UNIT EXAM
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. What was the major issue in the Election of 1928?
A. urban values vs. rural values
C. the stock market crash
B. farming depression
D. rugged individualism
2. Which of the following BEST describes the concept of “buying on margin”?
A. farmers that needed a loan could use their land as collateral
B. people could buy stock at ten percent down and get loan for rest
C. it was an installment plan that allowed Americans to buy autos
D. it was a dole from the government to help the unemployed
3. Which of the following BEST describes the Reconstruction Finance Corporation?
A. it reduced the tariff and increased farming sales overseas
B. it raised the tariff but allowed a tariff commission to investigate rates
C. it loaned money to business in an attempt to start the economy moving
D. it gave grants and relief to the unemployed to help ease the suffering
4. Which of the following did NOT play a significant factor in Hoover’s impressive
victory in 1928?
A. radio
C. prosperity of the nation
B. Garner-Wagner bill
D. religion
5. Which of the following BEST describes the Patman Bill debated in May 1932?
A. it would have provided relief to Americans suffering from the Depression
B. it would have given WWI veterans their 1945 bonus early
C. it supported Hoover’s belief in trickle down economics
D. General MacArthur led a parade of veterans to Congress to support the bill
6. Which of the following statements are true of the Bonus March of May 1932?
A. it ended when U.S. troops forced the veterans out by a show of force
B. it was made up of WWI veterans demanding early payment of a bonus
C. President Hoover supported their right to protest and offered cots and tents
D. All of the following are true
7. Which of the following does NOT describe Eleanor Roosevelt?
A. she supported civil rights legislation and urged the President to help
B. she appointed Francis Perkins to Secretary of Labor to push for equal
rights
C. she traveled around the country acting as the “eyes and ears” of the White
House
D. she was known for speaking out against economic and social injustice
8. Which of the following explains why President Roosevelt did not push for equal
rights in any of his New Deal Programs?
A. he did not believe it was a major problem in the U.S.
B. he believed African-Americans should help themselves
C. he believed the government had already spent too much money
D. he feared losing southern support for his legislation and reelection
9. Which of the following does NOT describe the Social Security Act of 1935?
A. it provided direct aid to farmers
B. it provided care for dependent mothers and children
C. it took care of people who could not work
D. it set aside retirement benefits that workers could collect at the age of 65
10. Which of the following did NOT support the New Deal Programs of FDR?
A. Southern Democrats
C. Minorities
B. Unions
D. Conservatives
11. What was Roosevelt’s approach to solving the Great Depression?
A. long range planning with specific goals
B. conservative approach to spending limited his ideas
C. trickle down economics
D. a “try anything” experimenter
12. The term deficit spending refers to:
A. installment buying for consumers
B. government spending accompanied by an unbalanced budget
C. raise tariffs to protect American made goods
D. laissez faire approach to the economy
13. What was the purpose of the Glass-Stegall Act?
A. encourage deficit spending by the government
B. establish the Federal Reserve System
C. it created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
D. it limited government spending after the New Deal
14. The National Industrial Recovery Act included all of the following EXCEPT:
A. Regulated cooperation in business to replace cut-throat competition
B. set prices on many products to ensure fair competiton
C. promote recovery by overcoming the cycle of wage cuts, falling prices and
layoffs
D. provided economic relief to big businesses to encourage companies to hire
more workers
15. Critics of the TVA believed this program:
A. did not control flooding in the Tennessee Valley area
B. government ownership of a utility was socialism
C. industry was no longer attracted to the area because of cheap electricity
D. agriculture did not improve in the region
16. Critics of the New Deal insisted that:
A. President Roosevelt sometimes acted like a dictator
B. The New Deal was not doing enough to help the poor
C. The New Deal had piled up a large national debt
D. All of the Above are true
17. President Roosevelt’s plan for reforming the Supreme Court included?
A. abolish the Supreme Court’s power of Judicial Review
B. forcing justices over the age of 70 to retire
C. adding additional justices for every one over the age of 70
D. the Supreme Court justices should be elected by popular vote
18. The recession of 1937-38 was triggered by:
A. increase in Federal Government spending
B. the failure of new banking laws
C. increase in labor tensions
D. reduced federal spending
19. Which of the following applies to the CIO?
A. it was an organization of industrial unions and unskilled labors
B. it helped women fight against the stereotype of staying home
C. it was supported by and welcomed by the American Federation of Labor
D. it supported a civil rights bill in Congress
20. Which of the following had the greatest impact on ending the Great Depression?
A. trickle down economics
C. Social Security Act
B. military production for WWII
D. Federal Emergency Relief Act
21. Where did many destitute Dust Bowls farmers move to in the early 1930’s?
A. Arizona
C. New York
B. California
D. Illinois
22. Why did the Supreme Court find the Agricultural Adjustment Act
unconstitutional?
A. the government had no right to regulate wages
B. Agriculture was not an interstate commerce and had no right to regulate it
C. Congress forbids the taxing of food products
D. Farmers argued that the gov’t had no right to tell them what to grow
23. President Roosevelt gathered public support for the New Deal by:
A. writing newspaper articles for the New Deal
B. offering jobs to people who would support him
C. fireside chats by the radio
D. endorsing Civil Rights legislation
24. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation:
A. gave low interest loans to farmers
B. bought surplus crops from tenement farmers to regulate the price
C. regulate the money supply in circulation
D. guarantee bank deposits up to $10,000
25. The Tennessee Valley Authority:
A. provided cheap electrical power to a poor region
B. protected federal land from being destroyed
C. was a solution to the Dust Bowl as it moved farmers westward
D. was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court
26. President Roosevelt supported Mary McLeod Bethune as:
A. first woman Supreme Court Justice
B. first black women to head of a federal agency
C. the Secretary of Labor
D. President of the Daughters of the American Revolution
27. Which of the following groups did FDR NOT build into a Democratic coalition?
A. African-Americans
C. Women
B. Unions
D. business leaders
28. Which of the following BEST describes FDR’s policy for winning the election of
32’?
A. blame Hoover for the Depression
B. use his wife as a the eyes and ears of his campaign
C. propose civil rights legislation to win black votes in the South
D. keep taxes down and cut spending to keep a balanced budget
29. The Election of 1936 indicated that the American public generally supported:
A. plans to enlarge the Supreme Court
C. the New Deal
B. attempts to arm the nation for war
D. the “blue eagle”
30. One of the great “ironies” of the Depression was:
A. there was plenty of jobs to go around
B. charities were forced to help the poor
C. hunger existed in the midst of plenty
D. banks actually plenty of money
31. Which of the following BEST described why FDR supported the 20th
Amendment?
A. it ended Prohibition
B. it allowed the government to deficit spend legally
C. it moved the Presidential inauguration up to January
D. it allowed the President to “pack the court”
32. Which of the following does NOT describe a change that occurred in the
American family during the Depression?
A. women were forced to take on extra duties and were looked down upon
when they worked outside the home
B. attendance at schools began to increase forcing communities to build more
schools
C. families grew in size as parents moved in with their children
D. “hoboes were charities that helped families cope with the Depression
33. Which of the following was NOT true of the “Blue Eagle”?
A. it created rules for fair competition between business and labor
B. it supported the rights of workers by allowing them to unionize
C. it symbolized support for the New Deal
D. it was declared unconstitutional by the Courts
34. One of the chief demands of blacks in the 1930’s was a federal law against:
A. forced busing
C. segregation in the military
B. lynching
D. discrimination in government
MATCH THE FOLLOWING ADMINISTRATION
A. Hoover
B. Roosevelt
C. Neither
35. lacked political experience and had inflexible views
36. former governor of New York that believed government had a responsibility to take
care of the disadvantaged
37. “return to normalacy”
38. self-made man from Iowa
39. Hawley Smoot Tariff
40. surrounded himself with a brain trust
MATCH THE FOLLOWING POLITICAL PEOPLE
41. Marian Anderson
A. first Catholic to run for President
42. Charles Coughlin
B. broadcasted “War of the Worlds”
43. Huey Long
C. first woman to ever serve on Presidential cabinet
44. Francis Perkins
D. Radio priest whose broadcast bitterly opposed the New
45. Al Smith
Deal, calling for a guaranteed income
46. Orson Welles
E. Wanted pension for the elderly
AB. Senator that wanted to tax the rich and help the poor
AC. DAR refused to allow her to sing because she was black
TRUE/FALSE
47. The 21st Amendment was supported by President Roosevelt because he believed that
the demand for alcohol would help reduce the supply of grain and drive up prices for
farmers.
48. October 29, 1929, Black Tuesday, the stock market bottomed out, but because less
than 3% of the population owned stock, it had no impact on the American society.
49. President Hoover believed each individual was responsible for their own welfare,
however he did take action to indirectly to help the unemployed by signing the
Reconstruction Finance Corporation into law.
50. One problem that plagued the later part of the 1920’s was the fact that America had a
lot of currency but had little cash to support it.
51. The slumping economy of the late 1920’s resulted in a downward spiral in which
workers lost jobs and purchasing power which resulted in even more layoffs.
52. FDR’s handicap helped strengthen his views on the need for government to help
those who could not help themselves
53. In the Election of 1936, Francis Townsend accused President Roosevelt of spending
too much money and people should vote Republican.
54. The first major defeat Roosevelt suffered during his administration was the Court
Packing bill.
55. In 1937, Roosevelt decided to cut back government spending, which meant more jobs
and higher wages for workers on the government payroll
56. In order to compensate for falling prices, farmers began to increase production in the
hopes of selling more crops.
USE THE CARTOON TO ANSWER QUESTIONS 57-58
59. During the 1930’s, movies and music offered a way to escape the realities of the
Depression.
60. The Wagner Act benefited Unions by providing government support.
61. During Roosevelt’s first term as President, he did not have good relation with the
Press Corp, because they did not trust him.
62. The New Deal contained three stages of Relief, Recovery and Reform. Roosevelt
believed that the American people needed immediate reform to cope with the Depression.
63. Roosevelt’s first inaugural quote, “the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself” was
designed to instill confidence back into our government and economy.
64. The homeless moved into make-shift homes made of scraps of metal and cardboard
called shantytowns.
65. One result of the New Deal was deficit spending.
66. People that moved into Hoovervilles were called “Okies”
MATCH THE FOLLOWING NEW DEAL PROGRAMS
A. Agricultural Adjustment Act
B. Civilian Conservation Corps
C. Civilian Works Administration
D. Federal Emergency Relief Act
E. National Recovery Administration
AB. National Youth Administration
AC. Public Works Administration
AD. Wagner Act
AE. Works Progress Administration
67. provided doles to state and local governments to provide immediate care to the
people
68. provided jobs to skilled workers on large scale construction projects
69. hired jobless and unskilled workers, but a tremendous cost to build roads, airports
and schools
70. offered outdoor work to unemployed young men in the city
71. provided a partnership between business and labor, symbol was the blue eagle
72. provided a chance for people to use their skill to earn an income by hiring artist,
teachers, musicians and actors
73. helped high school and college students stay in school by offering jobs
74. the National Labor Relations Board provided support to Unions
75. to address the surplus problem, farmers were paid not to grow