Deck 25: The Great Depression and the New Deal 1929-1939

Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of federal investigator Lorena Hickok to make the point that

A) the decade of the Depression and the New Deal was also the decade of gangsters, environmental abuse, and underground radical movements.
B) while New Deal programs helped many Americans, a closer look revealed inefficiency, corruption, and waste.
C) Franklin Roosevelt not only had to lead the nation out of the Depression, he also had to cope with entrenched opposition to his reforms within the federal government itself.
D) Depression-bound Americans found hope in liberal social welfare programs of an activist federal government.

Answer 1

Depression-bound Americans found hope in liberal social welfare programs of an activist federal government.

Question 2

Which of the following statements about the hard times of the Great Depression is true?

A) Marriages and births, symbols of faith in the future, increased.
B) Mothers who stayed home found their traditional roles more disrupted than their husbands'.
C) For the first time, emigration out of the United States exceeded immigration into it.
D) Over half the female labor force continued to work in factories.

Answer 2

For the first time, emigration out of the United States exceeded immigration into it.

Question 3

The dust storms that devastated the plains resulted from all of the following EXCEPT

A) logging of the region's trees.
B) intensive agriculture.
C) overgrazing.
D) drought.

Answer 3

logging of the region's trees.

Question 4

One result of the "Dust Bowl"was that

A) California became the most populous state in the union.
B) several million people on the plains abandoned their farms.
C) Mexican Americans and African Americans took advantage of the opportunity to settle abandoned land.
D) big industrial agricultural cooperatives broke up into smaller units.

Question 5

As Herbert Hoover entered the presidency in 1929, all of the following were true of him EXCEPT that he

A) was a self-made millionaire.
B) was a self-preoccupied investment banker.
C) had headed a successful mine engineering firm.
D) enjoyed a reputation as a humanitarian.

Question 6

Herbert Hoover's response to the Great Depression can best be summarized as

A) no sympathy for individuals, and only verbal encouragement to business to build public confidence.
B) a series of attempts to lay the blame on speculators or international conditions to deflect political attacks.
C) a stoic decision to do little but reduce federal spending and await the eventual cyclical recovery.
D) initially, a voluntarist approach to both recovery and relief, but then an unprecedented series of active government measures.

Question 7

Which one of the following best describes President Herbert Hoover's initial approach to the Great Depression?

A) a commitment to direct federal relief payments to the unemployed
B) total inactivity; isolated in the White House, he had no compassion for the poor
C) rhetoric about a "new deal for the American people," but no concrete and specific proposals
D) efforts to promote the same kind of relationship between government and business that he'd advocated during his term as secretary of commerce

Question 8

The "Bonus Army"was a

A) group of veterans who came to Washington to get bonuses promised them for service in World War I.
B) social organization composed of men who had fought in France in 1917.
C) group of farmers demanding a bonus to compensate them for their eviction by large landowners.
D) group of unemployed scientists and explorers who participated in a federal survey project.

Question 9

Which statement about the New Deal is true?

A) Because he grew up in poverty, President Roosevelt had a special sympathy for the suffering of poor people during the 1930s.
B) The New Deal agency that had the most direct and dramatic impact on women's lives was the Civilian Conservation Corps.
C) Labor unions, taking advantage of New Deal legislation, secured impressive gains despite Roosevelt's aloof attitude.
D) The New Deal legislation providing for old-age pensions and aid to the blind, handicapped, and dependent children was called "work relief."

Question 10

FDR not only strengthened the office of the presidency, he tried to dominate the other branches of government. He was relatively successful during his first administration, in ______, but unsuccessful during his second, in ______.

A) getting Congress to pass his legislative proposals; reshaping the Supreme Court
B) appointing sympathetic judges to the lower courts; getting Congress to sustain his vetoes
C) Supreme Court rulings on the constitutionality of the New Deal; his attempts to purge the Democrats who had begun opposing him
D) building up the federal bureaucracy; reducing the power of the states

Question 11

Under the National Recovery Administration, industry was encouraged to adopt "codes of fair practice"that would do all of the following EXCEPT

A) keep wages above set minimums, and hours below set maximums.
B) free prices from monopolistic constraints.
C) outlaw child labor and sweatshops.
D) allow union organization.

Question 12

One of the most important achievements of the New Deal in the area of banking was included in a 1933 act. This key reform

A) was the uniting of investment and commercial banking so that bankers could more readily transfer depositors' money.
B) was the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, so that the government would guarantee bank deposits.
C) allowed weak banks to default on corporate loans, so that they could meet their obligation to individual depositors.
D) was the creation of the Federal Reserve System to regulate the banking industry.

Question 13

The Agricultural Adjustment Administration used what strategy to stimulate the economy?

A) a bimetallic standard to increase the money supply
B) government-guaranteed loans to "bail out" banks, big businesses, and large farms that faced probable bankruptcy
C) a voluntary, private sector-government partnership to limit production and raise prices
D) minimum-wage and maximum-price rules to raise consumer purchasing power

Question 14

Which one of the following men did NOT challenge New Deal policies?

A) Charles Coughlin
B) Harry Hopkins
C) Dr. Francis Townsend
D) Huey Long

Question 15

In the "Second New Deal,"Roosevelt did all of the following EXCEPT

A) move leftward politically.
B) stress more sweeping reforms to initiate the welfare state.
C) embrace the concept of work relief.
D) establish full economic recovery.

Question 16

Which of the following best describes the election of 1936?

A) It was turned into a contest between the have and have-nots.
B) Race replaced religion as the main predictor of loyalty to the Democrats.
C) A pattern of fairly close presidential elections was established.
D) Minority voters went to the polls in declining numbers.

Question 17

What best describes the character of the post office murals painted during the Depression?

A) They showed common folk from the region doing common, traditional tasks.
B) They glorified the worker, subtly criticizing big business.
C) They featured patriotic symbols to inculcate loyalty to the federal government.
D) They tended to idealize a better future, rather than focus on themes from the past.

Question 18

It could be argued that the most important Indian reform of the New Deal was that

A) the tribes regained control over Indian land.
B) Indians were no longer under state jurisdiction.
C) Indian land owners could sell their property.
D) tribal governments could now rule the reservations.

Question 19

The New Deal offered a legacy in all of the following ways EXCEPT in

A) bringing recovery from the Great Depression.
B) preserving and even strengthening capitalism.
C) modernizing and personalizing the American presidency.
D) making an active government responsible for economic security in America.

Question 20

The act of returning people to their nation of origin is known as ______.

Question 21

President Hoover's disastrous plan to protect the United States from cheap foreign goods was known as the ________ Tariff.

Question 22

World War I veterans who marched on Washington looking to collect on congressional promises to reward wartime service were known as the ________ Army.

Question 23

British economist John Maynard ________ called on government not to balance the budget but to spend its way out of depression.

Question 24

One significant friend of Native Americans in Washington in the 1930s was John ______.

Question 25

Public ________ are government-financed construction projects, such as highways and bridges, built for use by the public.

Question 26

What effect did the Great Depression have on national morale? On individual morale? On family life?

Question 27

List three factors that contributed to the creation of the Dust Bowl. Explain the human and environmental consequences of the Dust Bowl.

Question 28

What were the responses of private charities and local and state governments to unemployment? How effective were they?

Question 29

What was Herbert Hoover's Great Depression program? On what assumptions was it based?

Question 30

What was the Bonus Army, and how did Hoover's response to it help undermine his presidency?

Question 31

The late nineteenth century was characterized by a boom-and-bust business cycle of precipitous declines, followed by slow but steady recoveries. Why did the Great Depression of the 1930s fail to follow this pattern?

Question 32

How did popular culture-whether in the form of best-selling novels, games, films, or radio programs-reflect and respond to the ravages of the Great Depression?

Question 33

Compare and contrast the Great Depression experiences of Mexican Americans and African Americans. In your opinion, which group fared better?

Question 34

Consider the following statement: Hoover was an American Nero who ineffectually fretted rather than fiddled while the nation rusted rather than burned. Agree or disagree, explaining in either case why.

Question 35

The election of 1932, said Herbert Hoover, was "a contest between two philosophies of government."Describe the competing philosophies of government offered by Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt in the election of 1932. What was Roosevelt's campaign strategy, and why did he win?