Causes and Effects of the Great Depression

Which economic factor was a major cause of the Great Depression?

• over-speculation of the stock market artificially raising prices

• Increase in business taxes

• Reduction of tariffs on foreign imports

• Creation of the Federal Reserve System

Which of these best describes the Great Depression?

• A time of economic prosperity and lack of government regulations

• A decade of recovering from the hardships of World War I

• A decade where foreign policy decision make the U.S. a world power

• A time of high unemployment, homelessness, and business failures

How does October 29, 1929 mark the end of prosperity and the Roaring Twenties?

• The stock market crashed leading America into a depression

• Herbert Hoover's administration forced regulations on big business

• The Federal Reserve lowered its interest rates to its lowest in history

• Prohibition ended causing fortunes to fall

Which of these best describes the causes of the Dust Bowl?

• Advances in new farming technology and mass production of farm goods

• Poor agricultural practices and long periods of drought

• tropical wind storms and dust from the African Sahara

• Mass migrations westward using auotmobiles

How did the Federal Reserve and the banking system contribute to the outbreak of the Great Depression?

• Regulations on businesses were too tight and stifled growth

• Banks imposed transaction fees on withdrawals causing debt to increase

• New insurance programs lead to massive fraud issues

• Interest rates were too high and too many Americans had large amounts of credit debt

How did bank runs contribute to the outbreak of the Great Depression?

• Interest rates on credit caused a spike in debt causing the housing market to collapse

• Banks failed and closed costing people their savings and faith in the banking system

• Injuries caused by riots lead to many to lose their jobs

• The Federal Reserve did not stock banks with enough gold to handle bank runs

Why did the U.S. government force the repatriation of thousand of people of Mexican ancestry?

• To continue to stop the spread of Communism through immigrants

• To reduce competition for jobs for white Americans

• To prepare for an adjustment of borders after a new treaty

• To fulfill a secret agreement with the Mexican government

What was the purpose of Herbert Hoover's Reconstruction Finance Corporation?

• To create new jobs with infrastructure projects for Americans

• To insure future bank deposits to restore faith in the banking system

• To create government agencies to monitor the economy

• To give loans to banks and businesses to restart the economy

How did the Hawley-Smoot Tariff make the Great Depression worse?

• It decreased the price of goods from other countries

• It slowed down international trade when business needed trade

• It caused unregulated banks to fail

• It triggered panics causing future bank runs

Why were shelters like these called Hoovervilles?

• They were provided by government assistance programs

• They were a product of the Reconstruction Finance Corproation

• People were expressing anger over the President not helping during the Depression

• The President personally helped people build shelters to boost their confidence in government