Causes of the Great Depression
What event on October 29, 1929, triggered the Great Depression?
The Stock Market Crash (“Black Tuesday”)
What nickname was given to shanty towns built by homeless Americans?
Hoovervilles
What were the “Three Rs” of the New Deal?
Relief, Recovery, Reform
What environmental disaster hit the Great Plains during the 1930s?
The Dust Bowl
What New Deal agency built national parks and employed young men outdoors?
CCC
Civilian Conservation Corps
What practice of buying goods and stocks on borrowed money worsened the economic collapse? (Hint 2 names for this)
Buying on credit and margin trading
What did Americans call newspapers they used as blankets?
Hoover Blankets
What was the purpose of FDR’s “Fireside Chats”?
To reassure the public and restore confidence
Migrant farmers escaping the Dust Bowl were often called what?
Okies
What program hired artists, writers, and actors to work on public projects?
WPA
Works Progress Administration
What happened when banks ran out of money during the Depression?
They failed and depositors lost their savings
What government project did Hoover authorize that provided jobs and electricity?
Hoover Dam
What program created jobs building dams and generating electricity in the South?
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Name 2 things people did for entertainment during the 1930s to escape reality?
Watched movies, listened to radio/music, read books
What act set minimum wage, maximum hours, and child labor rules?
Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)
What U.S. tariff worsened the Depression by cutting off world trade?
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
What group of WWI veterans marched on Washington in 1932 demanding early payment of their bonuses?
Bonus Army
What 1935 act created pensions for retirees and unemployment insurance?
Social Security Act
DAILY DOUBLE
What was FDR’s controversial plan to add more justices to the Supreme Court called? How many Supreme court Justices are there in 2025?
Court-Packing Plan
9
He wanted to add 6 more for a total of 15
What criticism did conservatives have of the New Deal?
It expanded government too much / too close to socialism
What percentage of the U.S. workforce was unemployed by 1932?
25% (13 million people)
What was Hoover’s main belief about fixing the Depression?
Voluntary charity and limited government intervention
What 1933 act insured bank deposits to restore faith in the banking system?
FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
What novel by John Steinbeck depicted the struggles of Dust Bowl migrants?
The Grapes of Wrath
What event finally ended the Great Depression?
U.S. entry into World War II