US Multiple Choice: The Great Depression and New Deal

  1. The end of World War I in Europe was followed by several important developments, including totalitarian governments, a decreased money supply, lowered demand for manufactured goods and widespread unemployment. Which of these developments was a result of the other three?
  1. Totalitarianism
  2. Decreased money supply
  3. Lowered demand for goods
  4. Widespread unemployment
  1. The Great Depression began with the crash of the American stock market in 1929. However, it spread quickly to other developed countries. What was the effect of the Great Depression on Germany, Italy, Spain, and Japan?
  1. The economic crisis inspired masses of people to reform their governments
  2. Dictators came to power in countries suffering economic collapse
  3. Disagreements over how to solve the economic crisis led to stronger opposition parties in national legislatures
  4. The economic crisis in major industrial countries actually helped strengthen the

economies in smaller countries

  1. Which was an important difference between the approaches of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover towards the Great Depression?
  1. Roosevelt was unwilling to establish federal job programs
  2. Roosevelt was unable to win Congressional support
  3. Roosevelt ignored economic issues during his terms in office
  4. Roosevelt was more willing to use the powers of the federal government to tackle economic problems
  1. How did the American economy of the 1920s differ from the economy of the 1930s?
  1. The 1920s saw increased consumer borrowing and speculation, while the 1930s saw a rise in unemployment and business failures
  2. The 1920s saw a decrease in consumer borrowing, while the 1930s witnessed prosperity and success in the U.S. economy
  3. The 1920s saw a large increase in unemployment, while the 1930s saw a sharp decline in unemployment and homelessness
  4. The 1920s saw a marked increase in the role of government, while the 1930s saw a reversal of this trend.
  1. In the twentieth century, the American economy experienced periods of both good and bad times. What conditions were characteristic of the economic depression that Americans faced in the 1930s?
  1. High unemployment and bank failures
  2. Inflated stock prices and low taxes
  3. Excess money in circulation and rising inflation
  4. High employment and business expansion
  1. How did the raising of U.S. tariffs expand the worldwide depression?
  1. U.S. imports increased sharply, leading to further unpaid debt
  2. Though demand for U.S. exports increased, payments fell behind
  3. Other nations fell behind competitively without such tariffs
  4. Other nations retaliated and world trade became even worse
  1. Which of these factors helped hide economic problems in the 1920s?
  1. Investors lost confidence in the market
  2. Farmers sold crop surpluses to pay off their debt
  3. Americans purchased many consumer goods on credit
  4. Wages increased at the same pace as worker productivity
  1. Why did so many banks fail at the onset of the Great Depression?
  1. Too many investors tried to open new accounts
  2. Too many depositors tried to withdraw their money all at once
  3. The stock market collapsed too slowly to collect on debts
  4. The Federal Reserve put too much money into circulation
  1. European countries reacted to the Hawley-Smoot Tariff by
  1. Increasing global trade
  2. Taxing American imports
  3. Importing more American goods
  4. Lowering prices on exports
  1. What economic condition did economist John Maynard Keynes believe caused the Great Depression?
  1. lack of government intervention
  2. strict controls on stock speculation
  3. too much oversight of banking
  4. limits on production and spending
  1. At the onset of the Great Depression, urban unemployment
  1. Decreased slightly
  2. Stayed about the same
  3. Increased slightly
  4. Increased dramatically
  1. Members of the Taxpayers Protection League resisted evictions by
  1. Building Hoovervilles
  2. Staging non-violent protests
  3. Moving to cheaper lodgings
  4. Pooling resources to pay their rent
  1. Farmers contributed to the problems that led to the Dust Bowl by
  1. Putting down new layers of topsoil
  2. Moving off of the plains to find new farmland
  3. Damming western rivers and using irrigation techniques
  4. Using intensive farming practices that removed protective grasses
  1. The unemployment rate among African Americans was
  1. Nearly double the national rate
  2. Slightly higher than the national rate
  3. About the same as the national rate
  4. Slightly lower than the national rate
  1. President Hoover responded cautiously to the depression because he
  1. Thought that the business cycle would correct itself
  2. Was distracted by the giant dust storms in the Great Plains
  3. Had little experience with business methods and economic theory
  4. Wanted to take an aggressive approach to recovery
  1. President Hoover urged Congress to institute the RFC because he believed that the economy suffered
  1. A lack of credit
  2. Over-employment
  3. Too much regulation
  4. A concentration of wealth
  1. Some Americans blamed the Great Depression on
  1. Fascism
  2. Socialism
  3. Capitalism
  4. Communism
  1. Why did many Americans want new leadership in 1932?
  1. Prices for farm products were rising again
  2. Congress passed a bill to pay World War I veterans their bonuses early
  3. President Hoover’s economics policies had failed
  4. President Hoover denied responsibility for the use of federal troops against protestors
  1. What were the criticisms of the New Deal?
  1. Reform the government and decrease spending
  2. Create schools and protect farmers
  3. Increase spending on defense and trade
  4. Gave too much power to the government
  1. Some opponents of the New Deal believed that it
  1. Benefited only the banking industry
  2. Harmed home owners
  3. Threatened individual freedom
  4. Gave too much power to the people
  1. The American Liberty League formed to
  1. Support the Bonus Army
  2. Introduce new legislation
  3. Oppose FDR’s New Deal
  4. Oppose the TVA
  1. The Agricultural Adjustment Act helped farmers because it
  1. Sought to end overproduction and raise crop prices
  2. Attracted industry with the promise of cheap power
  3. Created jobs for over 2 million U.S. citizens
  4. Regulated the stock market and made investments safer
  1. The Rural Electrification Administration provided electricity to
  1. The elderly
  2. Farmers
  3. The unemployed
  4. Minorities
  1. The right to collective bargaining was part of the
  1. Wagner Act
  2. Works Progress Administration
  3. Social Security Act
  4. Agricultural Adjustment Act
  1. Members of the ______participated in a sit down strike until General Motors agreed to recognize them
  1. WPA
  2. UAW
  3. REA
  4. NLRB
  1. What caused Republicans to gain power in Congress in 1938?
  1. The Supreme Court started approving New Deal programs
  2. The economy took a downturn and wiped out much of FDR’s progress
  3. Unemployment went down from 14 percent to 10 percent
  4. Southern Democrats became supporters of the New Deal
  1. Eleanor Roosevelt showed her support of minorities when she
  1. Appointed herself as Secretary of Labor
  2. Sat with black delegates at a conference
  3. Wrote a weekly newspaper column
  4. Established a minimum wage
  1. During the 1930s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
  1. Passed acts that led to total landlessness
  2. Denied Native Americans the right to vote
  3. Stopped discouraging the practice of Indian religions
  4. Encouraged Native Americans to herd sheep on the Colorado Plateau
  1. FDR set aside 12 million acres of land for
  1. Indian reservations
  2. Farms
  3. Dams
  4. National parks
  1. How many terms did Roosevelt serve as President?
  1. 1
  2. 3
  3. 2
  4. 4
  1. Who was the first female Cabinet member?
  1. Frances Perkins
  2. Margaret Marshall
  3. Mary McLeod Bethune
  4. Eleanor Roosevelt
  1. Who was a top swing musician?
  1. Glenn Miller
  2. Orson Welles
  3. Woody Guthrie
  4. Billie Holiday
  1. One way that Americans escaped their concerns during the 1930s was to
  1. Live in the country
  2. Follow the stock market
  3. Go to theaters and watch movies
  4. Avoid watching news on television
  1. The Lone Ranger and The Shadow are examples of
  1. Big bands
  2. Depression-era novels
  3. Broadway musicals
  4. Radio series
  1. The Federal Art Project set a precedent for
  1. Increased government support of radicals
  2. Federal funding of the arts and artists
  3. Free theater performances for the public
  4. Realistically showing living conditions on farms
  1. How did New Deal programs change life in the West?
  1. Introduced labor unions and minimum wages
  2. Built dams to supply power and stop flooding
  3. Cut taxes and encouraged farmers to stop grazing sheep
  4. Ended gender discrimination in the workplace
  1. Which group faced the greatest financial difficulty during the 1920s?
  1. Farmers
  2. Industrial workers
  3. Stock market investors
  4. Bank owners
  1. Which factor contributed to the spread of the Great Depression overseas?
  1. An increase in international trade
  2. A decline in investment from the United States
  3. The lowering of tariffs in the US and Europe
  4. A decline in US production
  1. Why did the stock market crash?
  1. Investors lost confidence in the market and started to sell their shares
  2. Depositors lost their investments and made runs on the nation’s banks
  3. The Federal Reserve increased the money supply
  4. Germany ceased reparations payments
  1. How did Eleanor Roosevelt change the role of the First Lady?
  1. The role became an elected position with Congressional voting rights
  2. She created a newspaper column that all First Ladies now have to write
  3. The role changed from being largely ceremonial to a role of political involvement
  4. She created a new Cabinet position for herself that all First Ladies since have held
  1. A significant cause of the Great Depression of the 1930s was that
  1. Some banking policies were unsound and had led to the overexpansion of credit
  2. A decrease in protective tariffs had opened American business to competition from abroad
  3. A wave of violent strikes had paralyzed major industries
  4. Consumer goods were relatively inexpensive
  1. In the 1930s, the enactment of New Deal programs demonstrated a belief that
  1. Corporations were best left to operate without government interference
  2. State governments should give up control over commerce inside their states
  3. the Federal Government must concern itself with the people’s economic well-being
  4. The United States Constitution was not relevant to 20th century life
  1. Critics charged that President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s plan to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices was clearly in conflict with
  1. The Supreme Court’s practice of judicial restraint
  2. The constitutional principle of checks and balances
  3. Attempts of Congress to limit judicial responsibilities
  4. Efforts to restrict the number of terms a President could serve
  1. The main purpose of New Deal measures such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was to
  1. Provide immediate employment opportunities
  2. Develop rules to limit speculation and safeguard savings
  3. Enable the Federal Government to take over failing industries
  4. Assure a guaranteed income for American families
  1. A lasting result of the New Deal has been
  1. Reduction of the national debt
  2. Control of stock prices by the Federal government
  3. Joint effort of businesses and labor to strengthen the Presidency
  4. Assumption by the Federal Government of greater responsibility for the nation’s well being
  1. The main reason President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to increase the number of Justices on the United States Supreme Court was to
  1. Force the Court to hear cases involving the rights of minorities and women
  2. Speed up the Court’s review of cases
  3. Increase the independence of the Court
  4. Make the Court more supportive of New Deal programs
  1. A major result of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal was
  1. A decline in the Federal deficit
  2. An expansion of the power of the Federal Government
  3. A change in the voting rights of women
  4. A reinstitution of the gold standard for United States currency
  1. The election of FDR to the Presidency in 1932 reflected the desire of many Americans to
  1. Return to a policy of laissez faire
  2. Abandon capitalism in favor of socialism
  3. Continue the domestic policies of the Hoover administration
  4. Have government take an active role in solving economic problems
  1. The effectiveness of the New Deal in ending the Great Depression is difficult to measure because
  1. FDR died during his 4th term in office
  2. US involvement in WWII rapidly accelerated economic growth
  3. The Supreme Court declared most New Deal laws unconstitutional
  4. Later Presidents failed to support most New Deal reforms
  1. Speaker A: "The business of America is business, and we would be wise to remember that."
    Speaker B:"Government ownership of business is superior to private enterprise."
    Speaker C:"Strict government regulation of business practices is a means to insure the public good."
    Speaker D:"Only through personal effort can wealth and success be achieved."
    Which speaker best expresses the main idea of rugged individualism?
  1. Speaker A
  2. Speaker B
  3. Speaker C
  4. Speaker D
  1. Which day is Black Tuesday?
  1. September 1, 1982
  2. October 29, 1929
  3. December 7, 1941
  4. November 1, 1930
  1. Which of the following is a CAUSE of the Great Depression?
  1. Industries are less competitive because of outdated equipment
  2. Farmers produce more than they can sell
  3. There is an availability of easy credit
  4. There is an unequal distribution of income
  5. All of the above
  1. This is one advantage farmers had over those living in the cities.
  1. More money
  2. The Dust Bowl
  3. Able to grow their own food
  4. None of the above
  1. In the fall of 1929, a wave of panic selling gripped the stock market as a result of
  1. A sudden fall in stock prices
  2. Corruption among stockbrokers
  3. Business failures
  4. Government limits on speculation
  1. Practices such as buying on margin reflected Americans
  1. Moral virtue
  2. Demand for safe, secure investments
  3. “get-rich-quick” attitude
  4. Lack of faith in the stock market
  1. Which of the following is NOT an EFFECT of the Great Depression?
  1. Banks and businesses fail
  2. American loans to Europe dry up
  3. Personal incomes shrink
  4. Buying on margin
  5. All of the above

“The Hawley-Smoot Tariff went into effect in June 1930, in the full blast of the depression. Under the circumstances there was great indignation and resentment on the part of the majority of the countries of the world, but that of the debtor countries of Europe was extreme. This intense indignation, coupled with the absolute necessity of securing a favorable trade balance, could result in but one course of action: retaliatory tariff increases against the United States.”

-Joseph M. Jones, Jr.

  1. According to Joseph Jones, which of the following statements is an accurate assessment of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff?
  1. It caused European countries to pass their own protective tariffs.
  2. It opened international markets and stimulated world trade.
  3. It put limits on Allied war debts
  4. It established the funds for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
  1. 1 out of how many workers is unemployed during the Great Depression?
  1. 4
  2. 3
  3. 2
  4. 5
  1. There were Roosevelt’s reforms to put an end to the Depression.
  1. Brain Trust
  2. FDIC
  3. New Deal
  4. Prohibition
  1. During this period of time, Congress passed 15 major pieces of New Deal legislation.
  1. 1st Hundred Days
  2. 2nd Hundred Days
  3. Prohibition
  4. The Great Depression

“Of course, we may have to change remedies if we don’t get results”

Look at the political cartoon above and answer the following questions.

  1. Which one of the following statements accurately depicts the message of this cartoon?
  1. FDR needs Congress to fix the economy.
  2. The American economy is failing and FDR’s New Deal is going to fix it
  3. The New Deal is unable to fix the failing economy
  4. Uncle Sam is angry at FDR for trying to help
  1. The medicine bottles in the cartoon represent
  1. New Deal programs
  2. Other governments
  3. Members of Congress
  4. None of the above
  1. Who does the “patient” in this cartoon truly represent?
  1. American troops
  2. The American economy
  3. The American war effort
  4. Uncle Sam

“I want six substitutes AT ONCE. Those fellows don’t know it, but they’re through. But I don’t want to take ‘em off the field!”

Look at the political cartoon above and use it to answer the following questions.

  1. What event is this cartoon depicting?
  1. The Stock Market crash
  2. The Great Depression
  3. The New Deal
  4. The Court-Packing Bill
  1. True or False: The events depicted by this cartoon succeeded.
  1. True
  2. False
  1. Statement A: "The best way to economic recovery is to subsidize industry so that it will hire more workers and expand production."

Statement B: "If jobs are not available, the government must create jobs for those who are unemployed."

Statement C: "According to human nature, the most talented people will always come out on top."

Statement D: "Our government is responsible for the nation’s economic well-being."

Which statements most strongly support the actions of President Franklin D. Roosevelt?

  1. Statements A and B
  2. Statements B and D
  3. Statements C and A
  4. Statements C and D
  1. When the Great Depression began in 1929, the most common economic belief supported by the Republican Party was that
  1. An increase in defense spending would stimulate the economy
  2. Unemployed workers should receive Federal unemployment benefits
  3. The government should assume control of industry
  4. The economy would recover on its own
  1. Which statement is accurate about American culture during the Great Depression?
  1. The Federal Government provided money to support the arts
  2. Most movies featured realistic themes and unhappy endings
  3. Rock-and-roll music became popular
  4. Interest in professional sports declined
  1. A major criticism of President Franklin D.