Welcome!The Topic For Today Is… Great Depression

Great Depression

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Topic 1: 200• Question:• Did the stock market crash of 1929 cause the

Depression?• Answer• “ The stock market crash of 1929 did not so much

cause the Depression, then, as help trigger a chain of events that exposed longstanding weaknesses in the American economy.”

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Topic 1: 400• Question:• What was the purpose of the Reconstruction

Finance Corporation?• Answer• To provide federal loans to troubled banks,

railroads, and other businesses

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Topic 1: 600• Question:• Describe the conditions for blacks during the Depression.• Answer• Many left land either by choice or by being forced off by

landlords• Many moved to southern cities, however unemployed

whites in the urban south believed they had first claims (rights) to all work. In 1932, half of all the African Americans living in the south were unemployed. Limited relief that existed almost always went to whites first

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Topic 1: 800• Question:• What were the 5 main causes of the Great

Depression?• Answer• Lack of diversification• Maldistribution of wealth• Credit structure of the U.S. economy• Declining exports • The collapse of the international credit structure

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Topic 2: 200• Question:• Average summer temperatures (over 100

degrees), over-farming, and a prolonged drought (lasting a decade) were major causes of what event during the Great Depression?

• Answer• The Dust Bowl

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Topic 2: 400• Question:• What did the Republican Party think should be

done about the economy at the start of the Great Depression?

• Answer• Leave it be and it will fix itself

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Topic 2: 600• Question:• How were women affected?• Answer• The Depression strengthened the popular belief “that

a woman’s proper place is in a home.” Most men and many women thought that work should go to men however, single and married women worked in the 1930s because they and their families needed the money. Women lost many Professional positions to men.

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Topic 2: 800• Question:• Describe some of the actions taken by Herbert Hoover during

his presidency.• Answer• The Bonus Army-reaction• Voluntary Cooperation (labor, businesses, and farmers)• Attempted to use government spending at first then began

spending far less • Agricultural marketing act (helped farmers maintain prices,

bought surpluses)• Hawley-Smoot Tariff –designed to protect over 75 farm goods

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Topic 3: 200• Question:• What was the broad coalition of “antifascist”

groups on the political left?• Answer• The Popular Front

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Topic 3: 400• Question:• Where did Hoover believe unemployment

relief should come from?• Answer• It should be provided by local governments

and private charities

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Topic 3: 600• Question:• What characterized popular culture during the

Depression including radio, movies, and literature?

• Answer• There was a sort of escapism which included

upbeat and romantic messages

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Topic 3: 800• Question:• What was the Bonus Army and how did it

contribute to Hoover’s unpopularity?• Answer: WWI vets wanted -1000 bonus which

was passed by congress in 1924 but would not be paid until 1945. Hoover refused their request to pay it now (during the Depression) so they set up camp until Hoover tried chasing them out first with Police, then successfully with the Army.

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Topic 4: 200• Question:• Who was largely blamed by the Americans for

the Depression?• Answer• Herbert Hoover

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Topic 4: 400• Question:• What was the name of the group of young

Americans who travelled to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War against the fascists? (1/3 of its members died in combat)

• Answer• Abraham Lincoln Brigade (this provided an

example of how the left helped to give meaning and purpose to individual lives)

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Topic 4: 600• Question:• What did the election of FDR in 1932 reflect

about American desires for their economy?• Answer• Americans wanted the government to take a

more active role in solving the current economic problems

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Topic 4: 800• Question:• What was the Scottsboro case, and what were the results? • Answer: March 1931, 9 black teenagers arrested for vagrancy

and disorder. Then two white girls accused them of rape. Medical evidence indicated otherwise. These boys quickly were convicted by an all-white Alabama jury and sentenced to death. However, the Supreme Court overturned these convictions and awarded the boys new trials which attracted national attention. None of the all-white southern juries who sat in on these cases acquitted the defendants however, all got their freedom eventually. Four charges were dropped. Four early paroles. One escaped. The last one of the nine was not let out until 1950.

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Topic 5: 200• Question:• How did Hoover’s first term affect his

reelection in 1932?• Answer• It hurt his reputation and resulted in FDR’s

election to the presidency

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Topic 5: 400• Question:• Describe the living conditions for a common

American during the Great Depression.• Answer• Great strains on families• Many families had to retreat from consumer

patterns• Many families informally broke up despite a

decline in divorce rateBack

Topic 5: 600• Question:• How would you describe Hoover’s response to

the Depression?• Answer• He became less willing to increase spending

and he worried more about balancing the budget. (cautious)

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Topic 5: 800• Question: What did J.P. Morgan and Company

as well as other big banks do just prior to “Black Tuesday”?

• Answer: They began conspicuously buying up stocks in order to restore public confidence in the stock market and in the economy.

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