CHAPTER 25: THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE NEW DEAL, 1929–1939
Multiple Choice
1. What occurred on “Black Tuesday”?
A) A stock market crash wiped out all the gains of the previous year.
B) Germany attacked Poland.
C) Herbert Hoover announced he would take no action regarding the faltering farm economy.
D) U.S. Steel announced a layoff of over half its workers.
2. The Depression was prolonged when __________.
A) the government ordered that more exports be sold in Europe
B) banks voluntarily submitted to regulatory policies
C) the Federal Reserve Board restricted the nation’s money supply
D) farm prices and workers’ wages skyrocketed
3. The Wall Street crash __________.
A) was triggered by excessive government spending
B) only affected middle-class Americans
C) was caused by the low level of investment in the 1920s
D) marked the beginning of the depression, but did not cause it
4. Which of the following was an early result of the 1929 stock market crash?
A) even more massive declines in stock values in Europe the day after Black Tuesday
B) an acceleration of European repayments of American loans
C) a large decrease in American investments in Europe
D) increased American exports
5. Which of the following bore the greatest responsibility for causing the Great Depression?
A) war debts incurred by the United States during World War I
B) artificially high prices for consumer goods generated by the administered prices of oligopolies
C) government failure to enforce antitrust laws
D) overconsumption and irresponsible credit use by ordinary Americans
6. What were Hoovervilles?
A) They were suburban towns that experienced sharp downturns during the depression.
B) They were the numerous soup kitchens constructed to feed the nation’s hungry.
C) They were rich sections of town where wealthy Republicans lived.
D) They were squalid collections of shacks where the homeless of America’s cities lived.
7. In the first years of the depression, personal income __________.
A) dropped by more than half
B) increased with inflation
C) remained steady, but prices rose
D) reflected the relative strength of the industrial economy
8. During the depression, __________ of married women provided the sole support for their families.
A) one-third
B) one-half
C) two-thirds
D) three-fourths
9. During the depression, there were __________.
A) more marriages
B) fewer divorces
C) fewer marriages
D) more divorces
10. During the depression, Hispanic Americans __________.
A) were able to move up to middle-class status
B) experienced little discrimination in finding work
C) lost many jobs due to prejudice against them
D) largely returned to Mexico
11. Which statement about conditions for African Americans during the depression is true?
A) Unemployment rates for blacks stayed at the same high pre-depression rate.
B) Blacks received equal treatment in receiving aid from relief programs.
C) Religious charity groups often denied providing help to blacks.
D) Blacks were generally the first workers to be fired and the last to be hired.
12. Which statement best summarizes protest movements in the early years of the depression?
A) Demonstrations were virtually nonexistent despite the awful conditions.
B) The government passed a law that made it illegal to stage any type of protest.
C) Protesters came from a vast range of social, political, and economic interests.
D) Conservative Republicans dominated the ranks of those who led protest movements.
13. One of Herbert Hoover’s few relief measures was creation of the __________.
A) Works Progress Administration
B) Farm Credit Act
C) Reconstruction Finance Corporation
D) Emergency Banking Act
14. What did Hoover believe was the best response to the suffering caused by the economic depression?
A) voluntary private relief
B) relief provided by state governments
C) relief provided by the federal government
D) no intervention or relief
15. What was the Bonus Army protesting?
A) the inability of the federal government to pay current veteran’s benefits
B) the refusal of the federal government to pay service bonuses early
C) President Hoover’s decision to cut the pay of all military personnel by half
D) the poor conditions in veterans’ hospitals
16. The Bonus Army __________.
A) was dispersed by troops under the command of General Douglas MacArthur
B) was treated civilly by President Hoover
C) gained their main objective through a law pushed through Congress by progressive Republicans
D) left Washington after promises of immediate relief from president-elect Roosevelt
17. By the time Franklin Roosevelt took office in 1933, __________ thousand American banks had
already failed.
A) one
B) two
C) six
D) ten
18. “The 100 Days” refers to __________.
A) the active first three months of FDR’s first term of office
B) the “lame duck” final few months of Hoover’s presidency
C) the immediate after-effects of the stock market crash
D) the length of the sit-down strike at the General Motors plant
19. Franklin Roosevelt’s first action as president was to __________.
A) provide pensions for the elderly
B) strengthen the faltering bank industry
C) balance the national government’s budget
D) cut income taxes for the wealthy
20. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration __________.
A) combined relief work with conservation
B) furnished funds to local and state governments
C) created a regulatory board for settling labor disputes
D) was one of FDR’s ideas that was rejected by Congress
21. Why was the Securities and Exchange Commission created?
A) to regulate international trade
B) to regulate banks
C) to regulate the stock market
D) to regulate corporate mergers
22. Which of the following agencies was most popular with the public?
A) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
B) the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
C) the Civilian Conservation Corps
D) the Farm Credit Administration
23. How did the Agricultural Adjustment Administration attempt to raise farm incomes?
A) by nationalizing rail lines that carried farm products
B) by attacking overproduction
C) by decreasing the emphasis on scientific agriculture
D) by acknowledging farmers’ calls for collective bargaining rights
24. Which of the following intensified the suffering of American farmers during the depression?
A) devastating droughts and dust storms throughout the 1930s
B) the Socialist Party’s active role in rural politics of the 1930s
C) FDR’s refusal to develop a comprehensive farm policy
D) the refusal of large producers to participate in the AAA
25. Section 7a of the National Industrial Recovery Act __________.
A) was supported by members of the Liberty League
B) established modernization projects in the Tennessee Valley
C) guaranteed workers the right to collective bargaining
D) was FDR’s first attempt at stabilizing the private banking system
26. A particularly harmful part of Father Charles Coughlin’s criticism of the New Deal was __________.
A) Coughlin’s attacks on both major political parties
B) Coughlin’s claim that FDR was not using his presidential powers widely enough
C) Coughlin’s calls for a nationwide move toward socialism
D) Coughlin’s combined message of religion with anti-Semitism
27. The New Deal faced open dissent from __________.
A) Protestant religious leaders
B) women’s rights organizations
C) the Democratic Party
D) the Communist Party
28. The Social Security Act __________.
A) originally provided free health care for retired citizens
B) showed the inability of FDR to create a consensus between opposing interests
C) was exactly like health and retirement plans in European nations
D) established federal responsibility in providing social welfare
29. Which of the following states was part of the Dust Bowl?
A) Nevada
B) Illinois
C) Texas
D) California
30. What was the purpose of the National Labor Relations Board?
A) to establish and regulate a national minimum wage
B) to protect the rights of workers to collectively bargain
C) to establish national maximum working hours rules
D) to facilitate the entry of women and minorities into the workforce
31. A significant shift in voting demographics occurred in the 1930s when __________.
A) wealthy industrialists abandoned the Republican Party
B) the lowest voter turnouts in American history occurred
C) blacks shifted their loyalties from the Republicans to the Democrats
D) the “Solid South” crumbled as the Republican Party increased its popularity
32. What happened when auto workers at GM’s Flint, Michigan plant went on strike?
A) They were attacked by the National Guard.
B) They won their strike by using the unique tactic of the sit-down strike.
C) They were removed from the Congress of Industrial Organizations.
D) They obtained better wages and shorter workdays.
33. Militant laborers challenged traditional labor leaders by forming the __________.
A) Congress of Industrial Organizations
B) American Liberty League
C) American Federation of Labor
D) Knights of Labor
34. In Chicago, on Memorial Day in 1937, __________.
A) police fired on strikers and their families, killing 10 people
B) Huey Long was assassinated as he gave a speech
C) the Socialist Party nominated Norman Thomas for president
D) FDR gave the most aggressive pro-labor speech of his career
35. Which statement about women during the Great Depression is true?
A) New Deal relief programs improved the conditions for working women.
B) Many NRA codes mandated lower wage scales for women.
C) Women were not included in the NRA’s minimum wage requirement.
D) Women on relief were often allowed to do work traditionally reserved for men.
36. The first woman named to a presidential cabinet post was Secretary of Labor __________.
A) Molly Dewson
B) Frances Perkins
C) Mary McLeod Bethune
D) Jane Addams
37. Which of the following groups received the least assistance from early New Deal reforms?
A) working women
B) farm families
C) the elderly
D) the urban poor
38. What was the “Black Cabinet”?
A) a group of activists who met at the home of Mary McLeod Bethune to discuss civil rights strategies
B) a group of business leaders led by Harry Hopkins and Harold Ickes who resisted New Deal reforms
C) Supreme Court members who ruled that New Deal reforms were unconstitutional
D) a group of labor leaders who sought the attention of Eleanor Roosevelt
39. Which of the following accurately describes advances in racial equality during FDR’s presidency?
A) FDR fully integrated the U.S. military at the start of World War II.
B) FDR prohibited racial discrimination in the Works Progress Administration.
C) FDR appointed African Americans to his cabinet.
D) FDR pushed for civil rights legislation in Congress.
40. The Indian Reorganization Act __________.
A) guaranteed religious freedom, and halted the sale of tribal lands
B) marked a return to the American governmental policies of the nineteenth century
C) received the full-fledged support of white missionaries who worked on reservations
D) weakened tribal control of local government
41. “Court packing” refers to FDR’s proposal to __________.
A) load state courts with civil rights cases
B) surround himself with cabinet members from America’s wealthiest families
C) assert more presidential control over the makeup of the Supreme Court
D) sue corporations who resisted implementation of New Deal reforms
42. Which of the following was an effect of FDR’s “court packing” proposals?
A) more electoral support than ever for FDR in 1940
B) the desegregation of public facilities in the Tennessee Valley
C) the revival of conservative opposition to FDR
D) the strengthening of FDR’s electoral majority in Congress
43. The __________ established the first national minimum wage.
A) National Minimum Wage Act
B) Fair Pay Act
C) Fair Labor Standards Act
D) National Wage Standards Act
44. Which of the following best describes the midterm elections of 1938?
A) It suggested that FDR would have a difficult time getting programs passed.
B) The Democrats lost their majorities in the House and Senate.
C) It launched the third wave of New Deal legislation.
D) Progressive Southern Democrats emerged as a stronger political force.
45. In November 1933, President Roosevelt extended formal recognition to __________.
A) Cuba
B) the Soviet Union
C) South Africa
D) Canada
46. In the early 1930s, Hitler established a(n) __________ form of government in Germany.
A) democratic
B) autocratic
C) fascist
D) socialist
47. The __________ reaffirmed America’s trading relationships with its world partners but prohibited the
president from taking sides in the mounting European crisis.
A) Neutrality Acts
B) Kellogg-Briand Pacts
C) Munich agreements
D) Good Neighbor policies
48. Which of the following best describes fascism?
A) a revolutionary socialist movement based upon common ownership and a classless society
B) an economic system in which the state owns and directs the means of production
C) a one-party dictatorship that is closely aligned with corporate interests
D) a form of government in which the political power resides with the military alone
49. How did the French and British respond to Germany’s annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia?
A) Both countries immediately declared war on Germany.
B) Both countries urged the United States to cut off diplomatic and trade relations with Germany.
C) Both countries took a position of appeasement and sought only promises of no further annexations.
D) Both countries secretly supplied weapons and ammunition to the Austrian and Czech resistance
movements.
50. What was FDR’s primary focus in 1939?
A) domestic economic policy
B) international economic policy
C) domestic social policy
D) international military policy
Essay Questions
51. In what ways were Herbert Hoover’s economic ideas more progressive than those of his Republican
predecessors? Despite these ideas, what political failings caused his demise as president?
52. Choose two New Deal relief programs and describe them. What were they designed to accomplish?
53. Describe the coalition of critics that opposed New Deal reforms. What was the variety of motivations
behind the groups and individuals who expressed these criticisms?
54. What role did New Deal reforms play in the lives of women, blacks, and Indians? Did the New Deal
increase discrimination or did it serve as a foundation for later civil rights reform?
Skill Level: Analyze It
55. Many historians have stated that Franklin Roosevelt was “the right man at the right time.” Evaluate
the thematic evidence that produces this thesis.
