APUSH Period 7 Test Part 2 UPDATED
ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORRECT
Answers
What were the underlying causes of the Great Depression - CORRECT ANSWER --
Agricultural overproduction: farmers producing more crops thn the market could/bad weather
absorb, leading to falling prices & debt
-Stock market speculation (over expansion of credit): Investors heavily invest in stocks w
borrowed money (buying on margin - base purchases around predictions around changing prices)
creating inflated market vulnerable to collapse
-Weak bank sys: poorly regulated & susceptible to panic withdrawals = bank failures (NO
INSURANCE)
-Unequal wealth distribution: majority of wealth concentrated in hands of small percentage of
pop, limiting consumer spending; wages inc compared to big busi
-Smoot-Hawley Tariff: Significantly inc tariffs on imported goods, hindering international trade;
Nations more ind bc of the war
-Tariff & protectionist economic policies: gov failed 2 reg busi & eco, producing more thn we
can use (automation & overprod in industry --> more pop & lower wages)
What were the effects of the Great Depression? - CORRECT ANSWER - -High
unemployment: job loss (up to 25% out by 1933)
-Eco decline: drop in consumer spending, industrial prod, eco activity = decline in national
income
-Bank failures: bankruptcies bc of defaults on loans = loss of ppl's saving
-Busi failures: bankruptcies bc of eco contraction
-Poverty/Homelessness: Hoovervilles (shanty towns)
-Social unrest: inc crime rates, protests, dissatisfaction w existing political systems
-Deflation: Prices of goods & services fell sharply as demand shrank, leading to vicious cycle of
falling wages, prices, inc debt burdens
-MIGRATION: ppl esp from rural areas migrate 4 work (Dust Bowl migrants 2 Cali)
-Rise of GOV intervention: new policies 2 stimulate eco (NEW DEAL) --> relief, recovery,
reform w public works programs, financial regulations, social safety nets
,-Global trade decline: int trade down as tariffs iposed 2 protec own industries (worsened depre);
growing nationalist movements & facism
-Arts & culture rise (documentary photography, literature like Grapes of W)
How did President Hoover attempt to fight the Depression? - CORRECT ANSWER - At
first, limited approach/self-sufficiency for eco (would correct itself over time) (reluctant to
provide fed relief directly 2 individuals 2 not undermine self reliance & tht local gov should b
main providers of aid) (tries to project optimism --> temporary downturn)
1) Public works & infrastructure projects: (Construction of roads, schools, bridges 2 stimulate
jobs & eco) --> Hoover dam helps prov jobs, generate hydroelec pwr, water management
2) Emergency relief & loans: Reconstruction Finance Corporation - 1932; designed 2 prov
emergency loans to banks, RRs, oth large businesses 2 prev them from collapsing (hoped 2
restore confidence in financial sys & stimulate economic recovery); Federal Home Loan Act -
1932; Law 2 lower cost of homeownership & help prev foreclosures by providing loans 2 banks
& savings institutions 2 support home & mortgages
3) Tariffs & trade policies: Smoot-Hawley Tariff 1930 - raised tariffs on imported goods 2
protect Amer businesses & farmers from foreign competition = steep decline in int trade tht
worsened global eco
4) Voluntary cooperation & busi community: Hoover called on busi 2 maintain wages &
emplyment lvls 4 workers to refrain from striking - encourages local gov 2 inc public works
spending & for charities 2 prov relief; national Business Survey Conference (1930) - organized
conf 2 busi leaders hoping 2 avoid layoffs & wage cuts, but voluntary cooperation approach
largely failed as crisi worsened
5) Agricultural Marketing Act 1929 (Created Federal Farm Board 2 stabilize farm prices - help
farmers buy & store surplus crops 2 raise prices
What was a Hooverville? - CORRECT ANSWER - Makeshift shantytowns built by
homeless ppl named af Hoover who was blamed 4 the eco collapse & suffering it caused even
tho it began b4 he took office (pub's frustration w Hoover's inability to effectively address crisis)
-Homelessness became widespread as unemployment rose = those who can afford rent built own
homes in abandoned lots, parks, outskirts of cities, etc (made typically of scrap materials)
-Poorly constructed often shacks, tents, cardboard boxes (scavenged from abandoned
buildings/trash heaps)
, -Overcrowded w families, unsanitary, lacked basic amenities (running wtr, heating), disease
common
-Mostly in NY, Chicago, D.C. (largest was Bonus Army march 1932)
What was the Dust Bowl? How did it affect literature (ex. Steinbeck's work) and wider American
culture? - CORRECT ANSWER - Nickname for Great Plains region hit by dust storms
from drought (low rainfall dried out soil making it loose & easily carried by wind), poor farming
practices (farmers plow up millions of acres of grass to plant wheat removing natural vegetation
tht held soil in place), and high winds (strong winds create massive dust storms covering homes,
machinery, livestock making farming impossible)
-Caused Black Sunday Apr 14 1935; turned daylight to darkness (day into dark as clouds spread
Oklahoma, TX, Kansas, Colorado, N Mex)
-Farmers lose livelihoods & many go bankrupt
-Dust pneumonia = lung cond from breathing in dust
-Over 2.5 mil ppl aka Okies left Great Plains moving to CA 4 work
-Worsened Great Depr as farms failed & food shortage inc
What concerns were addressed during FDR's Hundred Days? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1)
Bank Holiday & Emergency Banking Act 1933 - Temp closed all banks 2 prev further bank runs
& allowed passage of EBRA thth provided 4 inspection of banks & reopening of sound ones &
gave gov authority 2 prov fed loans 2 banks in trouble
-Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Glass-Steagall Act 1933 creates FDIC tht insured
deposits in banks up to $5,000 aiming 2 restore trust in the banking system & protect depositors
from losing their savings if bank failed
2) Civilian Conservation Corps created 2 prov jobs in projects such as reforestations, flood contr,
& park dev; aimed 2 reduce unemployment & improve nation's infrastructure
-Fed Emergency Relief Administration led by Harry Hopkins prov fed funds 2 state & local gov
2 prov direct relief 2 unemployed, inc food, shelter, work programs
-Public Works Administration led by Harold Ickes funds large-scale pub works projects like
highways, bridges, schools
3) Agricultural Adjustment Act sought 2 raise farm prices by reducing surpluses; paid farmers 2
reduce crop prod & livestock 2 stabilize the agri market (faced criticism & later ruled unconstit
but stabilized farm prices & income)
ACTUAL Exam Questions and CORRECT
Answers
What were the underlying causes of the Great Depression - CORRECT ANSWER --
Agricultural overproduction: farmers producing more crops thn the market could/bad weather
absorb, leading to falling prices & debt
-Stock market speculation (over expansion of credit): Investors heavily invest in stocks w
borrowed money (buying on margin - base purchases around predictions around changing prices)
creating inflated market vulnerable to collapse
-Weak bank sys: poorly regulated & susceptible to panic withdrawals = bank failures (NO
INSURANCE)
-Unequal wealth distribution: majority of wealth concentrated in hands of small percentage of
pop, limiting consumer spending; wages inc compared to big busi
-Smoot-Hawley Tariff: Significantly inc tariffs on imported goods, hindering international trade;
Nations more ind bc of the war
-Tariff & protectionist economic policies: gov failed 2 reg busi & eco, producing more thn we
can use (automation & overprod in industry --> more pop & lower wages)
What were the effects of the Great Depression? - CORRECT ANSWER - -High
unemployment: job loss (up to 25% out by 1933)
-Eco decline: drop in consumer spending, industrial prod, eco activity = decline in national
income
-Bank failures: bankruptcies bc of defaults on loans = loss of ppl's saving
-Busi failures: bankruptcies bc of eco contraction
-Poverty/Homelessness: Hoovervilles (shanty towns)
-Social unrest: inc crime rates, protests, dissatisfaction w existing political systems
-Deflation: Prices of goods & services fell sharply as demand shrank, leading to vicious cycle of
falling wages, prices, inc debt burdens
-MIGRATION: ppl esp from rural areas migrate 4 work (Dust Bowl migrants 2 Cali)
-Rise of GOV intervention: new policies 2 stimulate eco (NEW DEAL) --> relief, recovery,
reform w public works programs, financial regulations, social safety nets
,-Global trade decline: int trade down as tariffs iposed 2 protec own industries (worsened depre);
growing nationalist movements & facism
-Arts & culture rise (documentary photography, literature like Grapes of W)
How did President Hoover attempt to fight the Depression? - CORRECT ANSWER - At
first, limited approach/self-sufficiency for eco (would correct itself over time) (reluctant to
provide fed relief directly 2 individuals 2 not undermine self reliance & tht local gov should b
main providers of aid) (tries to project optimism --> temporary downturn)
1) Public works & infrastructure projects: (Construction of roads, schools, bridges 2 stimulate
jobs & eco) --> Hoover dam helps prov jobs, generate hydroelec pwr, water management
2) Emergency relief & loans: Reconstruction Finance Corporation - 1932; designed 2 prov
emergency loans to banks, RRs, oth large businesses 2 prev them from collapsing (hoped 2
restore confidence in financial sys & stimulate economic recovery); Federal Home Loan Act -
1932; Law 2 lower cost of homeownership & help prev foreclosures by providing loans 2 banks
& savings institutions 2 support home & mortgages
3) Tariffs & trade policies: Smoot-Hawley Tariff 1930 - raised tariffs on imported goods 2
protect Amer businesses & farmers from foreign competition = steep decline in int trade tht
worsened global eco
4) Voluntary cooperation & busi community: Hoover called on busi 2 maintain wages &
emplyment lvls 4 workers to refrain from striking - encourages local gov 2 inc public works
spending & for charities 2 prov relief; national Business Survey Conference (1930) - organized
conf 2 busi leaders hoping 2 avoid layoffs & wage cuts, but voluntary cooperation approach
largely failed as crisi worsened
5) Agricultural Marketing Act 1929 (Created Federal Farm Board 2 stabilize farm prices - help
farmers buy & store surplus crops 2 raise prices
What was a Hooverville? - CORRECT ANSWER - Makeshift shantytowns built by
homeless ppl named af Hoover who was blamed 4 the eco collapse & suffering it caused even
tho it began b4 he took office (pub's frustration w Hoover's inability to effectively address crisis)
-Homelessness became widespread as unemployment rose = those who can afford rent built own
homes in abandoned lots, parks, outskirts of cities, etc (made typically of scrap materials)
-Poorly constructed often shacks, tents, cardboard boxes (scavenged from abandoned
buildings/trash heaps)
, -Overcrowded w families, unsanitary, lacked basic amenities (running wtr, heating), disease
common
-Mostly in NY, Chicago, D.C. (largest was Bonus Army march 1932)
What was the Dust Bowl? How did it affect literature (ex. Steinbeck's work) and wider American
culture? - CORRECT ANSWER - Nickname for Great Plains region hit by dust storms
from drought (low rainfall dried out soil making it loose & easily carried by wind), poor farming
practices (farmers plow up millions of acres of grass to plant wheat removing natural vegetation
tht held soil in place), and high winds (strong winds create massive dust storms covering homes,
machinery, livestock making farming impossible)
-Caused Black Sunday Apr 14 1935; turned daylight to darkness (day into dark as clouds spread
Oklahoma, TX, Kansas, Colorado, N Mex)
-Farmers lose livelihoods & many go bankrupt
-Dust pneumonia = lung cond from breathing in dust
-Over 2.5 mil ppl aka Okies left Great Plains moving to CA 4 work
-Worsened Great Depr as farms failed & food shortage inc
What concerns were addressed during FDR's Hundred Days? - CORRECT ANSWER - 1)
Bank Holiday & Emergency Banking Act 1933 - Temp closed all banks 2 prev further bank runs
& allowed passage of EBRA thth provided 4 inspection of banks & reopening of sound ones &
gave gov authority 2 prov fed loans 2 banks in trouble
-Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - Glass-Steagall Act 1933 creates FDIC tht insured
deposits in banks up to $5,000 aiming 2 restore trust in the banking system & protect depositors
from losing their savings if bank failed
2) Civilian Conservation Corps created 2 prov jobs in projects such as reforestations, flood contr,
& park dev; aimed 2 reduce unemployment & improve nation's infrastructure
-Fed Emergency Relief Administration led by Harry Hopkins prov fed funds 2 state & local gov
2 prov direct relief 2 unemployed, inc food, shelter, work programs
-Public Works Administration led by Harold Ickes funds large-scale pub works projects like
highways, bridges, schools
3) Agricultural Adjustment Act sought 2 raise farm prices by reducing surpluses; paid farmers 2
reduce crop prod & livestock 2 stabilize the agri market (faced criticism & later ruled unconstit
but stabilized farm prices & income)
