Chapter 25-26
pp. 666-714
The Great Depression and The New Deal
1. The Great Depression was caused by all of the following factors except
A)prosperity was dependent on a few basic industries
B)too few Americans were able to purchase goods produced by American industries
C)some of the major banks did not have enough reserves to withstand an economic downturn
D)American industries and banks were not involved in the European economy
E)there was an overwhelming maldistribution of wealth
Page: 668–670 Difficulty: Hard
2. Between 1929 and 1932, farmers in the Dust Bowl of the South and Midwest experienced all of the following problems except
A)high temperatures
B)a decline in rainfall
C)rapidly rising prices
D)overproduction in agriculture
E)losses of land to foreclosures
Page: 672, 674 Difficulty: Easy
3. During the Depression, black Americans suffered special hardships, which were caused by
A)continuing racial prejudice in the nation
B)unemployed whites seeking positions formerly held by blacks
C)the sharecropping system becoming unprofitable
D)blacks not receiving their fair share of relief benefits
E)all of the answers above
Page: 675–676 Difficulty: Easy
4. In the Scottsboro case of the 1930s, all of the following events occurred except
A)the youths eventually were acquitted by one of the juries that heard the case
B)eight young blacks were sentenced to death
C)an organization associated with the Communist party came to the aid of the youths
D)all of the youths eventually gained their freedom
E)the Supreme Court overturned the original convictions
Page: 675 Difficulty: Hard
5. All of the following statements about women in the Depression are true except
A)a higher percentage of women were working by the end of the Depression
B)there was a general belief that women should not work if their husbands had jobs
C)black women in the South experienced massive unemployment due to a great reduction in domestic service jobs
D)unemployment for women who were sales clerks and stenographers was generally lower than it was for male industrial workers
E)women experienced a significant increase in gaining opportunities for jobs in professional fields of work
Page: 677 Difficulty: Hard
6. During the Depression, American families experienced all the following, except
A)women returned to making clothes for the family
B)marriage rate increased to save on cost of living separately
C)small home businesses increased
D)birth rate declined
E)divorce rate declined, but desertions increased
Page: 678 Difficulty: Medium
7. Herbert Hoover’s early response to the Depression included all of the following actions except
A)trying to persuade businessmen not to cut production or lay off workers
B)asking Congress for an increase in spending on public works programs
C)creating a federal program to help farmers raise agricultural prices
D)lowering tariffs in order to encourage foreigners to buy American products
E)promoting voluntarism as a way of easing economic woes
Page: 685–686 Difficulty: Hard
8. The purpose of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation was to
A)provide funding for the construction of federal buildings
B)create schools to retrain the unemployed
C)purchase the stocks of failing institutions
D)provide federal loans to troubled banks, railroads, and other big businesses
E)encourage a massive construction program for public works
Page: 686 Difficulty: Easy
9. One of the Hoover administration’s major failings in dealing with the Depression was its
A)inability to win the support of Congress
B)lack of concern for the troubles of the American people
C)reluctance to spend large amounts of federal funds
D)dedication to the principle of not interfering in the economy
E)refusal to recognize the Depression’s effects in rural areas
Page: 686 Difficulty: Easy
10. The purpose of the “Bonus Army” march into Washington, D.C., in 1932 was to
A)gain crop subsidies for Midwestern farmers
B)seek recruits for the antifascist forces in Spain
C)demand that the government admit to profiteering during World War I
D)persuade Congress to approve the early payment of bonuses due to World War I veterans
E)lobby Congress for increased medical and retirement benefits for war veterans
Page: 687 Difficulty: Easy
11. Roosevelt’s strongest asset in restoring confidence to the American public was his
A)confidence, optimism, and ability in public relations
B)early use of relief payments to individuals
C)slow and careful approach to developing programs
D)ability to get an uncooperative Congress to do what he wanted
E)promise that the Depression would soon end
Page: 694 Difficulty: Easy
12. In an attempt to solve the most critical problem of the economy, Roosevelt’s first action after taking office was to
A)provide the farmers with federal guaranteed mortgages
B)ask Congress to provide relief to state welfare systems
C)send Congress a detailed plan for a balanced budget
D)meet with powerful corporate leaders to hear their suggestions
E)close the banks for a four-day holiday
Page: 694 Difficulty: Easy
13. The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 significantly and permanently changed the economic structure of American agriculture by
A)making the prices of farm commodities dependent upon the laws of supply and demand
B)rewarding farmers with additional federal funds for increasing production
C)committing the federal government to subsidizing farm prices up to the parity level
D)providing cheap electric power to farmers through federally controlled utility companies
E)encouraging the decline of importance of commercial farming
Page: 694-695 Difficulty: Hard
14. The primary intent of the National Industrial Recovery Act was to
A)lower prices on industrial goods
B)increase prices on industrial goods
C)keep prices stable on industrial goods
D)allow prices of industrial goods to be set by supply and demand
E)make prices of industrial goods dependent on foreign markets
Page: 695–697 Difficulty: Hard
15. The establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority was based on the political theory that the federal government should
A)leave economic planning to private interests
B)become the chief architect of economic planning
C)delegate economic planning of the states
D)allow a combination of state agencies and private interests to do economic planning
E)subsidize relief but not provide full funding and organization
Page: 697 Difficulty: Medium
16. The following pairs match New Deal agencies with their primary purpose. The incorrect pair is
A)Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation—protect small depositors against bank failures
B)Securities and Exchange Commission—police the stock market
C)Civil Works Administration—provide permanent jobs in the construction of government office buildings
D)Federal Emergency Relief Administration—provide cash grants to state relief organizations
E)Federal Housing Administration—insure mortgages for new construction and home repairs
Page: 698–699 Difficulty: Medium
17. The National Labor Relations Act protected workers by providing them with
A)the power to form unions and engage in collective bargaining
B)“right to work” laws that kept them from being forced into unions
C)unemployment insurance that paid them benefits when they were out of work
D)the right to collect union dues and pay union members while they were on strike
E)a guaranteed minimum yearly income
Page: 701 Difficulty: Easy
18. The Works Progress Administration included all the following programs, except
A)renovating public buildings
B)work and scholarships for college and high school students
C)funding for sculptors and painters
D)support for plays and concerts
E)enrolling workers in the military after the completion of projects
Page: 703–704 Difficulty: Medium
19. The final outcome of the battle over Roosevelt’s “court-packing” plan was that the Supreme Court
A)stopped overturning New Deal legislation, but the New Deal coalition splintered
B)became even more conservative and overturned more of Roosevelt’s programs
C)declared the plan itself unconstitutional
D)could no longer consider New Deal legislation since Congress took away its jurisdiction over such cases
E)ruled that the president could not introduce regulatory legislation
Page: 708 Difficulty: Hard
20. The historians who analyzed the New Deal offered all of the following positive interpretations except
A)it changed the prevailing political ideas enough that conservatives would always be on the defensive thereafter
B)it reformed capitalism, finally offering protection to the disadvantaged
C)it completed the process of progressive reform and then moved in the direction of modern liberalism
D)it accomplished as much as it could against the conservative forces of the time
E)it actually enhanced the position of private entrepreneurs
Page: 712–713 Difficulty: Hard
EXTRA CREDIT
21. The historians who analyzed the New Deal offered all of the following negative interpretations except
A)it represented a radical departure from progressive tradition, one that actually alarmed old progressives
B)it helped to destroy the American tradition of political and social individualism
C)it lacked a central, guiding philosophy that would have greatly improved its record
D)it missed many opportunities to help those groups that were most in need of assistance
E)it established ties that were too close to international financiers
Page: 712–713 Difficulty: Hard
22. In the long run, the New Deal had all of the following effects on the economy except
A)creating the rudiments of the American welfare state
B)aiding in the stabilization of the stock market and banking system
C)substantially altering the distribution of wealth in America
D)establishing a power base for various disadvantaged groups to challenge the dominance of corporations
E)directing national attention to the economic condition of the South
Page: 713–715 Difficulty: Medium