Deck 25: From Normalcy to Economic Collapse: 1921-1933

Question 1

The term with which President Warren G. Harding is frequently identified is

A) New Nationalism.
B) "normalcy."
C) progressive individualism.
D) New Freedom.

Answer 1

"normalcy."

Question 2

The Ohio gang is associated with President

A) Warren G. Harding.
B) Calvin Coolidge.
C) Herbert Hoover.
D) Woodrow Wilson.

Answer 2

Warren G. Harding.

Question 3

Of his life in the White House, which of the following presidents referred to it as a "prison"?

A) Herbert Hoover
B) Franklin D. Roosevelt
C) Woodrow Wilson
D) Warren G. Harding

Answer 3

Warren G. Harding

Question 4

His admirers regarded Andrew Mellon as the greatest secretary of the treasury since Alexander Hamilton because he

A) proposed reducing the income tax on high incomes and abolishing the inheritance tax.
B) opposed lower tax rates for incomes under $66,000.
C) supported the farm bloc.
D) continued low tariffs on industrial products.

Question 5

During the 1920s, appointments to federal regulatory agencies such as the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Reserve Board were generally

A) liberal.
B) pro-big business.
C) radical.
D) delayed by Congress.

Question 6

Charles R. Forbes, a Harding appointee, stole millions of dollars from the

A) Department of the Interior.
B) Library of Congress.
C) Veterans Bureau.
D) Department of the Treasury.

Question 7

The illegal leasing of government oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, was the worst scandal involving the administration of President

A) Woodrow Wilson.
B) Calvin Coolidge.
C) Herbert Hoover.
D) Warren G. Harding.

Question 8

Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, was

A) devoted to preservation of the wilderness.
B) the only honest member of Harding's administration.
C) implicated in the Teapot Dome scandal.
D) too mentally ill to stand trial for his crimes.

Question 9

Immediately after the Great War, Americans generally were

A) retreating into isolationism.
B) anxious to participate in international organizations.
C) reluctant to abandon the rest of the world.
D) optimistic about a "good neighbor" policy with Latin America.

Question 10

The Five-Power Treaty signed by the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France, and Italy in 1922 committed them to

A) respecting one another's interest in the Pacific islands.
B) limiting their armed forces to a fixed ratio.
C) respecting one another's interest in the Indian Ocean.
D) limiting their battleships to a fixed ratio.

Question 11

Under the Kellogg-Briand Pact of 1928, the United States agreed to

A) join the League of Nations despite its previous objections.
B) cooperate with the World Court in all matters outside of the Western Hemisphere.
C) reduce its navy by half during the next ten years.
D) renounce war as a solution in international controversies.

Question 12

Members of the peace movement of the 1920s believed that

A) peace could be attained by pointing out the moral disadvantages of war.
B) international cooperation was the key to peace.
C) membership in the World Court was the essential to the foundation of world peace.
D) the U.S. should not sign the Kellogg-Briand Pact.

Question 13

Herbert Hoover's administration reversed the policies of President Wilson toward Latin America by

A) adopting the approach of the Roosevelt Corollary.
B) declaring the right to intervene dependent on the doctrine of self-preservation.
C) trying to teach the Latin Americans "to elect good men."
D) stating unequivocally that the United States had the right to intervene to preserve any and all U.S. interests.

Question 14

The significant change in American policy toward the Caribbean that occurred in the 1930s was

A) withdrawing American marines occupying Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
B) insisting it had the right to intervene in Latin American internal affairs whenever it wanted to.
C) forming a regional Alliance for Progress to encourage economic development in Latin America.
D) demanding that European powers should not acquire any additional colonies in the Caribbean.

Question 15

The totalitarian challenge to the United States and the European democracies began with the 1931 invasion of Manchuria by

A) Vietnam.
B) Russia.
C) Germany.
D) Japan.

Question 16

Under the Stimson Doctrine, the United States

A) renounced the U.S. claim of the right to intervene in the internal affairs of Latin America.
B) applied the principle of the Open Door Policy to Africa as well as Asia.
C) announced a complete boycott of any aggressor nation.
D) declared that it would never recognize the legality of seizures made in violation of U.S. treaty rights.

Question 17

The democracies failed to unite to resist totalitarianism during the 1920s and 1930s because they disagreed with each other over the

A) futures of their colonies.
B) role of the League of Nations.
C) morality of using force in foreign policy.
D) repayment of debts from the Great War.

Question 18

The 1924 ________ Plan attempted to solve Germany's post-war financial problems by granting it a $200 million loan.

A) Dawes
B) Young
C) La Follette
D) Mellon

Question 19

The Republican elected president in 1928, the "intellectual leader, almost the philosopher, of the New Era," was

A) Herbert Hoover.
B) Calvin Coolidge.
C) Warren G. Harding.
D) William H. Taft.

Question 20

The Democratic candidate for president in 1928 was ________, an anti-prohibition Catholic from New York City.

A) James M. Cox
B) Al Smith
C) "Big Tim" Sullivan
D) Leonard Wood

Question 21

Herbert Hoover's victory in 1928 was

A) by such a large margin that the Republicans seemed on the verge of disappearing as a political party.
B) by the slimmest possible margin in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
C) a smashing triumph, appearing to doom the Democrats to extinction.
D) achieved only in the Electoral College, not the popular vote.

Question 22

During the twenties, large manufacturers

A) continued to be attacked and broken up by the trust-busting presidents.
B) did their best to bankrupt and destroy their competitors.
C) used their monopolistic power to gain the maximum profit in the short run.
D) often sought market stability through trade associations.

Question 23

The weakest element in the economy during the 1920s was

A) retailing.
B) petroleum.
C) steel.
D) agriculture.

Question 24

President Hoover believed that direct economic aid to farmers

A) should have been included as part of a global plan of economic recovery.
B) was necessary to ease the agricultural depression of the 1920s.
C) should be opposed as a matter of principle.
D) was compatible with traditional ideals of individualism.

Question 25

The primary economic weakness undermining the prosperity of the 1920s was the

A) extensive fragmentation in the financial markets.
B) maldistribution of resources.
C) excessive government regulation.
D) increasing industrial consolidation.

Question 26

The October 1929 collapse of ________ signaled the end of speculative boom.

A) Morgan Guarantee and Trust
B) Ford Motor
C) the New York Stock Exchange
D) Standard Oil

Question 27

The president during the stock market collapse and the start of the Great Depression was

A) Calvin Coolidge.
B) Woodrow Wilson.
C) Warren G. Harding.
D) Herbert Hoover.

Question 28

The Great Depression was a worldwide phenomenon caused chiefly by the

A) worldwide stock market booms of 1930.
B) faulty tax policies of the Hoover administration.
C) illegal financial manipulations by large bankers.
D) economic imbalances resulting from the chaos of the Great War.

Question 29

The economic problems causing the Great Depression came to a head mainly because of the

A) anti-business attitudes in Congress.
B) overconsumption of consumer goods.
C) easy credit policies of the Federal Reserve Board.
D) production shortages in basic consumer goods.

Question 30

Herbert Hoover's primary response to the Great Depression was to

A) let the Depression run its own course.
B) expand direct federal relief to the unemployed.
C) try to restore public confidence.
D) increase direct federal assistance for the hungry and homeless.

Question 31

Hoover's program for ending the Depression called for the federal government to

A) take control of bankrupt state and local relief programs.
B) provide direct federal relief to the unemployed.
C) lend funds to banks and corporations on the verge of collapse.
D) intervene actively in the economy by prohibiting manufacturers from cutting wages or laying off workers.

Question 32

Hoover's plans for ending the Great Depression

A) might have been theoretically sound, but flexibility was needed in their implementation.
B) demonstrated little faith in his power to persuade people to act in the public interest.
C) showed his willingness to experiment boldly and persistently to search for solutions.
D) relied too heavily on legal compulsion to succeed.

Question 33

During the Great Depression, President Hoover permitted the Federal Farm Board to

A) authorize a reduction in wages and output.
B) increase tariffs so that any excess food would be used for domestic consumption.
C) check the rapid increase in agricultural prices.
D) establish stabilization corporations to purchase surplus wheat and cotton.

Question 34

One important aspect of the way Hoover dealt with the Depression was his

A) overeagerness to use federal resources when state and local agencies complained they did not have enough resources.
B) rejection of laissez-faire economics.
C) refusal to allow federal funds to be used for direct relief for individuals.
D) willingness to force people to act in the public interest.

Question 35

In 1932, Hoover approved creating the ________ to lend money to insurance companies, railroads, and banks.

A) Federal Financial Emergency Board
B) Reconstruction Finance Corporation
C) Federal Reserve Board
D) National Recovery Administration

Question 36

Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression was inadequate because it was

A) too innovative and experimental.
B) based on laissez-faire economics.
C) a rejection of basic American values.
D) too rigid and uncompromising.

Question 37

What was the effect of the federal government's attempt to balance the budget during the Depression?

A) It set a good example for the populace on how to live within one's means.
B) It increased federal revenue but not enough to ease suffering.
C) It made the Depression worse and put the federal government further into debt.
D) It increased consumer confidence and brought about the beginning of recovery.

Question 38

During the Great Depression, "Hoovervilles" became homes for

A) homeless people.
B) displaced Native Americans.
C) rebellious farmers.
D) Mexicans awaiting deportation.

Question 39

In the early 1930s, federal immigration agents rounded up ________ for deportation because of fear they might become dependent on public funds.

A) Polish Americans
B) Mexican Americans
C) Russian Jews
D) Italian Americans

Question 40

The Bonus Army which came to Washington, D.C. in 1932, consisted largely of

A) unemployed steelworkers.
B) municipal, county, and state employees.
C) leftwing activists.
D) unemployed veterans.

Question 41

Disgruntled by the events of the 1920s, a considerable number of members of which group became interested in communism?

A) Democrats
B) industrial workers
C) farmers
D) intellectuals

Question 42

How were families of the unemployed affected by the Great Depression?

A) Grandparents tended to become more important than parents.
B) Wives' influence tended to increase.
C) Parents' authority tended to increase.
D) The birthrate increased sharply.

Question 43

Franklin D. Roosevelt owed his nomination for president to his success as

A) mayor of New York City.
B) U.S. Senator from Ohio.
C) governor of New York.
D) secretary of commerce.

Question 44

During the 1920s, Franklin D. Roosevelt's political ideas were

A) shaped by his extensive study of the writings of John Maynard Keynes.
B) uniformly in agreement with the socialism of Eugene Debs and Norman Thomas.
C) profoundly influenced by his experience of daily contact with the poor as a social worker.
D) consistent with the basic values of Coolidge prosperity.

Question 45

Unlike the policies of his opponent, Franklin Roosevelt pledged during his campaign that his administration would

A) do what was necessary to protect individuals and advance the public good.
B) protect big business and allow prosperity to trickle down.
C) act conservatively in its approach to the nation's problems.
D) adhere to the conventional limitations of governmental power.
(p) 676)

Question 46

The heart of Roosevelt's New Deal was

A) decreasing the size of the federal government.
B) laissez-faire economics.
C) democratic socialism.
D) bold, persistent experimentation.

Question 47

Treasury Secretary Mellon believed that decreasing taxes on the rich would increase investment in potentially productive business enterprises.

Question 48

In selecting a presidential nominee for the election of 1924, the Democrats quickly united behind Governor Al Smith of New York.

Question 49

When the United States signed the Four-Power, Five-Power, and Nine-Power treaties, the State Department, for the first time, competently understood the full implications of such international agreements.

Question 50

In the 1920s, Congress condemned the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace as a communist-influenced organization and forced it to suspend its activities.

Question 51

The war debt issue of the 1920s was greatly aggravated by the fact that the Allies tried to include their debts to the United States as part of the reparations the Germans were forced to pay.

Question 52

During the 1920s, the federal government continued to actively oppose the movement toward industrial and corporate consolidation.

Question 53

Fortunately for President Hoover, America's financial system did not crack under the strain of the stock market crash and the Depression.

Question 54

In the early 1930s, members of the "farm holiday" movements refused to ship their crops to market to protest low prices.

Question 55

As a result of the Great Depression, a considerable number of industrial workers joined the Communist party.

Question 56

In between Roosevelt's election and his inauguration, Hoover and Roosevelt collaborated on numerous joint projects to end the Depression.

Question 57

Describe the achievements and shortcomings of Harding's administration. Evaluate what these indicate about American politics and society at that time.

Question 58

Summarize the major foreign policy challenges and opportunities the United States faced in the 1920s. Describe how the United States responded to these challenges. Explain the basic assumptions that led the government to choose those responses.

Question 59

Describe the major characteristics of the American economy during the New Era. Compare and contrast its strengths and its weaknesses.

Question 60

Summarize the basic causes of the stock market crash and the Great Depression. Evaluate their relative weight as causes of the Great Depression.

Question 61

Describe the major effects of the early years of the Great Depression for Americans. Summarize the responses of the Hoover administration to this crisis.

Question 62

What is the definition of the following key term:
-"good neighbor" :