Great Depression Study Guide
The Great Depression had a widespread and severe impact on American life.
TEST DATE: _______________________
Causes
Key Question: What caused the Great Depression?
1. Overspeculation on stocks. People borrowed money to buy stocks, but when the stock market crashed,
the borrowers had no money to repay the loans.
2. Federal Reserve failed to prevent the collapse of the banking system.
3. Tariffs were added to the cost of foreign products which discourage international trade
Impact on Americans
Key Question: How were Americans impacted by the Great Depression?
L Large numbers of people were hungry and homeless
O One-fourth of workers lost their jobs
A A large number of banks and businesses failed
F Farmers’ incomes fell to low levels, and many left their farms
Key Person
Key Question: Who was the creator of the New Deal?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt used government programs to help the nation recover from the Great
Depression.
Major Features of the New Deal
Program
Description
Social Security
Pensions for elderly, unemployed and people with disabilities
Federal Work Programs
Jobs for unemployed Americans
Environmental Improvement Programs
Brought electricity and water control to Southern states
Farm Assistance Programs
Paid farmers to stop growing certain crops and helped farmers in the
Dust Bowl states
Increased Rights for Labor
Set wages, prices, and standards of production
Vocabulary
Great Depression- A period of time within the United States (and the world) where economies and businesses
struggled (1930s).
Over speculation- Making a lot of risky investments (the stock market).
Stocks-A unit (share) of ownership a company sells to outsiders.
Federal Reserve-The Federal Reserve System is our nation’s
central bank (the banker’s bank).
Collapse-When an economic system cannot handle over speculation. People owe more money than they are
making.
Tariffs- A tax placed on goods that come in or out of the country
International Trade-Exchanging goods and services between countries
New Deal-The name given to the laws designed to relieve the Great Depression
Federal-The central government (U.S. government)
Social Security- A program in the U.S. that requires workers to make regular payments to a government fund.
The fund is used to provide retirement assistance ($) to Americans over the age of 65