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Causes and Effects of the Great Depression

Total questions: 10

Worksheet time: 5mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

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

a)

over-speculation of the stock market artificially raising prices

b)

Increase in business taxes

c)

Reduction of tariffs on foreign imports

d)

Creation of the Federal Reserve System

2.

Which of these best describes the Great Depression?

a)

A time of economic prosperity and lack of government regulations

b)

A decade of recovering from the hardships of World War I

c)

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

d)

A time of high unemployment, homelessness, and business failures

3.

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

a)

The stock market crashed leading America into a depression

b)

Herbert Hoover's administration forced regulations on big business

c)

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

d)

Prohibition ended causing fortunes to fall

4.

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

a)

Advances in new farming technology and mass production of farm goods

b)

Poor agricultural practices and long periods of drought

c)

tropical wind storms and dust from the African Sahara

d)

Mass migrations westward using auotmobiles

5.

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

a)

Regulations on businesses were too tight and stifled growth

b)

Banks imposed transaction fees on withdrawals causing debt to increase

c)

New insurance programs lead to massive fraud issues

d)

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

6.

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

a)

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

b)

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

c)

Injuries caused by riots lead to many to lose their jobs

d)

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

7.

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

a)

To continue to stop the spread of Communism through immigrants

b)

To reduce competition for jobs for white Americans

c)

To prepare for an adjustment of borders after a new treaty

d)

To fulfill a secret agreement with the Mexican government

8.

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

a)

To create new jobs with infrastructure projects for Americans

b)

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

c)

To create government agencies to monitor the economy

d)

To give loans to banks and businesses to restart the economy

9.

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

a)

It decreased the price of goods from other countries

b)

It slowed down international trade when business needed trade

c)

It caused unregulated banks to fail

d)

It triggered panics causing future bank runs

10.

Why were shelters like these called Hoovervilles?

a)

They were provided by government assistance programs

b)

They were a product of the Reconstruction Finance Corproation

c)

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

d)

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