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Great Depression Review

Terms in this set (50)

Stock Market speculation and buying on the margin were causes of
the stock market crash of 1929
Which factors contributed most to the start of the Great Depression?
overproduction and the excessive use of credit
What were two primary causes of the Dust Bowl during the early 1930s?
Over farming and severe drought
Which statement accurately describes the relief, recovery, and reform measures of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal?
They represented a major change in the role of government.
The Dust Bowl experiences of the Oklahoma farmers during the Great Depression demonstrated the
impact of geography on people's lives.
What was the primary goal of the New Deal?
to get the United States economy working again.
One lasting effect of the New Deal has been a belief that government should
assume responsibility for the well-being of its citizens
Which thesis about automobile production in the 1920s and 1930s is supported by the information on the graph?
Changes in economic conditions led to changes in automobile production.
Farmers suffered financial losses during the early years of the Depression. With which viewpoint about government aid to farmers does the cartoonist agree?
It's not appropriate for the government to give direct aid to farmers
What was the purpose of photographs such as this?
to raise awareness about the plight of American farmers
What approach did Hoover initially take to end the Great Depression?
appealing to the wealthy to volunteer time and money
Much of the literature during the Great Depression
improvement and social mobility
"My most immediate concern is in carrying out the purposes of the great work program just enacted by the Congress. Its first objective is to put men and women now on the relief rolls to work and, incidentally, to assist materially in our already unmistakable march toward recovery... We must begin now to make provision for the future. That is why our social security program is an important part of the complete picture. It proposes, by means of old age pensions, to help those who have reached the age of retirement to give up their jobs and thus give to the younger generation greater opportunities for work and to give to all a feeling of security as they look toward old age. Provisions for social security, however, are protections for the future. Our responsibility for the immediate necessities of the unemployed has been met by the Congress through the most comprehensive work plan in the history of the Nation. Our problem is to put to work three and one-half million employable persons now on the relief rolls. It is a problem quite as much for private industry as for the government."—Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside Chat, April 28, 1935
President Roosevelt stated that social security would ease unemployment by encouraging older workers to retire and opening up jobs for younger workers.
"The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, the country demands bold, persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and to try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something!"—Franklin D. Roosevelt, speech at Oglethorpe University, May 22, 1932 What actions did Roosevelt take during the first year of his presidency that show the sentiment expressed in this quote?
President Roosevelt acted quickly and proposed a number of major relief and reform bills in his first Hundred Days in office.
According to the map, most environmental projects conducted by the PWA and WPA involved
infrastructure
This photo illustrates the bank failures that occurred in the early 1930s because
customers withdrew their money from the banks all at once.
Which New Deal program was founded with the primary goal of creating jobs for young men
the Civilian Conservation Corps
One of the most important pieces of New Deal labor legislation, the Wagner Act
recognized the right for employees to join labor unions and bargain collectively
Which of the following could best be considered a positive result of the Dust Bowl?
The federal government funded improvements in infrastructure
This political cartoon implies that President Roosevelt is
trying to appoint justices who agree with his views
The auto workers who participated in the 1936-37 strike at General Motors were concerned about their safety but continued to protest the company's refusal to
recognize their union
"While we sympathize with the Serbian or the Russian, with the Jew in Germany or the Christian in Russia, the major portion of our sympathy is extended to our dispossessed farmer, our disconsolate laborers who are being crushed at this moment while the spirit of internationalism runs rampant in the corridors of the Capitol, hoping to participate in setting the world aright while chaos clamors at our doors." —Father Charles Coughlin
the United States was not doing enough to help its own citizens.
"While some economists argue that full employment can be restored if wages are allowed to fall to lower levels, Keynesians maintain that employers will not employ workers to produce goods that cannot be sold. Because they believe unemployment results from an insufficient demand for goods and services, Keynesianism is considered a "demand-side" theory that focuses on short-run economic fluctuations. Keynes argued that investment, which responds to variations in the interest rate and to expectations about the future, is the dynamic factor determining the level of economic activity. He also maintained that deliberate government action could foster full employment. Keynesian economists claim that the government can directly influence the demand for goods and services by altering tax policies and public expenditures." —Encyclopædia Britannica
increase government spending in order to increase demand for goods and service
4. "It has taken the rapid industrialization of the last few decades, with its mass-production methods, to teach us that a man might become a victim of circumstances far beyond his control, and finally it took a depression to dramatize for us the appalling insecurity of the great mass of the population, and to stimulate interest in social insurance in the United States. We have come to learn that the large majority of our citizens must have protection against the loss of income due to unemployment, old age, death of the breadwinners and disabling accident and illness, not only on humanitarian grounds, but in the interest of our National welfare. If we are to maintain a healthy economy and thriving production, we need to maintain the standard of living of the lower income groups in our population who constitute 90 per cent of our purchasing power."—Frances Perkins, National Radio Address delivered February 25, 1935 In the speech above, Frances Perkins is discussing the benefits of which New Deal program?
the Social Security Act
The general attitude of the public leading up to the Black Tuesday was that
no one believed that the warning signs would result in a crash in the stock market.
"During the Depression, when the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time, it is a splendid thing that for just 15 cents an American can... look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles."— Franklin Delano Roosevelt President Roosevelt was most likely making a reference to
Motion Pictures
According to this graph, by approximately what percentage did the number of banks decline from 1926 to 1940?
55%
According to this map, which region of the United States was the least affected by the Great Depression overall?
The East Coast
The dairy farmers in this photograph are pouring out their milk into the streets to protest
low prices for milk.
According to this chart, what effect might worker insecurity during the Great Depression have had on labor union membership?
Labor union membership increased after the Great Depression began
. Explain two causes and two consequences of the Great Depression of the 1930s.
Causes
A crisis occurred in the farm sector when they produced more than they were able to sell. The farm crisis worsened when World War I markets disappeared. The farm sector was also hit with a multiple year drought that led to crop shortages and eventually the ―Dust Bowl‖ The availability of easy credit with many people going into debt buying goods on the installment plan and not being able to pay for them. Over speculation in the stock market with investors buying on an easy margin system. An unequal distribution of income in which there was to little money in the hands of the working people. An old and decaying industrial base in which outdated equipment made some industries less competitive. A falling demand for consumer goods as a result of many of the above causes.
Consequences
The American economy collapsed. The world economy collapsed. Many of the urban poor lived in ―shanty towns‖ Many of the urban poor ate in soup kitchens and bread lines. African American experienced increased discrimination. Latino Americans experienced increased discrimination. Many farmers lost their land and moved west. Unemployed wandered the country looking for work. As much as one third of Americans were out of work. Women cutback on household spending. Women lost their jobs. Many people starved. Children experienced malnutrition and other health problems. Children left school and started working to help their parents make ends meet. The federal government created many New Deal programs to put people back to work.
In response to the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt introduced many New Deal programs to assist. Americans and the economy. Identify one of the New Deal programs and explain its purpose
Public Works Administration (PWA) - This program gave states money to provide jobs, mainly in the construction of schools and other public buildings.
. Why do you think so many Americans went to the movies during the Great Depression? Support your answer with examples.
Movies like The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, allowed people to escape their economic concerns temporarily. Other movies, such as Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, focused on the issues of the day and helped Americans to feel that they were not alone in their suffering. People had favorite stars and enjoyed following their off-screen lives. Also, in a time before television and computers, going to the movie theater was one of the few ways to see that kind of entertainment, and movie theaters were more widespread and affordable than live shows.
What was "trickle-down economics"? How was this theory employed during the Great Depression, and to what extent was it successful?
Trickle-down economics was a theory that proposed that if money was distributed to the top of the economic pyramid, it would "trickle down" to the base, or the lower classes. President Hoover believed that loaning money to large corporations would result in helping the less fortunate because it would lead to these companies hiring workers, who in turn would stimulate the economy by spending more. In this case, it was unsuccessful; the recipients of the funds typically did not use them to hire more workers or to stimulate the economy in other ways
Why did many people oppose the New Deal? What other solutions were proposed?
Some arguments against the New Deal included that it gave the government too much power, regulated business too greatly, and was too expensive. While conservatives argued that it undermined economic individualism, socialists argued that it did not intervene in the economy thoroughly enough. President Hoover tried the solution of allowing private organizations and citizens to pitch in and help their less fortunate neighbors. He and other conservatives believed that large-scale government intervention in the economy would ultimately do more harm than good and should be minimized. Many of the New Deal's most vocal opponents called for even greater government action, including high taxes on the wealthy and direct economic aid for the poor, elderly, and disabled.
Speculation
practice of making high-risk investments in hopes of obtaining large profits
Black Tuesday
October 29, 1929, when stock prices fell sharply in the Great Crash
Okies
- general term used to describe Dust Bowl refugees
Bonus Army
- group of World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to demand early payment of a bonus promised them by Congress.
New Deal
programs and legislation pushed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression to promote economic recovery and social reform
Fireside Chat
- informal radio broadcasts in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt explained his view of issues at hand (including the Great Depression, New Deal programs, and World War II) to average Americans.
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
key New Deal agency that provided work relief through various public works projects.
Huey Long
was elected governor of Louisiana in 1928, where he won a wide following by providing reforms to help the poor during the depression. While serving in U.S. Senate (1932-1935), he became a vocal critic of Roosevelt's New Deal and called for a redistribution of the nation's wealth. In 1935, he announced his plan to run for President but was assassinated that same year.
welfare state
government that assumes responsibility for providing for the welfare of the poor, elderly, sick, and unemployed.
Federal Art Project -
division of the Works Progress Administration that hired unemployed artists to create artworks for public buildings and sponsored art-education programs and exhibitions.
Dorothea Lange
An American documentary photographer known for her portraits of displaced farmers and others suffering economic hardship during the Great Depression.
John Maynard Keynes
British economist best known for his advocacy of government intervention to protect the economy from the negative effects of recessions, depressions, and booms.
Social Security Act
- 1935 law that set up a pension system for retirees, established unemployment insurance, created insurance for victims of work-related accidents, and provided aid for poverty-stricken mothers and children, the blind, and the disabled
Dust Bowl
term used for the central and southern Great Plains during the 1930s, when the region suffered from drought and dust storms
Hoovervilles
term used to describe makeshift shantytowns set up by homeless people during the Great Depression.
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