WSC

Question 1

What was the Wall Street Crash?

Answer 1

A massive stock market collapse in October 1929.

Question 2

What followed the crash?

Answer 2

The Great Depression.

Question 3

Main cause of the crash?

Answer 3

Overvalued shares and overproduction.

Question 4

Why did banks collapse?

Answer 4

Bad loans and buying worthless shares.

Question 5

What happened on Black Thursday?

Answer 5

13 million shares sold in panic (Oct 24, 1929).

Question 6

How many banks failed by 1933?

Answer 6

About 5,000.

Question 7

How high did unemployment rise?

Answer 7

From 2.5 million to 13 million
(1929-1932)

Question 8

Who were hit hardest by job losses?

Answer 8

Unskilled workers, women, and African Americans.

Question 9

What economic cycle worsened the depression?

Answer 9

Less spending → business closures → more unemployment.

Question 10

What economic approach did Hoover initially follow?

Answer 10

Laissez-faire and rugged individualism.

Question 11

What was Hoover’s belief about helping the poor?

Answer 11

Charities, not government, should help the poor.

Question 12

What did the 1929 Agricultural Marketing Act do?

Answer 12

Tried to keep farm prices high by buying surplus crops (ineffective).

Question 13

What was the impact of the 1930 Hawley-Smoot Tariff?

Answer 13

Raised import taxes, triggered foreign retaliation, hurt U.S. exports.

Question 14

What was the 1932 Federal Home Loan Bank Act?

Answer 14

Set up 12 banks to fund home building and mortgages.

Question 15

What happened to many people during the Great Depression?

Answer 15

They lost jobs, homes, and wandered looking for work.

Question 16

Why was support for the unemployed limited?

Answer 16

There was no national welfare system.

Question 17

What were breadlines?

Answer 17

Queues of unemployed people waiting for food from charities.

Question 18

Who were hit hardest by job losses?

Answer 18

African Americans, immigrants, and women (due to discrimination).

Question 19

What were Hoovervilles?

Answer 19

Shantytowns built by the homeless, named after President Hoover.

Question 20

Who were hobos?

Answer 20

People (mostly men) traveling across the U.S. looking for work.

Question 21

What was the Bonus March (1932)?

Answer 21

WWI veterans demanding early payment of promised bonuses.

Question 22

What was Hoover’s response to the Bonus March?

Answer 22

He sent in the army to remove protestors, worsening his popularity.

Question 23

What caused falling farm prices before the Depression?

Answer 23

Overproduction due to modern farming methods.

Question 24

Why did many farmers go bankrupt after 1929?

Answer 24

Debts from modernization, share losses, and bank closures.

Question 25

What happened to many bankrupt farms?

Answer 25

Bought by large businesses; farmers became low-paid laborers.

Question 26

Who were the Okies and Arkies?

Answer 26

Migrant farmers from rural states seeking work in California.

Question 27

What was the Dust Bowl?

Answer 27

A region of the Midwest hit by drought and dust storms, making farming impossible.

Question 28

What caused the Dust Bowl?

Answer 28

Over-farming and drought drained soil nutrients; storms blew topsoil away.

Question 29

How many votes did Roosevelt win compared to Hoover?

Answer 29

Roosevelt won about 23 million votes; Hoover won about 16 million.

Question 30

What were the three goals of the New Deal?

Answer 30

Relief (help the poor), Recovery (rebuild the economy), and Reform (prevent future crises).

Question 31

What were "Alphabet Agencies"?

Answer 31

Government organizations created under the New Deal, known by their initials.

Question 32

What did the Emergency Banking Act do? (Roosevelt)

Answer 32

Closed all banks temporarily and only reopened safe ones to restore trust.

Question 33

What was FERA and what did it do?

Answer 33

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration gave $500 million for basic aid like food and shelter.

Question 34

What was the CCC?

Answer 34

The Civilian Conservation Corps gave young men jobs on environmental projects.

Question 35

How did the AAA help farmers?

Answer 35

Paid them to destroy crops and livestock to reduce overproduction and raise prices.

Question 36

What did the Social Security Act provide?

Answer 36

Benefits for the elderly, disabled, unemployed, widows, and orphans.

Question 37

What did the Fair Labor Standards Act do?

Answer 37

Set a minimum wage and reduced working hours.

Question 38

How did the New Deal restore public confidence?

Answer 38

It showed the government could take action to help people and solve problems.

Question 39

How was the banking system improved?

Answer 39

It was stabilized so people felt safe saving and borrowing money again.

Question 40

How many jobs were created by the CCC alone?

Answer 40

About 2.5 million jobs.

Question 41

How were farmers helped?

Answer 41

Their incomes roughly doubled in the 1930s.

Question 42

Why did some people say the New Deal didn’t go far enough?

Answer 42

It didn’t solve wealth inequality or provide enough pension support.

Question 43

How did some agencies treat African Americans?

Answer 43

They were discriminated against or segregated in programs like the CCC.

Question 44

Why did some oppose welfare payments?

Answer 44

They thought it made people too dependent on the government.

Question 45

What did the Supreme Court rule about the NRA and AAA?

Answer 45

They were unconstitutional; Roosevelt had overstepped his powers in creating them.