Causes of the Great Depression
What event in October 1929 caused a dramatic drop in stock prices and helped trigger the Great Depression?
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 (Black Tuesday).
What environmental disaster struck the Great Plains during the 1930s?
The Dust Bowl.
What were shantytowns built by homeless Americans during the Depression called?
Hoovervilles.
What president was in office when the Great Depression began?
Herbert Hoover.
What was the name of FDR's collection of programs designed to fight the Great Depression?
The New Deal.
What economic practice involved purchasing stocks with borrowed money, hoping their prices would increase?
Buying on margin.
What agricultural practice contributed to the Dust Bowl by removing the natural grasses that held soil in place?
Overplowing and overfarming.
What happened to unemployment rates during the Great Depression?
Unemployment increased dramatically, reaching approximately 25% in 1933.
What philosophy did Herbert Hoover believe in, emphasizing that individuals and businesses should help themselves rather than rely on government assistance?
Rugged Individualism.
What New Deal program provided jobs for young men working on conservation projects such as planting trees and building parks?
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC).
What economic problem occurred when businesses produced more goods than consumers could afford to purchase?
Overproduction.
What region of the United States was most severely affected by the Dust Bowl?
The Great Plains, particularly Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, and New Mexico.
What term describes the movement of thousands of Americans, especially from the Great Plains, to other regions in search of jobs and better living conditions?
Migration of Dust Bowl refugees, including the Okies, to states such as California.
What was the name of the 1932 protest in which World War I veterans demanded early payment of their military bonuses?
The Bonus Army.
What New Deal program created jobs building roads, schools, bridges, and other public projects?
Works Progress Administration (WPA).
How did buying on credit and overextension of credit contribute to the Great Depression?
Consumers could not repay their debts, businesses lost customers, and spending declined.
What were the major economic consequences of the Dust Bowl for farmers and agricultural communities?
Crop failures, loss of farmland, financial hardship, and widespread farm abandonment.
Why did many Americans establish Hoovervilles during the Great Depression?
People lost their homes and jobs and built makeshift communities because they could not afford housing.
What government organization did Hoover create to provide emergency loans to banks, railroads, and other businesses?
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC).
What New Deal program paid farmers to reduce production in order to raise crop prices?
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA).
Identify TWO additional causes of the Great Depression besides the stock market crash and explain how they contributed to the economic collapse.
Possible answers: bank failures, laissez-faire policies, high tariffs, overextension of credit, overproduction in agriculture and manufacturing, and excessive consumerism. Students must explain two.
How did the Dust Bowl create both geographic and social impacts, including migration and changes to communities?
Soil erosion and dust storms damaged farmland, displaced families, and caused migration to western states, especially California.
How did mass unemployment affect American families and the overall economy during the Great Depression?
Families lost income, homes, and savings. Consumer spending declined, businesses closed, and poverty increased.
How did Franklin D. Roosevelt's approach to the Great Depression differ from Herbert Hoover's approach?
Hoover favored limited direct federal assistance and voluntary cooperation, while Roosevelt expanded federal intervention through relief, recovery, and reform programs.
Identify TWO New Deal programs and explain whether each focused primarily on relief, recovery, or reform.
Answers vary. Examples: CCC = relief; WPA = relief; AAA = recovery; SEC = reform; Social Security = reform.