The Great Depression

During the 1920s, the United States entered a period of economic ______and ______advances in the areas of ______, ______, electrification, and the ______. However, covered up by these good times were problems in the American ______system and attitudes about the ______of government in ______the economy. In 1929, the United States entered into a time of______money and little ______growth. This era, called the ______lasted into the ______and had a ______and severe ______on American life.

Causes of the Great Depression

Economists have argued for years about the causes of the Great Depression. However, ______factors played a significant role.

The first factor was the ______in late October of ______. The stock market is a place where people can buy ______or ______of companies. When a person buys a stock, they are actually ______a small ______of a company. During the 1920s, the economy was healthy and many Americans were ______and making money in the ______. In time, people became ______in the stock market. They began to ______money to buy more and more stocks in the hopes of making bigger profits when they sold the stocks. (______) In______of 1929, millions of people tried to sell their stocks but there were too ______buyers. Because of this, the price of stocks fell ______and the stock market______. This left many people ______to pay back their ______. Nearly everyone, including the ______, lost money.

The second factor that led to the Great Depression was the ______of the ______to prevent the ______of the banking system. As more and more people ______, or were unable to pay on their loans, banks that had loaned too much money went ______. In addition, many Americans ______and rushed to their banks to ______all of their money and savings. Between 1930 and 1933, more than ______banks closed their doors.

The third factor leading to the Great Depression involved ______. In 1930 the United States Congress passed a high tariff law. A ______is a ______on goods brought ______the country. As a result, other countries began to put high tariffs on goods they ______from the United States which ______.

Impact on Americans

The lives of Americans were impacted in many ways by the Great Depression. As more and more ______after the stock market crash, many people ______their savings. Left with little or no money, Americans ______afford to pay for goods and services. With no buyers for their products, ______or were forced to ______off employees because they could not afford to pay them their wages. ______were eventually without jobs. This high ______rate resulted in large numbers of ______.

Another group of Americans was also suffering. For a number of years American______had been struggling to make a living, but during the Great Depression,______to even lower levels. During World War I, American farmers had worked hard to produce enough extra corn and livestock to feed American ______as well as our ______in ______and France. After the war, there was a ______(too much) as farmers continued to produce. This caused the price of farm goods to go ______. Farmers were making so little money for their crops and livestock that in some areas of the country they actually ______their crops for ______instead of selling them at market.

To make matters even worse, a ______hit the Great Plains in the 1930s. The dry soil, no longer held in place by the prairie grasses, was picked up by the ever-blowing______. This resulted in huge, suffocating ______that covered everything in sight with dirt and grit. As the drought continued, the farmers who lived in the “______” were often forced to auction off their farms, become ______workers, or accept government______in order to feed their families.

Major Features of the New Deal

As the presidential elections of ______approached, America was eager to elect a new president to replace ______. Many Americans felt that he had done too little to help the country during the Great Depression. As a result ______was elected as the 32nd president of the United States. He immediately put into action his plan to end the Great Depression.

Roosevelt’s plan was called the ______and it would use ______programs to help the nation recover from the Great Depression. Built around the idea of ______, ______, and ______, the New Deal had a number of major features. One of these features was ______. In 1935, Congress passed the Social Security Act. This act set up a federal system of ______insurance to provide ______for ______workers, ______workers, payments to______and ______of retired workers, and survivor benefits to families of workers who died prematurely.

Another feature of the New Deal included______designed to get Americans back to work. The Works Progress Administration, or ______, was an organization that hired American workers to build ______. The ______, or TVA, was another program that put thousands of Americans to work building hydroelectric dams used to produce______for ______areas.

______were another feature of Roosevelt’s New Deal. One of these programs was the ______, or CCC. It gave conservation jobs to unemployed youths. By the 1940s, ______had been improved, and over 17 million trees had been planted.

Farmers also benefited from Roosevelt’s New Deal. ______

such as the Agricultural Adjustment Act, or ______increased the price of farm products so that farmers could make a profit. It also paid farmers not to produce so much food. Food ______would only make farm prices continue to drop.

Major Features of the New Deal

The New Deal also increased ______ and protections for labor. The government began to support the organization of labor ______to protect workers. In addition, the ______Labor Standards Act enforced a national ______wage of ______cents per hour and a ______work week of 44 hours.

The New Deal’s Impact on Banking and Role of Government

The ______was also impacted by the New Deal. A federal agency was created to promote public confidence in the banking industry once again. This agency called the ______, or FDIC, was set up to provide government-backed ______coverage for bank deposits. Roosevelt wanted to make sure that Americans never again______their bank deposits or savings accounts.

The New Deal also ______the role of the federal government in the lives of the American people. Before Roosevelt’s plan went into action, the government had adopted a “______” policy regarding the economy. Once in place, the federal ______took on an increased responsibility for the social welfare of its citizens. It began to ______ the stock market, ______the banking industry, and bring Americans ______ through work programs and economic aid.