American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 23: THE GREAT DEPRESSION

Study Questions

1
What caused the stock market boom to get so out of hand? What was the crash like?
2
Which two industries were most responsible for the New Era industry and hence substantially to blame for the Great Depression when they slumped?
3
Why did the slumping industries have trouble selling accumulated inventory?
4
What were the problems with the credit structure of the economy?
5
What impact did international trade and debt factors have on the American economy? What role did U.S. tariff policy play?
6
What happened to the banking system early in the Depression? What role did the Federal Reserve System play?
7
What was the extent of unemployment in the Depression era?
8
To what extent was the Depression a global as well as American episode?
9
Describe the human impact in key industrial cities and on the farms. How effective were local, state, and private relief agencies in meeting the ravages of widespread unemployment?
10
Compare and contrast the impact of the Great Depression on blacks, Hispanics, and Asians with its impact on whites. What demographic shifts occurred in this period?
11
What effect did the Depression have on attitudes about the role of women and the realities of life for women?
12
How did American families adjust to the pressures of hard times?
13
What impact did the Depression have on the traditional success ethic of Americans?
14
How were the hard times reflected in intellectual art and literature?
15
What role did radio play for Depression-era Americans?
16
What American values and interests were reflected in the motion pictures and popular literature of the 1930s?
17
How much allure did such radical movements as communism and socialism have for Americans in the 1930s? What was the "Popular Front" approach and why did it end?
18
How did artists and writers, including those on the political left, shape public perceptions of the human effects of the Depression?
19
What were Herbert Hoover's first approaches to combating the Depression? How effective were they?
20
What was Hoover's new approach to the Depression after mid-1931? What caused his shift in emphasis?
21
What impact did Hoover's handling of the veteran's Bonus March have on his popularity?
22
What made Franklin Roosevelt such an attractive presidential candidate for the Democrats? Why did he win the 1932 election?
23
How did Roosevelt react to Hoover's demand for policy pledges during the "interregnum" of the winter of 1932-1933?
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