Unit Test: The Roaring Twenties and Causes of the Great Depression
1) Which term best describes US foreign policy after WWI?
A) imperialismB) internationalism
C) isolationism D) xenophobic
2) True or False: The Presidency was controlled by the Republican party throughout the 1920s.
A) True B) False
3) In what is known as The Great Migration, large numbers of African Americans moved from the rural south to northern cities, beginning in the early twentieth century. What motivated this large-scale movement?
A)the Emancipation Proclamation
B)the opportunity to serve in the military in World War I
C)job openings due to industrial growth in northern cities
D)cheaper farm land in the North
4) The increase in consumer spending during the 1920s was fueled in part by
A)higher taxes.B)unemployment.
C)decreased land values.D)overreliance on credit.
5) One of the primary causes of economic prosperity in the 1920s was due to new developments in ______, which in turn led to economic prosperity in other sectors such as oil, glass, tourism, and road-building.
A) the aviation industryB) the automobile industry
C) the construction industryD) the communications industry
6) Immediately after the end of World War I, the United States
A) Took a more active role in global affairs, by becoming the world’s only superpower
B) Agreed to join the League of Nations, on the condition the US would lead the organization
C) Entered into a period of severe economic hardship known as the Great Depression
D) rejected joining the League of nations, and instead focused on domestic issues.
7) The 19th Amendment
A)ended the prohibition era.
B)gave women the right to vote.
C)provided for the popular election of senators.
D)established the terms of presidential succession.
8) Which of these best describes the term "flapper" in U.S. history?
A)women who worked in factories during World War II
B)women who campaigned for the abolition of slavery
C)women who wore the new bathing suits to American beaches; referencing how the suits flapped in the wind.
D)women of the 1920s who listened to jazz, wore short hair and skirts, and challenged standards of behavior for women
9) The Red Scare of the 1920s was primarily concerned with
A) Distrust and fear of immigrants coming from Southern and Eastern Europe.
B) Taking actions to ensure that another World War would not happen.
C) working to establish the prohibition of alcohol in the US.
D) The fear that communists were working to overthrow democracy in the US
10) The phrase “return to normalcy” is associated with
A) A phrase coined by James M. Cox to describe his plan to boost agriculture after WWI.
B) A speech made by FDR outlining his plan to get the United States out of the Depression
C) Harding’s campaign promise to return the United States to the conditions that existed before WWI
D) The push by Christian fundamentalists to ban the teaching of new scientific ideas, such as evolution, in public schools.
11) The Dawes and Young plans were
A) Large loans made to Germany to help them with their reparations payments after WWI
B) A series of protective tariffs passed during the 1920s
C) Hoover’s plans to end the Great Depression by providing loans to large corporations
D) A series of bills passed by FDR at the beginning of his first presidential term.
12) The Scopes Trial (1925) involved
A)conspiracy on the part of labor to restrain trade.
B)the teaching of Christianity in Tennessee schools.
C)teaching of the communist doctrine in Tennessee schools.
D)teaching of evolution in Tennessee schools.
13) Which of these was a reason for the collapse of the American economy which led to the Great Depression?
A)The boom of the 1920's rested on a weak foundation since the prosperity was not enjoyed by all economic groups
B)Government control of the economy led to severe inflation.
C)Taxes were too high to support unemployment claims and social security payments.
D)Foreign governments began to boycott American-made goods.
14) Overproduction and underconsumption factored into causing the Great Depression by
A)causing falling prices on goods.
B)forcing a decrease in mechanization.
C)leading to more spending than saving.
D)scaring farmers into growing fewer crops.
15) Following the stock market crash in 1929, President Hoover was criticized for
A)declaring a bank holiday and ordering banks to close.
B)waiting for the economy to come out of the Depression.
C)starting many new programs without Congress' approval.
D)his insistence on increasing spending on the military.
16) In the 1920s, the United States experienced an economic boom due to, among other things,
A)the mobilization of the economy for war.
B)increased government restrictions on big business.
C)installment buying and an unregulated stock market.
D)the expansion of civil rights to women and minorities.
17) During the 1920s, many Americans financed their purchase of new appliances through
A) newly invented credit cards which often caused consumers to go heavily in debt.
B) installment plans which allowed consumers to pay for an item over an extended period of time
C) the sale of government bond that many purchased during WWI.
D) the drastic increase in wages that most American workers received during the 1920s.
18) Which of these was NOT a cause of the Great Depression
A) the Stock Market Crash of October 1929
B) an increase in federal taxes and social programs
C) excessive stock speculation and “buying on the margin”
D) the growing income gap between the rich and the working class.
19) The runs on banks during the Great Depression worsened the country’s economic situation because the bank runs
A) caused banking institutions to collect funds from the government.
B)caused overseas investors to worry about giving money to America.
C) caused the government to stop reimbursing currency for gold bullion.
D) caused many banks to close and created an even greater shortage of money.
20) Which of these is the BEST description of “Hoovervilles”
A) shantytowns or slums, in which homeless families lived during the Depression
B) government housing projects associated with poverty and were constructed in urban areas
C) the first planned suburbs which were developed in the period after WWI.
D) a nickname for the department of Housing and Urban development under Hoover
21) An obvious defect in the United States’ banking system that was exposed during the Great Depression was
A) excessive government reglation of the banks
B) the federal government’s ownership of the banks
C) the lack of a central banking system
D) the lack of protection for funds deposited by individuals in banks.
22) A major part of Franklin Roosevelt's "New Deal" was
A)economic isolation.
B)production controls.
C)a balanced federal budget.
D)greater freedoms for banks.
23) The purpose of the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) was
A)to insure bank deposits in the United States.
B)to provide job opportunities in national parks.
C)to reduce farm surpluses and raise agricultural profits.
D)provide electrical power to an underdeveloped region of the U.S.
24) The event generally considered the START of the Great Depression in the United States was
A)the end of World War I.
B)failure of the commodity market.
C)the crash of the stock market.
D)the outbreak of the influenza epidemic.
25) During the Great Depression drought and soil erosion contributed to an environmental catastrophe referred to the Dust Bowl. Of the states listed, which was MOST affected by this regional disaster?
A)Ohio
B)Alabama
C)Michigan
D)Oklahoma
26) During the Great Depression, the unemployment rate in the U.S. reached approximately
A)10%.
B)25%.
C)40%.
D)50%.
27) All of the following are describing which New Deal program?
· Signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1935
· Created to support retirees over the age of sixty-five
· Also created unemployment insurance and welfare programs
· Workers and employers fund it by paying payroll taxes
A)MedicareB)Social Security Act
C)National Recovery ActD)Fair Labor Standards Act
28) The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a public works program run by the federal government during the Great Depression. How did the CCC provide help for people?
A)The CCC fought for the passage of legislation that would desegregate the U.S. Army and Navy.
B)The CCC was designed solely to help minority workers find employment during the Great Depression.
C)The CCC focused its relief efforts on providing young men with work in national parks and other areas.
D)The CCC provided practical education courses to many people, including minority workers with little education.
29) FDR is credited with increasing federal government in an attempt to relieve the Great Depression by
A)overriding Congress and suspending all income taxes.
B)cutting government agencies and reducing federal spending.
C)creating many new agencies and implementing new legislation such as the Social Security Act.
D)creating the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and loaning money to banks and railroad companies.
30) Read the following quote and answer the question:“Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources… I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.”
— Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, 1933
Which is the BEST description of how Roosevelt’s response to the crisis of the Great Depression differed from that of his predecessor, Herbert Hoover?
A)Roosevelt favored isolationism and neutrality in all aspects of foreign policy, while Hoover believed that increasing America’s role in international trade was the only solution to ending the Great Depression.
B)Roosevelt sought to limit the extension of broad powers to the Executive branch, while Hoover believed that increasing the power of the president would be required to end the Depression.
C)Hoover believed that America’s economic recovery depended primarily on allowing the economy to naturally adjust, while Roosevelt favored the provision of direct federal relief to individuals.
D)Hoover supported the creation of reforms and regulatory agencies that would improve conditions for African-Americans, while Roosevelt opposed extending relief to minority groups.
31) Read the following quote and answer the question: "When the war closed, the most vital of issues both in our own country and around the world was whether government should continue their wartime ownership and operation of many [instruments] of production and distribution. We were challenged with a... choice between the American system of rugged individualism and a European philosophy of diametrically opposed doctrines of paternalism and state socialism. The acceptance of these ideas would have meant the destruction of self-government through centralization... [and] the undermining of the individual initiative and enterprise through which our people have grown to unparalleled greatness."
- Herbert Hoover, October 22, 1928
Based on his speech, Hoover would have been MOST likely to support
A)supporting the League of Nations.
B)faith-based, private charitable organizations, instead of government assistance.
C)the Federal program to construct dams in the southeast.
D)the "Social Security" program for elderly or retired workers.
32) What was the effect of the Federal Reserve’s decision to limit the money supply after Black Tuesday?
A)the reelection of Hoover
B)consumers began borrowing and spending money again
C)low unemployment and high inflation
D)a major slowdown of the economy with high unemployment
33) Many Democrats criticized the New Deal for
A) creating an unbalanced budget for the national government
B) spending too much American tax dollars on social programs
C) giving FDR too much authority
D) not doing enough to provide aid and to end the Depression
34) President Roosevelt began solving the banking crisis by first
A) Nationalizing all the banks in the United States.
B) instituting a banking holiday.
C) creating a new central banking system.
D) Providing all Americans with a $200 loan.
35) Many Republicans criticized the New Deal for
A) Giving Roosevelt the powers of a dictator
B) Creating an unbalanced budget
C) Violating the Constitution
D) All of the above
36) The end result of the bonus army’s protest in Washington was
A) President Hoover using the national army to clear out the protesters
B)the passing of a bill to pay their promised bonus in one month
C) the creation of a department of Veteran Affairs to provide aid for veterans
D) A violent clash with communist forces who opposed the bonus army.
37) In the “court packing scheme”
A) FDR tried to pack the court with Justices who would not rule against New Deal legislation
B) FDR attempted to impeach several Justices who declared New Deal legislation unconstitutional
C) Hoover attempted to pack the Supreme Court with Justices that would allow him to remain in office, despite losing the election.
D) Republican members of Congress attempted to pack the Supreme Court with Justices that would declare new Deal legislation unconstitutional
38) During the New Deal, the size and powers of the federal government:
A) Remained largely unchanged
B) Diminished slightly
C) Greatly increased
D) Saw a minor increase
39) The 18th Amendment
A) established that the consumption of alcohol was illegal
B) repealed Prohibition
C) Gave women the right to vote.
D) established that the production and sale of alcohol was illegal
40) Why was Prohibition unsuccessful?
A) Republicans opposed it from the start
B) the law was unenforceable as most Americans continued to drink
C) the production of alcohol was necessary to produce ethanol, an important fuel for American cars
D) It did not make the production of alcohol illegal, making the law hard to enforce.
Matching: Match the following terms with the correct description
41) Civilian Conservation Corp
42) Works Progress Administration
43) National Recovery Administration
44) Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
45) Wagner Act