Causes of the Great Depression
What economic practice allowed Americans to purchase goods and pay for them over time?
buying on credit
What is a stock?
A share of ownership in a company
Who was the president when the Great Depression began in 1929?
Herbert Hoover
What term describes a period of severe economic decline with widespread unemployment and business failures?
The Great Depression
Why did many farming families leave their homes during the Dust Bowl?
drought, destroyed crops, and financial hardship made it impossible for many families to continue farming?
What was the name given to October 29, 1929, when the stock market dramatically collapsed?
Black Tuesday
Who did H. Hoover initially believe was responsible for helping people struggling during the Great Depression
voluntary cooperation and relying on private organizations
Term describing when businesses produce more goods than consumers can afford to purchase?
overproduction
What was one major problem with the distribution of wealth during the 1920s?
wealth was concentrated among a small percentage of Americans while a majority were working-class families struggled financially.
Event when large numbers of Americans rushed to withdraw their money from banks?
What is a bank run
Which New Deal goal focused on providing immediate assistance to Americans suffering during the Depression?
Answer: What is Relief?
What were the makeshift communities of homeless Americans called during the Great Depression?
Hoovervilles
Identify THREE weaknesses in the American economy during the 1920s that contributed to the Great Depression.
stock speculation, overproduction, and unequal distribution of wealth? (Also accept excessive credit and weak banking practices.)
give 2 reasons the stock market crash hurt ordinary Americans who did not own stocks?
the crash contributed to lost savings, reduced spending, business failures, and unemployment?
What 1935 law created a system of financial assistance for retired workers and certain vulnerable Americans?
Answer: What is the Social Security Act?
What risky investment practice involved borrowing money from a broker to purchase stocks?
buying on margin
Explain 2 reasons the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression made life especially difficult for American farmers.
(Answers will vary) farmers faced falling crop prices, debt, unemployment, drought, soil erosion, crop failures
Give 3 ways the stock market crash and bank runs created a chain reaction that made the Great Depression worse.
Answer: What is investors lost money, people withdrew their savings, banks failed, businesses lost money and credit, and unemployment increased?
How did the New Deal permanently change the relationship between the federal government and American citizens?
Answer: What is the federal government took greater responsibility for regulating the economy and providing economic protections and assistance?
What is the term for the event where widespread fear caused investors to sell their stocks rapidly in 1929?
Panic of 1929 or Black Tuesday