1. Prior to the Great Depression, why was the railroad industry not as profitable as it had been?
Because new forms of transportation (e.g. cars) were in competition with railroads.
2. Name the 3 main causes of the Great Depression.
1) Increased productivity without an increase in buying power 2) excessive stock speculation and 3) the growing gap between the rich and poor.
3. What was the main effect of the Great Depression on city life?
Many people lost their jobs and were evicted from their homes.
4. Which event in history is seen by many people as the beginning of the Great Depression?
The stock market crash on 10/29/29
5. What was the most significant impact on the crash of the stock market in the United States in 1929?
Overproduction of consumer goods
6. Why was President Hoover criticized following the stock market crash in 1929?
Because he waited for the economy to come out of the Depression
7. Which US ethnic group had the highest rate of unemployment during the Great Depression?
African Americans
8. What US President were the urban slums of the Great Depression named after? What were they called?
Herbert Hoover
Describe "Hoovervilles".
Shantytowns in which homeless families lived during the Great Depression
10. How did the bank runs of the 1920's contribute to the decline of the nation's economy?
They caused many banks to close and created a greater shortage of money
11. What was the Dust Bowl?
An ecological situation that affected US farm production during the Depression.
12. What was FDR's opinion of the government's role in unemployment?
That the government should be actively involved in addressing unemployment
13. The changes that FDR began implementing immediately after his inauguration are known as the ?
New Deal
14. Describe the New Deal.
It was initiated by FDR and helped the country to recuperate from the Great Depression. It also greatly increased the size and importance of the national government.
15. By supporting the New Deal, the US government showed its willingness to ?
Become more involved in the direction of the US economy
16. Which New Deal agency instituted a reforestation program intended to prevent another Dust Bowl?
Civilian Conservation Corps
17. What was the role of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)?
To provide electrical power to an underdeveloped region of the US
18. What was the major purpose of the FDIC in the 1930's?
To strengthen consumer confidence in the banking system
19. The purpose of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) was ?
To regulate the sale of stocks and oversee the disclosure of information on stocks being sold.
20. What was the role of the Rural Electrification Act?
Most of the rural areas of the Southeast received electricity
21. What was the Social Security program?
Workers pay into a fund run by the government and retired workers over 65 are paid a pension from this fund
22. What is the legacy of FDR's administration?
The New Deal
23. What effect did the Wagner Act have?
It led to the growth and legitimacy of labor unions.
24. A major cause of World War 2 was ?
The failure of the League of Nations to stop the aggressive behavior of some countries (e.g. Germany)
25. At the beginning of both World War I and World War II, the initial policy of the United States was to ?
To remain neutral
26. The term used to describe the willingness of Britain and France to allow Hitler to repeatedly break provisions of the Treaty of Versailles is ?
Appeasement
27. Describe the "St. Louis incident" of 1939
A ship full of German refugees that were denied entrance to Cuba and the US
28. The annexation of Czechoslovakia, the non-Aggression Pact with Russia, the invasion of Poland and blitzkrieg were all causes of ?
World War 2
29. The United States became involved in World War II primarily because of events in what area of the world?
The Pacific
30. "Rosie the Riveter" was a symbol of what?
Women's new role in the US workforce during the war
31. What was the next major event of World War II after D-Day?
VE (Victory in Europe) Day
32. The following describes ?
Kristallnacht
33. During World War 2, what group of Americans were often denied their liberty and their property?
Japanese Americans
34. The "Big Three" refers to ?
FDR, Stalin and Churchill
35. The creation of the United Nations was a major result of ?
World War 2
Approximately how many non-Jewish civilians were killed in World War 2?
@ least 5 million (estimates are between 5 & 6 million)