Deck 6: The Depression and the New Deal: 1930-1940

Question 1

During Franklin D. Roosevelt's first year in office, he proposed three types of remedial legislation. Which of the following was proposed?

A) tax cuts to stimulate small business ventures
B) public works programs to stimulate investment
C) grants to local businesses to hire new employees
D) temporary private and public employment programs

Answer 1

public works programs to stimulate investment

Question 2

The director of the Works Progress Administration who was also a social worker was

A) Frances Perkins
B) Jane Addams
C) Harry Hopkins
D) Katherine Lenroot

Answer 2

Harry Hopkins

Question 3

The event in which thousands of veterans pushed for promised monies to balance wartime earnings was known as the

A) Bonus Army March
B) Hoover Town March
C) Rights for Veterans March
D) World War I Veterans March

Answer 3

Bonus Army March

Question 4

Which of the following statements is true?

A) During the Depression years, immigration was high due to the state of the economy.
B) Only disabled veterans were given preference in assignments to jobs in the WPA.
C) The Depression made people realize that one could be poor as a result of society malfunctioning.
D) Government support was made available to farmers, especially those who were veterans.

Question 5

The Social Security Act of 1935 is significant in the history of social welfare because it

A) replaced all existing state welfare programs
B) required businesses to fund the program through taxes
C) extended federal responsibility for social welfare which reflected a public commitment
D) provided federal jobs for men and women who were unemployed during the Depression

Question 6

Which of the following was President Franklin Roosevelt's view of economic policy?

A) basic belief in the free market system
B) government had no major role in welfare policies
C) salaries should be decided by state governments
D) belief that everyone was responsible for themselves

Question 7

The Stock Market Crash of October 24, 1929 resulted in

A) a growing middle class which had taken advantage of the market
B) the migration of rural families to urban areas which had not been impacted
C) an increase in consumption and expansion of businesses to stimulate the economy
D) a 25% unemployment among the civilian labor force by 1933

Question 8

The original Social Security Act of 1935 established which of the following to enable states to make adequate provisions to assist their needy?

A) federal emergency relief funds to private agencies
B) quotas based on race and immigration status
C) aid to the blind and aid to dependent children
D) loans for small farm owners and tenant farmers

Question 9

In order to stimulate the home construction industry, Roosevelt's Administration established which of the following to provide loans for home repairs and mortgages for new homes?

A) Works Progress Administration
B) Home Owners Loan Corporation
C) Federal Housing Administration
D) Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Question 10

The Civilian Conservation Corps employed single men during the Depression to

A) teach them how to be civil during this time of chaos
B) encourage them to join the armed forces
C) develop the infrastructure of the cities
D) develop state and national parks

Question 11

The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 is considered a major piece of legislation because it

A) established the Public Works Administration
B) provided for flex time to spread employment
C) focused on rebuilding old factories for the war effort
D) relaxed business anti-trust laws allowing profit increases

Question 12

The major philosophical change in the American public during the Depression was

A) that poor people resulted from laziness and having no work ethic
B) a belief that limiting government interventions would stimulate the economy
C) that one could be poor as a result of a malfunctioning society
D) the need for the United States to ask for help from other countries

Question 13

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is significant because it

A) was the first concession made by Congress to organized labor
B) recognized the contributions of women in the workforce
C) established the minimum wage and forty hour work week
D) prohibited the use of minorities and children as strikebreakers

Question 14

Because of President Roosevelt's sense of fiscal and political realities, the major section related to was deleted from the Social Security Act of 1935.

A) public education
B) job training
C) food stamps
D) health insurance

Question 15

The policy which laid the foundation for Title IV: Grants to States for Aid to Dependent Children of the Social Security Act of 1935 was

A) Mother's Pension
B) English Poor Laws
C) Henrician Poor Laws
D) Displaced Persons Act

Question 16

The original Social Security Act of 1935 established two insurance programs for those who were working or who had worked. These were Federal Old Age Insurance and which was to be developed by states.

A) Workers Compensation
B) Aid to Dependent Children
C) Unemployment Compensation
D) Aid to the Blind

Question 17

Bakke's studies of family life and unemployment in the mid 1930's documented the effect that the loss of work had on family readjustment. More importantly, it led to

A) funding more research to further the understanding of families
B) the importance of the need for temporary insurance for children of divorce
C) a push for family service agencies to hire professional social workers
D) an acceptance of federal participation for emergency relief

Question 18

Hoover's response to the Depression was based on his belief that the proper role of the government was to

A) provide low interest rate loans to farmers in order to sell food to Europe
B) centralize social welfare programs at the federal level to ease pressures on states
C) mandate that wealthier states provide assistance to states hardest hit by unemployment
D) encourage voluntary action to allow for a balanced federal budget

Question 19

The Wagner Act of 1935 was a significant victory for labor unions because it recognized the legality of

A) peaceful strikes
B) minimum wages
C) collective bargaining
D) the right to organize

Question 20

The philosophy of the New Deal was to provide to the unemployed.

A) housing
B) money
C) food
D) jobs

Question 21

In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act reversed part of the Dawes Act 0f 1887 which had

A) forced all Native American tribes to live on reservations
B) restricted the voting rights of Native Americans
C) established the Bureau of Indian Affairs
D) transferred Indian land to individual white farmers

Question 22

One approach used in the New Deal which was seen as a contradictory approach to economic policy was the application of Keynesian theory. This theory saw the key to recovery in

A) increased spending
B) business tax breaks
C) raising wages
D) higher interest rates

Question 23

The need to get "men back to work" because of extreme high unemployment led to the passage of the married persons clause which

A) reduced the number of women working in the federal government
B) increased the divorce rates among white unemployed married couples
C) provided for better benefits for couples if the woman quit her job
D) resulted in women being considered to be a reserve labor pool

Question 24

The passage of the Social Security Act which laid the foundation for the growth of a welfare state changed the social work profession

A) from a primarily white profession to one of diversity
B) towards an emphasis on social work education
C) to embrace the need to serve in elected political office
D) by becoming even stronger advocates for social reform

Question 25

President Hoover's response to the beginning of the Depression was to

A) develop several experimental social welfare programs
B) establish incentives for men to join the armed forces
C) build housing projects which became known as Hoovervilles
D) institute a national voluntary fundraising drive
Essay Questions

Question 26

Explain how the Bonus Army March helped to defeat Hoover in his presidential bid.

Question 27

As a result of the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and severe weather conditions, the US found itself in a depression. How did this affect the political philosophy of the nation?

Question 28

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 had three major provisions. Almost 75 years later, this legislation affects us all. Explain how this legislation is still important today.

Question 29

The Social Security Act, 1935, is a very significant piece of legislation in the history of social welfare. Why was it significant in 1935 and why is it significant today?

Question 30

Distinguish between Social Insurance and Public Assistance. Give an example of a current program which fits each category.