Unit Notes Pt1

Question 1

What was the Great Depression?

Answer 1

A severe worldwide economic downturn from 1929 to 1940

Question 2

What caused the Great Depression?

Answer 2

Factors included the stock market crash of 1929, bank failures, and reduced consumer spending

Question 3

What was Black Tuesday?

Answer 3

The day the stock market crashed—October 29, 1929

Question 4

How did bank failures contribute to the Great Depression?

Answer 4

Banks collapsed due to unpaid loans, causing people to lose their savings

Question 5

What impact did the Depression have on unemployment?

Answer 5

Unemployment soared to 25% in the U.S. by 1933

Question 6

What were Hoovervilles?

Answer 6

Makeshift shantytowns named after President Hoover, where homeless people lived.

Question 7

What was Herbert Hoover’s response to the Great Depression?

Answer 7

He believed in limited government intervention and rugged individualism

Question 8

What did the term ‘run on the bank’ mean?

Answer 8

A rush of people withdrawing savings, leading to bank failures

Question 9

What was the Dust Bowl?

Answer 9

A series of severe dust storms that worsened the agricultural crisis

Question 10

Who were the Okies?

Answer 10

Farmers from the Midwest who migrated westward during the Dust Bowl

Question 11

What was the Bonus Army?

Answer 11

WWI veterans demanding early bonus payments in 1932

Question 12

What was the Hawley-Smoot Tariff?

Answer 12

A tariff meant to protect U.S. industries but worsened global trade

Question 13

What was the New Deal?

Answer 13

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program of economic relief, recovery, and reforms

Question 14

What were the three R’s of the New Deal?

Answer 14

Relief, Recovery, and Reform

Question 15

Who was Franklin D. Roosevelt?

Answer 15

The U.S. president who implemented the New Deal

Question 16

What was the Bank Holiday?

Answer 16

FDR closed banks to restore confidence in the banking system

Question 17

What was the FDIC?

Answer 17

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, ensuring bank deposits

Question 18

What did the Wagner Act do?

Answer 18

It protected workers’ rights to unionize.

Question 19

What was the Social Security Act?

Answer 19

A program providing pensions, disability insurance, and unemployment benefits

Question 20

How did World War II help end the Great Depression?

Answer 20

Increased military production created jobs and boosted the economy

Question 21

What industries struggled before the Depression? (5)

Answer 21

Farming, textiles, steel, mining, and automobiles

Question 22

How did consumer credit contribute to the crisis?

Answer 22

Many bought goods on credit, leading to debt and defaults

Question 23

What was the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)?

Answer 23

A project to provide electricity and prevent flooding in rural areas

Question 24

How did the Great Depression affect farmers?

Answer 24

Falling crop prices led to foreclosures and farm bankruptcies

Question 25

What was the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)?

Answer 25

A program that employed young men for environmental projects

Question 26

What was the Glass-Steagall Act?

Answer 26

It separated commercial and investment banking to stabilize banks

Question 27

What role did Eleanor Roosevelt play?

Answer 27

She championed civil rights and social welfare programs

Question 28

What was the significance of the stock market speculation?

Answer 28

Investors gambled on stocks, ignoring risks, leading to a bubble

Question 29

How were African Americans affected by the Depression?

Answer 29

They faced the highest unemployment rates and racial discrimination

Question 30

What was the Federal Securities Act?

Answer 30

It required corporations to be transparent about stock sales.

Question 31

How did the Depression affect education?

Answer 31

Falling tax revenues led to school closures and shortened school days

Question 32

What was Roosevelt’s fireside chat?

Answer 32

Radio broadcasts that reassured the public about recovery efforts

Question 33

How did the Depression change family life?

Answer 33

Many families struggled to afford food, clothing, and shelter

Question 34

What was the National Recovery Administration (NRA)?

Answer 34

It set prices, wages, and working hours to stabilize the economy

Question 35

What happened to Latinx communities during the Depression?

Answer 35

Many faced discrimination and were deported

Question 36

Who were the wild boys?

Answer 36

Teen boys who traveled the country looking for work

Question 37

What was the role of women during the Depression?

Answer 37

Many worked or canned food, but faced discrimination in jobs

Question 38

What happened to migrant workers?

Answer 38

They struggled to find stable work and housing

Question 39

What was deficit spending?

Answer 39

Government spending more money than it had to stimulate the economy

Question 40

What was the American Liberty League

Answer 40

A group opposing Roosevelt’s policies, claiming they were socialist.

Question 41

Who was Huey Long?

Answer 41

A senator who wanted wealth redistribution and opposed Roosevelt

Question 42

What was the Works Progress Administration (WPA)?

Answer 42

A major New Deal program that created jobs in construction, art, and writing

Question 43

How did the Depression affect young people?

Answer 43

Many left school to work or hitchhike across the country

Question 44

What were bread lines?

Answer 44

Long lines of people waiting for free food from charities

Question 45

Why was Monopoly popular during the Depression?

Answer 45

People used it as an escape from financial struggles

Question 46

What was the National Youth Administration (NYA)?

Answer 46

It provided job training and aid to young workers and students

Question 47

What was the purpose of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)?

Answer 47

To raise crop prices by reducing agricultural production

Question 48

Why did the government kill livestock under the AAA?

Answer 48

To reduce supply and increase prices, despite public outrage

Question 49

What were Hoover’s beliefs about government aid?

Answer 49

He believed Americans should rely on themselves, not the government

Question 50

How did Europe respond to the Hawley-Smoot Tariff?

Answer 50

Other countries imposed retaliatory tariffs, worsening global trade