boll weevil.

Question 10

Republican economic policies under Warren G.Harding

A) sought to return to the pure laissez-faire doctrines practiced under William McKinley.
B) endorsed government to help guide business along the path to profits.
C) sought regulation only in the area of fair trade and consumer rights.
D) aimed at increasing business competition through antitrust enforcement.
E) sought federal consolidation of business and labor into corporate syndicates.

Question 11

The Teapot Dome scandal of Harding's administration resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of his secretary of

A) the treasury.
B) state.
C) the navy.
D) commerce.
E) the interior.

Question 12

Coolidge continued the Harding administration's practice of aligning government policy with the interests of

A) farmers.
B) the business community.
C) racial and ethnic minorities.
D) progressive reformers.
E) wage earners.

Question 13

President Warren G.Harding encouraged American diplomats to seek comprehensive diplomatic agreements and arms reductions in the region of

A) the Middle East.
B) western Europe.
C) Central America and the Caribbean.
D) East Asia.
E) the North Atlantic.

Question 14

Calvin Coolidge enabled the Republican administration to avoid the political consequences of the Harding scandals by

A) demanding that all those involved be sent to prison.
B) his own moral integrity and personal frugality.
C) blaming the deceased Harding for the scandals.
D) declaring that excessive coddling of business had caused the scandals.
E) proposing a series of cautious reforms to prevent future scandals.

Question 15

Because the United States raised its tariffs in the 1920s,

A) European nations raised their tariffs.
B) the postwar chaos in Europe was prolonged.
C) international economic distress deepened.
D) American foreign trade declined.
E) all of these.

Question 16

Which of the following descriptive attributes is least characteristic of President Calvin Coolidge?

A) honesty
B) frugality
C) shyness
D) charisma
E) caution

Question 17

Match each member of President Harding's cabinet below with his position.

A) A-5, B-3, C-2, D-4, E-1
B) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2, E-5
C) A-2, B-4, C-3, D-5, E-1
D) A-4, B-5, C-1, D-3, E-2
E) A-1, B-2, C-5, D-3, E-4

Question 18

Which of the following individuals was considered one of the "worst minds" and "corrupt characters" in President Harding's cabinet?

A) Herbert Hoover
B) Calvin Coolidge
C) Andrew Mellon
D) Charles Evans Hughes
E) Albert Fall

Question 19

President Harding and Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes were willing to seize the initiative on the issue of international disarmament partly because

A) they feared renewed war in Europe.
B) the United States could not likely win a naval arms race with Britain and Japan.
C) businesspeople were unwilling to help pay for a larger United States Navy.
D) they did not want the League of Nations to become involved in East Asia.
E) American public opinion supported peacemaking efforts.

Question 20

In the case of Adkins v.Children's Hospital, the Supreme Court reversed its own earlier ruling that

A) immigration laws could not distinguish people based on national origins.
B) affirmative action in federal hiring policies was constitutional.
C) the Clayton Act's recognition of labor unions was constitutional.
D) federal law could provide special legal protections for women.
E) industry trade associations were a violation of antitrust laws.

Question 21

One of Herbert Hoover's chief strengths as a presidential candidate was his

A) political skill.
B) experience in elected office.
C) personal charm and charisma.
D) ability to face criticism.
E) talent for administration.

Question 22

The Progressive party did not do very well in the 1924 election because

A) it could not win the farm vote.
B) too many people shared in prosperity to care about reform.
C) it was too caught up in internal discord.
D) the liberal vote was split between it and the Democratic Party.
E) La Follette could not win the Socialists' endorsement.

Question 23

Senator Robert La Follette's Progressive party advocated all of the following except

A) government ownership of railroads.
B) relief for farmers.
C) opposition to antilabor injunctions.
D) opposition to monopolies.
E) curbing the power of the Supreme Court.

Question 24

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was established to

A) hire unemployed workers to build federal highways and dams.
B) make loans to businesses, banks, and state and local governments.
C) outlaw "yellow dog" (antiunion) contracts.
D) provide money for construction of dams on the Tennessee River.
E) lend money for federal public works projects.

Question 25

The intended beneficiaries of the McNary-Haugen Bill were

A) railroads.
B) farmers.
C) banks.
D) labor unions.
E) small business owners.

Question 26

Before being elected to the presidency in 1928, Herbert Hoover

A) had declared that the era of American individualism and thrift was over.
B) brought little administrative talent or experience to the job.
C) had been known as an ideological archconservative.
D) had been a wealthy engineer and businessman.
E) had been a successful governor of California.

Question 27

The Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930,

A) was welcomed by Britain and France.
B) stalled Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany.
C) reversed American economic isolationism.
D) ended the decline in farm prices.
E) deepened the worldwide depression.

Question 28

The ____ was the Hoover administration's primary government agency designed to combat the Great Depression.

A) Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
B) National Recovery Administration (NRA)
C) Works Progress Administration (WPA)
D) Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
E) Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)

Question 29

As a result of America's insistence that all Allied war debts be repaid,

A) the French and British demanded enormous reparations payments from Germany.
B) the French and British people were subjected to ruinous tax rates.
C) the British and French governments froze all U.S.bank accounts in their countries.
D) the French ordered all remaining U.S.troops off their soil.
E) the Allies raised tariff rates on American products even higher.

Question 30

President Herbert Hoover believed that the Great Depression could be ended by doing all of the following except

A) providing direct assistance to American citizens.
B) providing direct and indirect assistance to businesses and banks.
C) keeping faith in the efficiency of the industrial system.
D) continuing to rely on the American tradition of rugged individualism.
E) lending federal funds to state and local governments.

Question 31

In America, the Great Depression caused

A) a widespread disgust with the capitalist economic system.
B) a decade-long decline in the birthrate.
C) an increase of foreign investment in the United States.
D) a growing sense of trust in American business leaders.
E) a loss of speculative stock values rather than ordinary citizens' savings.

Question 32

The Dawes Plan temporarily solved the financial tangle of the mid-1920s by

A) accepting British bases in America in lieu of loan repayment.
B) persuading France and Britain to reduce Germany's war reparations.
C) permitting British and French gold reserves in Switzerland to serve as guarantees for eventual repayment.
D) developing a stretched-out schedule of Allied loan repayments at lower interest rates.
E) loaning money to Germany so it could pay war reparations to the Allies, who could then repay the United States.

Question 33

Which of the following splits did not affect the Democratic party in 1924?

A) "wets" versus "drys"
B) immigrants versus old-stock Americans
C) urbanites versus suburbanites
D) Fundamentalists versus Modernists
E) northern liberals versus southern conservatives

Question 34

America's European allies argued that they should not have to repay loans that the United States made to them during World War I because

A) the United States had owed them about $4 billion before the war.
B) the United States had charged excessive interest rates on the loans.
C) they had paid a much heavier price in lost lives, so it was only fair for the United States to write off the debt.
D) the United States was making so much money from Mexican oil that it did not need extra dollars.
E) Germany was not paying its reparations to them, so they could not afford to pay off the loans.

Question 35

The most colorful presidential candidates of the 1920s was

A) Calvin Coolidge.
B) John W.Davis.
C) Alfred E.Smith.
D) Herbert Hoover.
E) Robert La Follette.

Question 36

In the early 1920s, the United States' ____ was a glaring exception to its isolationism and general indifference to the outside world.

A) involvement in the World Court
B) armed intervention in the Caribbean and Central America
C) establishment of bases in the Philippines
D) naval buildup
E) support for "white" anticommunist forces inside the Soviet Union

Question 37

The deep political and cultural divisions within the Democratic party were demonstrated in 1924 by

A) its inability to nominate a presidential candidate until after 102 ballots at its convention.
B) the breakaway political Progressive party created by Robert La Follette.
C) its inability to gain support from different parts of the country.
D) its deadlock over whether to support U.S.entry into the League of Nations.
E) its unending debates over whether to support farmers and labor rights.

Question 38

The Federal Farm Board, created by the Agricultural Marketing Act, lent money to farmers primarily to help them to

A) organize producers' cooperatives.
B) unload excess farm profits overseas.
C) open new land to cultivation.
D) obtain credit to purchase expensive new farm machinery.
E) take land out of production.

Question 39

President Hoover's approach to the Great Depression was to

A) leave the economy alone to work itself out of trouble.
B) nationalize major industries.
C) encourage the states to stimulate spending.
D) blame it on big business.
E) adopt unprecedented federal initiatives to combat it.

Question 40

All of the following were political liabilities for Alfred E.Smith except his

A) Catholic religion.
B) support for the repeal of prohibition.
C) big-city background.
D) working-class background.
E) radio speaking skill.

Question 41

What evidence indicated throughout the 1920s that the economy was not as healthy as most believed? Why weren't these weaknesses addressed?

Question 42

What did Herbert Hoover do to combat the Great Depression? What more do you think he should have done? Why didn't he? Should Hoover be described as the "Pioneer of the New Deal."

Question 43

The 1932 Stimson doctrine

A) reversed the United States' longstanding interventionist policies in Latin America.
B) committed the United States to join the League of Nations' effort to impose economic sanctions against Japan for its invasion of Manchuria.
C) announced the United States' willingness to outlaw war as an instrument of national policy.
D) declared that the United States would not recognize any territorial acquisition achieved by force of arms.
E) declared Japan and Germany "rogue states."

Question 44

Why was the Harding administration so scandal-ridden? Consider both Harding's personal qualities and the postwar climate.What long-term impact did these scandals have on Harding's reputation, the Republican party, and American national interests?

Question 45

The high government officials involved in scandals during the Harding administration included

A) Charles Forbes.
B) Albert Fall.
C) Harry Daugherty.
D) Edward Doheny.
E) Charles Evans Hughes.

Question 46

At the 1921-1922 Washington Conference, the major signatories agreed to

A) limit the size of their naval forces.
B) eventually grant independence to all their Asian colonies.
C) preserve the status quo of the great powers in the Pacific.
D) acknowledge and reinforce the great powers' spheres of influence in China.
E) accept the Soviet Union as a major East-Asian power.

Question 47

What happened to the progressive reform movement in the 1920s? Was the rather weak showing of Robert La Follette's Progressive party in 1924 an accurate gauge of progressive strength in America?

Question 48

Historians have usually judged the presidents of the 1920s as mediocre at best.How accurate and fair is this assessment? Is it fair that Herbert Hoover long enjoyed an even lower reputation than Warren Harding?

Question 49

The Bonus Expeditionary Force marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to demand

A) funds and support for American troops from Nicaragua.
B) federal recognition of the American Legion as a quasi-governmental organization.
C) immediate, early payment of bonus payments promised to World War I veterans.
D) that unemployed veterans be hired by the federal government.
E) improved housing and health care assistance for veterans.

Question 50

What were the essential goals of the Harding-Coolidge administrations? In what ways did their policies represent a reversal of the progressive-era reforms of Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson? What progressive reforms did they keep in place?

Question 51

The causes of the Great Depression included

A) agricultural overproduction.
B) unequal distribution of wealth.
C) overextension of credit.
D) high tariff barriers and anemic foreign trade.
E) low farm prices and high farm debt.

Question 52

Compare and contrast the three Republican presidents of the 1920s.How did their distinct personalities affect the character and conduct of their administrations?

Question 53

In the 1920s the Harding administration's Commerce Department encouraged the creation of trade associations to

A) force compliance with the existing antitrust laws.
B) promote business competition.
C) promote the standardization of products.
D) help business to combat labor unionization.
E) seek overturn of the antitrust laws.

Question 54

What was the fundamental cause of the great crash of 1929 and the Depression that followed? What were its secondary causes? Why did it come so unexpectedly?

Question 55

President Hoover supported the following antidepression measures:

A) federal government loans to banks, corporations, and local governments.
B) creating a Tennessee Valley Authority to build dams and create jobs.
C) federal assistance for hot school lunches.
D) federal guarantees for people's bank savings accounts.
E) employment of young people in conservation projects.

Question 56

In 1931, Japan invaded and occupied

A) the Chinese province of Taiwan.
B) Korea.
C) Vietnam.
D) the Chinese province of Manchuria.
E) the northern half of the Soviet island of Sakhalin.

Question 57

Critically analyze the relationship between American tariff policy, war debts and reparations, and the Great Depression.Explain why the federal government adopted the tariff and debt-repayment policies it did.Assess the wisdom of these policies.

Question 58

Assess the validity of the following statement, "Al Smith lost the 1928 election to Herbert Hoover because of his Roman Catholicism." How accurate is this assessment? Is it more correct to say that Hoover rather easily won the election than that Smith lost it?

Question 59

Assess the validity of the following statement, "during the 1920s isolation [from foreign involvement] was enthroned in Washington." Do you agree? Why or why not? Cite specific episodes in international affairs that support your interpretation.

Question 60

President Hoover's already damaged reputation was further ruined by his

A) unwillingness to support soup kitchens for the homeless unemployed.
B) construction of "Hoovervilles" for the homeless.
C) declaration that "prosperity is just around the corner."
D) continued association with big businessmen.
E) use of federal troops to disperse the Bonus Army.

Question 61

It has been observed of the politics of the 1920s that it advocated "less government in business and more business in government." What is meant by this remark? How did the Republican policies of the 1920s differ from the old laissez-faire policies of the past (e.g., of the Cleveland and McKinley administrations)?

Question 62

In what ways, if any, did the politics and policies of the 1920s reflect the social and cultural transformations of the day? How could a period of such revolutions in society and culture be accompanied by such conservative political policies?