Deck 22: The Great Depression and the New Deal

Question 1

The event that made Hoover seem heartless,probably costing him votes in the 1932 presidential election,a contest he was likely to lose anyway,was

A) the miscarriage of justice in the Scottsboro Boys trial.
B) his order to remove poor WWI veterans who protested in Washington for early payment of bonuses.
C) his decision to forego direct assistance to suffering citizens.
D) his refusal to meet with Franklin Roosevelt to debate the issues.
E) his pressure on Congress to pass the Hawley-Smoot Tariff.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

All of the following are true statements about the effects of the New Deal except

A) It initiated a war on crime - especially organized crime - by the federal government.
B) The National Labor Relations Board gave workers the right to organize and strengthened their position vis-à-vis employers.
C) There were fewer strikes now that workers could negotiate with employers.
D) Roosevelt's image as the people's president led African Americans to abandon the party of Lincoln and become Democrats.
E) Most of the New deal benefits went to white men or were handed out in segregated systems.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Intellectuals in America tended to place the blame for the Depression on

A) the World War I peace treaty.
B) America's involvement in World War I.
C) reliance on foreign markets for the health of the American economy.
D) unbridled competition among wealthy individuals that sacrificed the good of society for selfish gains.
E) too much emphasis on industrialization over agriculture and education.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The Emergency Banking Relief Act of 1933

A) made $500 million available for bank loans and direct relief.
B) established a national bank holiday, closing the banks for four days to prevent a panic.
C) created a new national bank and federal depository.
D) encouraged banks to make loans to distressed businesses to safeguard the economy from further crisis.
E) established federal control over banks and rescued those in trouble with government loans.

Question 5

Which of the following is the most accurate statement about rural Americans during the Great Depression?

A) Since consumers could not live without food, agriculture was not terribly affected by the Great Depression.
B) The Great Depression ended an era of unprecedented profitability in agriculture.
C) The Great Depression simply exacerbated a decade-long problem of overproduction and lowered revenues.
D) Farm life created relative social and economic security.
E) The Great Depression created opportunities for small farmers and punished big landowners.

Question 6

Passed in 1935,the Wagner Act

A) is also known as the Social Security Act.
B) required that employers permit workers to strike when they felt company policies were unfair.
C) imposed steep income taxes on the wealthy that at times reached nearly 80 percent.
D) provided work relief programs for high school and college students.
E) strengthened the position of unions and established a government agency to oversee industrial compliance.

Question 7

Hoover's only significant attempt to address the economic crisis was to

A) get the Hawley-Smoot Tariff passed.
B) establish the Reconstruction Finance Corporation that loaned money to businesses.
C) provide basic food commodities to unemployed individuals.
D) obtain funding for what became Hoover Dam.
E) urge voluntary associations to help out in their local communities, and set an example by working in a soup kitchen once a week.

Question 8

As the "last hired,first fired," how did African Americans attempt to survive the Great Depression?

A) They struggled as they saw banks and businesses in their communities close.
B) They relied on a network of community organizations and businesses to provide meals and other assistance.
C) They migrated to the North in the hopes of finding jobs in cities such as Chicago or New York.
D) They established businesses in black neighborhoods that priced goods far below what white businesses were charging.
E) All of these choices.

Question 9

All of the following are true statements about radio during the Great Depression except

A) It helped Americans deal with hard times.
B) It featured popular music and swing orchestras with upbeat tunes and messages.
C) Its programs featured sitcoms, sometimes with black characters, that were popular with black and white audiences.
D) It contributed to the growth of the political right.
E) It helped create celebrity personalities.

Question 10

The Hawley-Smoot Tariff

A) actually lowered tariffs on foreign agricultural goods but raised them on manufactured goods.
B) was written and presented by President Hoover himself, so that he could address just how important an issue tariffs were.
C) raised tariffs on foreign goods an additional 25 percent to protect American manufacturers from foreign competition.
D) raised tariffs on foreign imports and proved disastrous as nations could not repay World War I debts and retaliated with high tariffs on U.S. imports to their countries.
E) aided economic recovery by limiting the number of European goods that could enter the U.S. and compete with U.S. manufacturers.

Question 11

Which of the following agencies put millions of men to work building roads and creating national parks?

A) Civilian Conservation Corps
B) Tennessee Valley Authority
C) National Recovery Administration
D) Public Works Administration
E) Agricultural Adjustment Administration

Question 12

As a result of the New Deal,Native Americans

A) were put to work in the various federal jobs programs.
B) lost more of their land to newly created state parks and infrastructure initiatives.
C) were completely ignored and not included in any of the New Deal efforts.
D) saw new efforts to end assimilation and respect Native American self-reliance and culture.
E) witnessed the end of the reservation system.

Question 13

During the winter of 1932-1933,the Depression

A) showed some signs that the crisis might be over.
B) deepened, with neither the lame duck president nor the president-elect able to act effectively.
C) led to the deaths of over 2,000 homeless people in cities (from exposure) across the nation.
D) led to closure of 60 percent of the nation's banks.
E) caused food riots in the cities of the Northeast.

Question 14

Hollywood during the 1930s

A) dramatically cut its movie production.
B) failed to meet demand since studios still produced every movie like an elaborate work of art.
C) suffered from the fact that it still struggled with sound and color quality.
D) began to hammer away at the old and disproven "rags-to-riches" mythology of the past.
E) took gentle jabs at the elites while reassuring audiences that the American "rags-to-riches" dream was alive and well.

Question 15

The makeshift towns put together by the homeless during the Depression were often called

A) shantytowns.
B) tenements.
C) Hoovervilles.
D) slums.
E) poor farms.

Question 16

All of the following were reasons for the depth and length of the Great Depression,except

A) A long-suffering and depressed agricultural sector
B) The decline in consumer spending
C) High taxes on Americans
D) The financial interdependency of the United States with Germany, Great Britain and France after World War I
E) The stock market crash and related reckless speculation

Question 17

Which of these is not a true statement about the Communist Party in America in the 1930s?

A) It sought to eliminate private property and make the state responsible for people's welfare.
B) It gained ground during the Depression because capitalism was in such turmoil.
C) It became a greater force in American politics than ever before.
D) It paid for the defense of the Scotsboro boys to highlight American racism and display communism's egalitarians.
E) It organized the Bonus March on Washington.

Question 18

On the day after his inauguration,FDR called Congress into a special session and

A) asked for emergency powers so that he could declare war on the Depression.
B) announced the names of those who would serve in his Brain Trust to help set policies.
C) declared a four-day national bank holiday so that he could begin examining the soundness of every bank in the country.
D) held his first of many "fireside chats" with the American people by radio.
E) named Frances Perkins as Secretary of Labor.

Question 19

By the time the stock market crash had reached the bottom in 1932,stocks had

A) stabilized at about 25 percent of their value.
B) lost almost 90 percent of their original value.
C) caused the total collapse of Wall Street.
D) become totally worthless.
E) lost two-thirds of their original value.

Question 20

The disruptive effects of the Dust Bowl on residents included

A) almost ten years of drought that killed the majority of the livestock.
B) deep debt with which farmers were saddled long after the Depression.
C) rampant and massive crop failures.
D) the exodus from the farms that put thousands of poor migrants on the road to California.
E) All of these choices.

Question 21

Who were the Bonus Army Marchers? What was their mission? Describe what happened during their time in the nation's capital.

Question 22

What was FDR's "court-packing plan"? Why did he attempt such a thing? How was this plan received by the public? What was the final outcome?

Question 23

Which of these New Deal agencies established fair trade rules and urged companies and workers to agree on prices and wages - all under a blue eagle logo and the "We do our part"?

A) Emergency Farm Market Agency
B) Agricultural Adjustment Administration
C) National Recovery Administration
D) Federal Emergency Relief Agency
E) Works Progress Administration

Question 24

All of the following are true statements about Roosevelt's attempts to "pack the court" except

A) He thought the Supreme Court reflected Republican attitudes and threatened the New Deal.
B) He wanted to pass laws that would let him appoint up to six new justices and force others to retire by age 75.
C) It cost FDR some support from those fearful of the growth of the federal government.
D) Roosevelt's enemies in Congress were quick to vote on the court plan in the hopes of discrediting the president.
E) The plan caused one judge to change his rulings in New Deal cases.

Question 25

Who were the most vocal individual critics of the New Deal from the political left? What were their suggestions as to how to help people better than FDR was doing?

Question 26

Critics of the New Deal included all of the following except

A) Republicans who argued that downturns were inevitable and only the forces of the market economy could address them.
B) Extremists like Charles Coughlin who accused FDR of being in league with communists and Jewish bankers.
C) Democrats on the left who thought the programs didn't go far enough to address vast income disparities in America.
D) Conservative Democrats who thought the government should play a greater role in assisting businesses and stimulating the economy.
E) the Supreme Court, which declared the NIRA invalid because of the broad powers it gave the federal government.

Question 27

One of the most iconic films of the Depression/New Deal era was Mr.Smith Goes to Washington.

Question 28

Discuss President Herbert Hoover's response to the economic crisis.What were his biggest mistakes? Did his policies have anything in common with the New Deal that would follow?

Question 29

The purpose of the 21st Amendment,enacted in December 1933,was to

A) repeal the Prohibition Amendment.
B) give women the right to vote.
C) enlarge the size of the Supreme Court.
D) outlaw discrimination in federal hiring.
E) change the date of the presidential inauguration from March to January.

Question 30

Under the Agricultural Adjustment Act,farmers

A) opened more acreage to production and grow more food crops.
B) received cash subsidies to grow fewer crops.
C) furnished food for those working on the CCC.
D) produced more corn and wheat, and less cotton.
E) took extension classes to learn how to operate their farms more efficiently.

Question 31

The Glass-Steagall Act created the

A) Securities and Exchange Commission.
B) Federal Reserve System.
C) Open Market Committee.
D) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).
E) The Tennessee Valley Authority.

Question 32

The Second New Deal focused on

A) reestablishing business as the cornerstone of the American economy.
B) reducing taxes for all Americans to increase consumer spending.
C) helping the working and middle classes with jobs programs and new systems for addressing workers' grievances.
D) building and refurbishing America's aging infrastructure.
E) All of these choices.

Question 33

Discuss the ways in which the New Deal transformed national culture.What has been the legacy of the New Deal in American life?

Question 34

Hoover's initial reaction to the Depression was to promote voluntary cooperation among business and labor interests to stabilize troubled industries,but this approach was simply inefficient to address the massive unemployment and poverty facing millions of Americans.

Question 35

The photographs commissioned from Dorothea Lange,Ben Shahn,and others documented

A) the FBI's war on organized crime.
B) the rise of gangsters such as Pretty Boy Floyd and Bonnie and Clyde.
C) America's economic inequality and the struggles of those grappling with the Depression.
D) many of the hoboes who "rode the rails" from town to town looking for work during the Depression.
E) the early years of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Question 36

As approved,the Social Security Act (1935)would

A) be a safety net against poverty for people who couldn't support themselves -the elderly, the unemployed and single mothers.
B) set up a national health insurance program to provide medical assistance to those in need.
C) set up a system for public contributions to relief funds.
D) provide housing for the elderly who were homeless.
E) All of these choices.

Question 37

What were the major agencies involved in relief efforts during the early period of the New Deal? How effective were they? What were some of their major accomplishments?

Question 38

The Tennessee Valley Authority had as its main goal

A) the prevention of further land erosion in the valley.
B) establishing flood control.
C) moving rural families into better homes.
D) convincing farmers to form cooperatives similar to the Grange.
E) creating electrical power for rural residents and improving river navigation.

Question 39

Leftist critic Edmund Wilson called the stock market "that stupid gigantic fraud."

Question 40

By 1932,there were an estimated 250,000 homeless children in the country.

Question 41

In 1935,the Supreme Court invalidated the NIRA on the grounds that it gave unconstitutionally broad powers to local and state governments.

Question 42

New immigrants and Catholics were two of the few groups who did not feel comfortable with the programs of the New Deal,and they moved into the ranks of the Republican Party.

Question 43

Woody Guthrie's song "This Land is Your Land" is about the suffering of America's farmers during the Depression.

Question 44

Roosevelt's "Brain Trust" was drawn exclusively from a group of trusted white Anglo-Saxon Protestant friends of the president.

Question 45

Like some New Deal Democratic supporters of Roosevelt,Federal Emergency Relief Administration administrator Harry Hopkins believed that public works projects were superior to direct payments to the public,because payments wounded the pride of the recipients.