Quiz: The Great Depression

The Supreme Court declared some New Deal laws unconstitutional because these laws

• 1. overextended the power of the federal government

• 1. forced the federal government into heavy debt

• 1. ignored the rights of minority groups and women

• 1. failed to solve the problems for which they were intended

Which economic factor contributed most directly to the start of the Great Depression? 

• low worker productivity 

  
  

• high income taxes 

  
  

• decreasing tariff rates

  
  

• buying stocks on margin

  
  

During the 1930s, poor land management and severe drought conditions across parts of the Midwest resulted in the

• formation of the United States Department of Agriculture

  
  

• creation of wheat surpluses 

  
  

• growth of the Granger movement 

  
  

• development of Dust Bowl conditions on the Great Plains

  
  

What was a guiding principle of the New Deal economic policies?

• 1. Pro-business tax breaks would solve the problems associated with urban poverty

• Antitrust legislation would destroy the free market economy of the United States.

• 1. Rugged individualism must be allowed to solve social inequality

• 1. Government must assume more responsibility for helping the poor.

One major policy difference between President Herbert Hoover and President Franklin D. Roosevelt was that President Roosevelt

• 1. focused primarily on reducing tariffs

• 1. stressed tax cuts and subsidies for big business

• 1. adopted a laissez-faire philosophy

• 1. proposed direct aid to farmers and the unemployed

The creation of the Tennessee Valley Authority is an example of

• 1. federal intervention to meet regional needs

• 1. state-funded regional transportation

• free-market capitalism

• 1. laissez-faire economics

President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to pack the United States Supreme Court, but Congress did not support him. This situation is an example of

• Congress undermining the separation of powers

• the president using the unwritten constitution

• the use of the system of checks and balances

• how federalism was preserved by one branch of government

During the Great Depression, one way New Deal programs tried to stimulate economic recovery was by

• raising tariff rates

• increasing interest rates

• creating public works jobs

• lowering the minimum wage

The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) were both New Deal programs developed to address the problem of

• excessive stock market speculation

• high unemployment

• increased use of credit

• limited income of senior citizens

Which New Deal agency had the creation of new jobs as its primary goal?

• Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

• Works Progress Administration (WPA)