Deck 25: The Great Depression and the New Deal 1929-1939

Question 1

What occurred on "Black Tuesday"?

A) A stock market crash wiped out all the gains of the previous year.
B) Germany attacked Poland.
C) Herbert Hoover announced he would take no action regarding the faltering farm economy.
D) U.S. Steel announced a layoff of over half its workers.

Answer 1

A stock market crash wiped out all the gains of the previous year.

Question 2

The Wall Street crash:

A) was triggered by excessive government spending.
B) only affected middle-class Americans.
C) was caused by the low level of investment in the 1920s.
D) marked the beginning of the depression, but did not cause it.

Answer 2

marked the beginning of the depression, but did not cause it.

Question 3

All of the following were causes of the Great Depression EXCEPT:

A) unequal distribution of wealth.
B) a drop in agricultural production in the mid-1920s.
C) the dominance of oligopolies in the American economy.
D) reckless banking and speculation unchecked by regulation.

Answer 3

a drop in agricultural production in the mid-1920s.

Question 4

In the early years of the Depression:

A) voluntarism was rejected by the Hoover administration.
B) foreign markets for American goods shrank.
C) unemployment had not emerged as a major problem.
D) farmers' incomes rose dramatically.

Question 5

An early result of the 1929 stock market crash was:

A) even more massive declines in stock values in Europe the day after Black Tuesday.
B) an acceleration of European repayments of American loans.
C) a large decrease in American investments in Europe.
D) increased American exports.

Question 6

The Depression was prolonged when:

A) the government ordered that more exports be sold in Europe.
B) banks voluntarily submitted to regulatory policies.
C) the Federal Reserve Board restricted the nation's money supply.
D) farm prices and workers' wages skyrocketed.

Question 7

In the first years of the depression, personal income:

A) dropped by more than half.
B) did not emerge as a major problem area.
C) remained steady, but prices rose.
D) reflected the relative strength of the industrial economy.

Question 8

Between 1929 and 1946, only the ___________ fifth of Americans saw their percentage of American income decline.

A) lowest
B) second lowest
C) middle
D) highest

Question 9

What were Hoovervilles?

A) They were suburban towns that experienced sharp downturns during the depression.
B) They were the numerous soup kitchens constructed to feed the nation's hungry.
C) They were rich sections of town where wealthy Republicans lived.
D) They were squalid collections of shacks where the homeless of America's cities lived.

Question 10

Which statement about women during the depression is NOT true?

A) Women were generally less likely to be fired than men.
B) Firing women usually opened up more job opportunities for men.
C) Opposition to women doing "men's jobs" stiffened during the depression.
D) Many of the nation's school districts refused to hire married women.

Question 11

The Great Depression affected Germany in all of the following ways, EXCEPT:

A) it helped bring about the collapse of the German banking system.
B) it slowed the rise of Adolf Hitler to power.
C) it caused Germany to default on war debts.
D) it raised unemployment.

Question 12

Most countries responded to the international crisis of the Great Depression with:

A) strong measures to promote international finance.
B) massive international relief efforts to help the countries hardest hit.
C) measures to punish the Soviet Union as the supposed source of the trouble.
D) policies that hindered international trade.

Question 13

Social effects of the depression included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) lower birthrates.
B) higher divorce rates.
C) loss of self esteem by unemployed workers.
D) an increase in the number of men who deserted their families.

Question 14

Which statement about conditions for African-Americans during the depression is true?

A) Unemployment rates for blacks stayed at the same high pre-depression rate.
B) Blacks received equal treatment in receiving aid from relief programs.
C) Religious charity groups often denied providing help to blacks.
D) Blacks were generally the first workers to be fired and the last to be hired.

Question 15

During the depression, Hispanic Americans:

A) were able to move up to middle-class status.
B) experienced little discrimination in finding work.
C) lost many jobs due to prejudice against them.
D) always resisted returning to Mexico.

Question 16

Which statement best summarizes protest movements in the early years of the depression?

A) Demonstrations were virtually nonexistent despite the awful conditions.
B) The government passed a law that made it illegal to stage any type of protest.
C) Protesters came from a vast range of social, political, and economic interests.
D) Conservative Republicans dominated the ranks of those who led protest movements.

Question 17

One of Herbert Hoover's few relief measures was creation of the:

A) Works Progress Administration.
B) Farm Credit Act.
C) Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
D) Emergency Banking Act.

Question 18

The Bonus Army:

A) was dispersed by troops under the command of General Douglas McArthur.
B) was treated civilly by President Hoover.
C) gained their main objective through a law pushed through Congress by progressive Republicans.
D) left Washington after promises of immediate relief from president-elect Roosevelt.

Question 19

Franklin Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover in 1932 for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) the public viewed Hoover as cold and ineffective at dealing with the depression.
B) Roosevelt had announced the specifics of his New Deal package of legislation.
C) Hoover's public image was damaged by the way he handled the Bonus Army incident.
D) Roosevelt's confidence and charisma provided hope for many American voters.

Question 20

During the 1920s, Franklin Roosevelt:

A) married Eleanor.
B) bravely fought back against the ravages of polio.
C) served as an assistant secretary of the navy.
D) switched from the Republican to the Democratic Party.

Question 21

In the election of 1932:

A) third-party candidates played a major role.
B) Roosevelt won by less than 5% of the vote.
C) Roosevelt won every state south and west of Pennsylvania.
D) Hoover's active campaigning was a major factor.

Question 22

"The 100 Days" refers to:

A) the active first three months of FDR's first term of office.
B) the "lame duck" final few months of Hoover's presidency.
C) the immediate after-effects of the stock market crash.
D) the length of the sit-down strike at Fisher body plant.

Question 23

Franklin Roosevelt's first action as president was to:

A) provide pensions for the elderly.
B) strengthen the faltering bank industry.
C) balance the national government's budget.
D) cut income taxes for the wealthy.

Question 24

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration:

A) combined work relief work with conservation.
B) furnished funds to local and state governments.
C) created a regulatory board for settling labor disputes.
D) was one of FDR's ideas that was rejected by Congress.

Question 25

The Securities and Exchange Commission was created to regulate:

A) international trade.
B) banks.
C) the stock market.
D) the international flow of finance.

Question 26

Which agency was created personally by FDR and was very popular with the public?

A) the Wagner-Peyser Act
B) the Social Security Act
C) the Civilian Conservation Corps
D) the Farm Credit Administration

Question 27

The Agricultural Adjustment Administration attempted to:

A) nationalize rail lines that carried farm products.
B) raise farm incomes by attacking overproduction.
C) decrease the emphasis on scientific agriculture.
D) acknowledge farmers' calls for collective bargaining rights.

Question 28

The plight of American farmers during the depression was magnified by:

A) devastating droughts and dust storms throughout the 1930s.
B) the Socialist Party's active role in rural politics of the 1930s.
C) FDR's refusal to develop a comprehensive farm policy.
D) the refusal of large producers to participate in the AAA.

Question 29

Section 7A of the National Industrial Recovery Act:

A) was supported by members of the Liberty League.
B) established modernization projects in the Tennessee Valley.
C) guaranteed workers the right to collective bargaining.
D) was FDR's first attempt at stabilizing the private banking system.

Question 30

All of the following statements about the NRA are true EXCEPT:

A) the Supreme Court upheld its constitutionality in 1935.
B) businesses used the agency to advance their own interests.
C) workers ended up feeling betrayed by NRA leader Hugh Johnson.
D) Section 7A was not as stringently enforced as workers had hoped.

Question 31

The New Deal faced open dissent from the Left by all of the following groups EXCEPT:

A) militant labor leaders.
B) women's rights organizations.
C) the Socialist Party.
D) the Communist Party.

Question 32

A particularly odious part of Father Charles Coughlin's criticism of the New Deal was:

A) Coughlin's attacks on both major political parties.
B) Coughlin's claim that FDR was not using his presidential powers widely enough.
C) Coughlin's calls for a nationwide move toward socialism.
D) Coughlin's combined message of religion with anti-Semitism.

Question 33

Huey Long felt that FDR should:

A) try to balance the budget at all costs.
B) give corporations a tax cut.
C) enact wider social welfare programs.
D) change the membership of the Supreme Court.

Question 34

FDR supported the Wagner National Labor Reactions Act:

A) even though Senator Wagner was a conservative Republican.
B) because he had personally designed its structure.
C) after he recognized that both the public and Congress supported it.
D) as a result of pressure from conservative Democrats.

Question 35

The Social Security Act:

A) originally provided free health care for retired citizens.
B) showed the inability of FDR to create a consensus between opposing interests.
C) was exactly like health and retirement plans in European nations.
D) established federal responsibility in providing social welfare.

Question 36

All of the following statements are true about the Works Progress Administration EXCEPT:

A) despite its good intentions, it provided few jobs for Americans.
B) the organization developed work projects for artists, musicians, and writers.
C) it laid much of the nation's infrastructure on which the U.S. still relies.
D) the WPA was one of many agencies in which Harry Hopkins played a major role.

Question 37

Which of the following states was least affected by the Dust Bowl?

A) South Dakota
B) Texas
C) Kansas
D) Oklahoma

Question 38

The election of 1936:

A) revealed that an overwhelming number of Americans supported FDR and the New Deal.
B) was among the closest presidential elections in American history.
C) showed that the Republicans were regaining the support they had lost in the late 1920s.
D) illustrated the growing distance between the Democrats and their supporters in the South.

Question 39

Militant laborers challenged traditional labor leaders by forming the:

A) Congress of Industrial Organizations.
B) American Liberty League.
C) American Federation of Labor.
D) Knights of Labor.

Question 40

Auto workers at GM's Flint, Michigan plant:

A) were attacked by the National Guard.
B) won their strike by using the unique tactic of the sit-down strike.
C) refused to join the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
D) failed to earn any public support for their strike.

Question 41

On Memorial Day in Chicago in 1937:

A) police fired on strikers and their families, killing 10 people.
B) Huey Long was assassinated as he gave a speech.
C) the Socialist Party nominated Norman Thomas for president.
D) FDR gave the most aggressive pro-labor speech of his career.

Question 42

Which statement about women during the Great Depression is NOT true?

A) New Deal relief programs had a mixed impact on working women.
B) Many NRA codes mandated lower wage scales for women.
C) Women were not included in the NRA's minimum wage requirement.
D) Women on relief were restricted to doing traditional "women's work."

Question 43

All of the following statements about Eleanor Roosevelt are true EXCEPT:

A) she played the valuable role of being FDR's "eyes and ears" to the American public.
B) her activism forever changed the public's expectations of the first lady's role.
C) she traveled extensively across the country as she championed many social causes.
D) despite her active role, she did not become involved in lobbying Congress.

Question 44

A significant shift in voting demographics occurred in the 1930s when:

A) wealthy industrialists abandoned the Republican Party.
B) the lowest voter turnouts in American history occurred.
C) blacks shifted their loyalties from the Republicans to the Democrats.
D) the "Solid South" crumbled as the Republican Party increased its popularity.

Question 45

As leader of the PWA, Harold Ickes insisted that:

A) half the agency's jobs should go to women.
B) job opportunities should be made more available to loyal Democrats.
C) native whites should always be afforded the best job opportunities.
D) blacks should receive relief jobs in proportion to their share of the population.

Question 46

The "Black Cabinet" was a term used to describe:

A) activists who met at the home of Mary McLeod Bethune to discuss civil rights strategies.
B) the huge influence that Harry Hopkins and Harold Ickes had on FDR's decision-making.
C) Supreme Court members who ruled that New Deal reforms were unconstitutional.
D) labor leaders who argued their positions by lobbying for the attention of Eleanor Roosevelt.

Question 47

The Indian Reorganization Act:

A) guaranteed religious freedom, and halted the sale of tribal lands.
B) marked a return to the American governmental policies of the nineteenth century.
C) received the full-fledged support of white missionaries who worked on reservations.
D) weakened tribal control of local government.

Question 48

Most southerners supported the Tennessee Valley Authority because it:

A) reflected their socialistic values.
B) provided government subsidies for crops.
C) brought jobs and modern conveniences to an impoverished region.
D) strengthened the institution of segregation in the region.

Question 49

The _______ received the most New Deal money on a per capita basis for welfare, relief, and loans.

A) South
B) Northeast
C) Midwest
D) West

Question 50

"Court packing" refers to FDR's proposal to:

A) load state courts with civil rights cases.
B) surround himself with cabinet members from America's wealthiest families.
C) assert more presidential control over the makeup of the Supreme Court.
D) sue corporations who resisted implementation of New Deal reforms.

Question 51

One effect of FDR's "court packing" proposals was:

A) more electoral support than ever for FDR in 1940.
B) the desegregation of public facilities in the Tennessee Valley.
C) the revival of conservative opposition to FDR.
D) the strengthening of FDR's electoral majority in Congress.

Question 52

The recession of 1937 was actually rooted in:

A) the failure of New Deal reforms.
B) a decision to return to some conservative "retrenchment" policies.
C) FDR's reluctance to cut government spending.
D) labor's refusal to follow the Wagner Act.

Question 53

All of the following statements about the midterm elections of 1938 are true EXCEPT:

A) it revealed that, more than ever, FDR would have an easy time getting programs passed.
B) the Democrats still held on to their majorities in the House and Senate.
C) it guaranteed that the New Deal had gone as far as it ever would.
D) conservative Southern Democrats emerged as a stronger political force.

Question 54

The Nye Committee hearings made Americans think that America fought in World War I to:

A) promote global democracy.
B) prevent Germany from conquering western Europe.
C) make profits for large American corporations.
D) strengthen the Republican Party.

Question 55

With the hopes of expanding to new markets and increasing trade, President Roosevelt extended formal
Recognition of this country in November, 1933; his decision met with much criticism.

A) Cuba
B) the Soviet Union
C) South Africa
D) Canada

Question 56

FDR's policies toward Latin America included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) lowering tariffs.
B) visiting South America.
C) refusing to support dictators.
D) extending the Good Neighbor policy.

Question 57

In the early 1930s, Hitler established this type of government in Germany.

A) democratic
B) autocratic
C) fascist
D) socialist

Question 58

In an effort to avoid conflict, Congress passed a set of acts, designed to continue America's trade with its world
Partners but prohibit the president from taking sides in the mounting European crisis. They were called:

A) the Neutrality Acts.
B) the Kellogg-Briand Pacts.
C) the Munich agreements.
D) the Good Neighbor policies.

Question 59

In the 1930s, the United States took no substantial action when Japan engaged in military actions in:

A) French Indochina.
B) China.
C) the Philippines.
D) Thailand.

Question 60

Which of the following events took place in Roosevelt's first term?

A) FDR proposes his ideas for "court packing."
B) The Emergency Banking Act is passed in the effort to stabilize the banking system.
C) The Social Security Act provides old-age pensions for the first time in U.S. history.
D) The Congress of Industrial Organizations is founded.

Question 61

Which of the following events took place in Roosevelt's second term?

A) The Supreme Court rules the NRA unconstitutional.
B) The Tennessee Valley Authority is created to coordinate regional development.
C) Congress, with the active support of labor, passes the Wagner Act.
D) The Civilian Conservation Corps establishes many jobs in the area of conservation and reforestation projects.

Question 62

Which of the following events happened first?

A) Italy invades Ethiopia.
B) Munich agreement gives Hitler the Sudetenland.
C) United States recognizes the Soviet Union.
D) Hitler remilitarizes the Rhineland.

Question 63

Which of the following events happened in 1933?

A) National Recovery Administration created.
B) Social Security Act passed.
C) Farm Security Administration created.
D) National Housing Act passed.

Question 64

Which of the following events happened in 1936?

A) Civilian Conservation Corps created.
B) Tennessee Valley Authority created.
C) Securities and Exchange Commission created.
D) Supreme Court declares the Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional.

Question 65

How did Herbert Hoover's voluntarism fail to solve the problems of the Great Depression?

Question 66

Describe the conflict that led to FDR's proposal that the president be given more power in the organization of
the Supreme Court. What were the specifics of FDR's "court packing" proposals?

Question 67

What historical specifics show that the Republican Party had fallen out of step with American voters in the period from 1930-1936?

Question 68

Describe the important role that Eleanor Roosevelt played in the American political scene of the 1930s.

Question 69

What factors led to a rift in the American Federation of Labor? How was the Congress of IndustrialOrganizations different from the A.F.L.?

Question 70

In what ways were Herbert Hoover's economic ideas more progressive than his Republican predecessors in
office? Despite these ideas, what political failings caused his demise as president?

Question 71

Discuss and analyze the elements that produced Franklin Roosevelt's landslide victory over Herbert Hoover in
the election of 1932.

Question 72

Choose three New Deal relief programs and describe them. What were they designed to accomplish? What were
the achievements and/or failings of these programs?

Question 73

Many historians have stated that Franklin Roosevelt was "the right man at the right time." Evaluate the thematic
evidence that produces this thesis.

Question 74

Arthur Schlesinger asserted that FDR's strengths included his ability to unite the nation against a common foe, and his instinct for finding the "vital center" of American thinking. What historical evidence causes Schlesinger to express this thesis?

Question 75

Describe the coalition of critics that opposed New Deal reforms. What were the variety of motivations behind
the groups and individuals who expressed these criticisms?

Question 76

What role did New Deal reforms play in the lives of women, blacks, and Indians? Did the New Deal increase
discrimination or did it serve as a foundation for later civil rights reform?