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   The Great Depression Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
   The Great Depression Quizzes, Trivia

The Great Depression Trivia

The Great Depression Trivia Quizzes

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8 quizzes and 85 trivia questions.
1.
  The Great Depression Era   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Great Depression lasted for ten years and had a major impact on many people's lives. To what extent are you aware of this terrible period of history?
Average, 10 Qns, Lord_Digby, Jul 08 24
Average
Lord_Digby gold member
Jul 08 24
425 plays
2.
  The Great Depression in America    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This is a very basic quiz about facts about the Depression.
Average, 10 Qns, lotr4swgs, Mar 13 24
Average
lotr4swgs
Mar 13 24
12601 plays
3.
  Test yourself! The Great Depression Quiz    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Do you think you know it all about the Great Depression? Maybe you do, maybe you don't.
Average, 10 Qns, kathryne, May 22 22
Average
kathryne
May 22 22
10119 plays
4.
  Are You Familiar with the New Deal?   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
In order to find a way out of the Great Depression, the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, amid much disagreement and controversy, brought in the New Deal. How much do you know about it?
Average, 15 Qns, busted_forever, Mar 24 23
Average
busted_forever
Mar 24 23
4680 plays
5.
  New Deal Agencies    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In the "New Deal" Franklin Delano Roosevelt offered America, he established a number of agencies abbreviated by letters. Which of those agencies do these letters represent?
Average, 10 Qns, lowtechmaster, Nov 30 19
Average
lowtechmaster
Nov 30 19
647 plays
6.
  The New Deal    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The New Deal attempted to address the hardships of the Great Depression and to add more security into the lives of American citizens.
Average, 10 Qns, Rehaberpro, Aug 25 16
Average
Rehaberpro
455 plays
7.
  A People's History of the Great Depression    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
From the chapter "Self-Help in Hard Times" from Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States". This seemed like an appropriate chapter to pick for the 2009 edition of my People's History quizes.
Average, 10 Qns, triathlonrules, Dec 29 12
Average
triathlonrules
1778 plays
8.
  The Great Depression Programs   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is about the Great Depression programs, which helped the American people get jobs and recover from the Depression. Have fun!
Average, 10 Qns, save_us_y2j, Feb 06 22
Average
save_us_y2j
Feb 06 22
2557 plays
trivia question Quick Question
The WPA was created in 1935 as part of Roosevelt's New Deal and was discontinued in 1943. For what does WPA stand?

From Quiz "New Deal Agencies"





The Great Depression Trivia Questions

1. What Roosevelt New Deal agency was known as the CCC?

From Quiz
New Deal Agencies

Answer: Civilian Conservation Corps

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public works program for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families. It ran from 1933 to 1942. Apart from providing jobs during the Great Depression, it established, among other benefits, a conservation program and projects in every state, building and upgrading parks, planting trees, and building public roadways in remote areas.

2. What does AAA stand for?

From Quiz The Great Depression Programs

Answer: Agricultural Adjustment Act

This program paid farmers *not* to grow certain crops.

3. According to Howard Zinn, in the 1920s one tenth of 1 percent of families received as much income as what percent of all other families?

From Quiz A People's History of the Great Depression

Answer: 42

As Zinn states on page 382, "prosperity was concentrated at the top". This, though, is not a trend unique to the 1920s. The rich versus poor gap also grew in the 2000s.

4. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the "mind" behind the New Deal, won the presidential election in 1932 against which president (who had governed between 1929 and 1933)?

From Quiz Are You Familiar with the New Deal?

Answer: Herbert Hoover

In the 1932 election was a veritable landslide victory for Roosevelt. He in fact won the election with about seven million more votes than Hoover. This was the biggest victory recorded in an American presidential election up to that time.

5. When did the stock market crash occur?

From Quiz The Great Depression in America

Answer: October, 1929

On October 23, the Dow Jones lost an average of 21 points AN HOUR. Thursday October 24, 1929 was called Black Thursday because it was a devastating time for investors who suddenly saw how over-priced their stocks were, and that the market would crash. The Dow Jones continued to fall till July, 1932, when it 'bottomed out' at around 48 points.

6. When did the Great Depression begin in the USA?

From Quiz The Great Depression Era

Answer: 1929

The much-feared stock market crash eventually materialised on October 24, 1929, as frightened investors started liquidating massive quantities of expensive shares of stock. On "Black Thursday," a record 12.9 million shares were exchanged. Five days later, on October 29, popularly referred to as "Black Tuesday," about 16 million shares were moved as a result of yet another wave of panic that rocked Wall Street. Millions of shares lost all of their value, completely ruining investors who had purchased shares with borrowed money. The stock market plummeted for a number of reasons. The United States' economy grew quickly following the end of World War I due to the production of steel, automobiles, and social advancements; the stock market also advanced quickly during this time. There were lots of jobs available. That era is now referred to as the "Roaring Twenties." Not everyone, though, felt the advantages. By 1929 many products were sold at a loss because of overstock, which was caused by overproduction on the part of farmers and steel and iron companies, as well as overinflated shares prices. Share prices then began to fall, and this was the start of the Great Depression.

7. What Roosevelt New Deal agency is known as the FDIC?

From Quiz New Deal Agencies

Answer: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The FDIC is an independent agency created by the Banking Act (1933). It provides insurance for each deposit ownership category up to a specified amount. It is funded only by premiums that financial institutions pay for deposit insurance and by U.S. Treasury securities earnings.

8. Which program employed men and women to build hospitals, schools, parks and airports?

From Quiz The Great Depression Programs

Answer: Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration also hired musicians, artists and writers.

9. What was the name of the president who created the "New Deal"?

From Quiz The Great Depression

Answer: Franklin Roosevelt

The president was Franklin Roosevelt, who created the "New Deal" in an attempt to alleviate the Depression.

10. Franklin D. Roosevelt belonged to which political party?

From Quiz Are You Familiar with the New Deal?

Answer: Democrats

As a democrat, FDR believed that government should have taken an active role and interfered in people's lives to prevent the rich benefiting at the expense of the poor. Up to that moment, Hoover had governed under Republican ideas (the "Rugged Individualism" belief), and by not interfering in a moment of crisis such as the Great Depression, he became more and more unpopular among the people. This is one of the reasons why Roosevelt won the elections.

11. Who was the US president when the Great Depression began?

From Quiz The Great Depression Era

Answer: Herbert Hoover

Many people attributed Coolidge's policy choices for the country's economic collapse. Given that thousands of farmers lost their properties and almost 5,000 rural banks in the Midwest and South declared bankruptcy, it appears that his failure to support the struggling agricultural industry was misguided. His tax cuts fueled the overproduction of goods and the unequal distribution of wealth. Herbert Hoover took over from Coolidge and ran as the 31st President of the United States between 1929 and 1933. He was a Republican who was the head of the government at the start of the Great Depression. Between 1931 and the winter of 1932, bank runs once more ravaged the country, and thousands of banks had closed by the beginning of 1933. Hoover's administration attempted to provide government loans to failing banks and other organisations in response to this grave scenario. The idea was that the banks would then lend to businesses, allowing the latter to rehire their staff. Hoover, who had previously held the position of Secretary of Commerce for the United States, held the view that the government had no business becoming involved in the economy directly, nor should it be responsible for generating jobs or helping its citizens out financially.

12. The Civil Works Administration (CWA) was a short lived program, yet in retrospect was one of the most successful. It began in November 1933 and was terminated in March 1934. What was the main reason for its demise?

From Quiz The New Deal

Answer: Too costly

The CWA was created by emergency act and with a short term goal of helping the nation through the winter of 1933-34. Harry Hopkins was appointed director. The goal was to pay competitive wages to participants from professional engineers to unskilled labor. About four million workers benefitted from the program. The CWA's workers laid 12 million feet of sewer pipes, built or improved 255,000 miles of roads, 40,000 schools, 3,700 playgrounds, and nearly 1,000 airports. They also found time to upgrade 250,000 outhouses in rural areas. However, the cost of the program was nearly a billion dollars (about eighteen billion in today's economy). When Roosevelt realized the cost, he moved swiftly to end it and develop less expensive alternatives.

13. What Roosevelt New Deal agency is abbreviated as FHA?

From Quiz New Deal Agencies

Answer: Federal Housing Administration

The FHA was established as part of the National Housing Act of 1934. It sets standards for construction and underwriting, and provides mortgage insurance to individuals for loans made by financial institutions.

14. What did people call the shanty towns, in which the hobos and poor people lived?

From Quiz The Great Depression

Answer: Hoovervilles

These "towns" were called Hoovervilles, also known as "cardboard jungles". Other items were named after him too, such as "Hoover Blankets" which were newspapers that served as blankets.

15. This was one of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first promises to the American people?

From Quiz Are You Familiar with the New Deal?

Answer: Action, and action now.

"Prosperity is just around the corner" was said by Hoover, poor little man, who didn't believe that the Depression would last long, so he did nothing to help the people, who were suffering. One of the banners carried in a demonstration read: "In Hoover we trusted, and now we are busted!".

16. By how much did the prices of industrial stocks fall from 1930 to 1933?

From Quiz The Great Depression Era

Answer: 80 percent

Overinflated shares prices and the selling of shares at a loss was the main cause of the financial collapse. Between 1930 and 1933, industrial equity values fell by over eighty percent. Both ordinary investors and banks lost substantial amounts of money in the stock market. A large number of other people who were unable to pay back their bank loans were also impacted. As the recession worsened, many were forced to withdraw their money. The withdrawals occurred during a period when banks were finding it extremely challenging to collect on a variety of loans. From January 1930 to March 1933, almost nine thousand banks failed. The bank collapses resulted in millions of individuals losing their savings.

17. For what Roosevelt New Deal agency does NLRB stand?

From Quiz New Deal Agencies

Answer: National Labor Relations Board

The NLRB, established in 1935, is an independent government agency that is charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and dealing with and resolving unfair labor practices.

18. What did the Fair Labor Standards Act do?

From Quiz The Great Depression Programs

Answer: It was the first minimum wage Act

The first minimum wage was $0.25 per hour.

19. Zinn discusses John Galbraith, who studied the reasons behind the speculation leading to the crash in 1929. What did he say was behind the speculation?

From Quiz A People's History of the Great Depression

Answer: the economy was fundamentally unsound

Accoring to Zinn (p386), Galbraith further points to "very unhealthy corporate and banking structures, an unsound foreign trade, much economic misinformation, and the bad distribution of income".

20. What were the shanty towns called in Indianapolis, Indiana?

From Quiz The Great Depression

Answer: Curtisvilles

They were named after the vice-president, Curtis.

21. Franklin D. Roosevelt was indeed a smart man, but he didn't come up with the programme for the New Deal all by himself. He worked with a panel of experts called the _______ .

From Quiz Are You Familiar with the New Deal?

Answer: Brain Trust

Since conditions in the USA were terrible, Roosevelt asked for extra powers in order to act quickly. The Congress organised a special session which lasted for 100 days (8 March - 16 June 1933) and gave Roosevelt the same authority as if the country was being invaded.

22. By far the most popular program of the New Deal was the Civilian Conservation Corps. It had both political and grassroots support. What historical event brought the CCC in an end?

From Quiz The New Deal

Answer: World War Two

When US participation in World War Two started, the nation adopted military conscription. Ironically, the same population group that formed the nucleus of the CCC were also a target group to be drafted, that is, young males and unemployed. In addition, Roosevelt asked all federal agencies to reorganize their priorities to abet the war effort. From 1933 to 1942 the CCC was a haven for young, unemployed single men, The CCC primarily worked on ecological and conservation issues. They served six month assignments and were provided with housing and meals and paid 30 dollars a month, of which 25 dollars was allocated to their families. They worked 40 hours a week and 10 of those hours were devoted to education as few had finished high school.

23. The initials SEC stand for what federal agency established as part of Roosevelt's New Deal?

From Quiz New Deal Agencies

Answer: Securities and Exchange Commission

The SEC was established in 1934. It is a federal agency charged with enforcing federal securities laws, regulating the securities industry, and proposing rules and regulations for securities.

24. Which program provided jobs for young men to plant trees and build bridges?

From Quiz The Great Depression Programs

Answer: Civilian Conservation Corps

This program was similar to the Civil Works Administration, which created jobs for improving and constructing bridges.

25. Who stated in 1931 "the average man won't do a day's work unless he is caught and cannot get out of it. There is plenty of work to do if people would do it". He than proceeded less than a week later to lay off 75,000 of his employees.

From Quiz A People's History of the Great Depression

Answer: Henry Ford

However, in many ways Ford was better than many to his workers. He started the 40 hour work week and believed in hiring quality employees and paying them well in order to keep them (Zinn, p. 387).

26. The New Deal program had three main aims, which were what?

From Quiz Are You Familiar with the New Deal?

Answer: Relief, Recovery, Reform

"Relief" was aimed at relieving extreme poverty (i.e. feeding the hungry and clothing the poor). "Recovery" meant getting USA industry going again. "Reform" concerned making the USA a better place for ordinary people to live in.

27. What name was given to regions that got hit by severe drought and dust storms in the US?

From Quiz The Great Depression Era

Answer: Dust Bowls

There were two reasons for the Dust Bowl. In an attempt to boost food production, the Great Plains saw the conversion of huge tracts of land that had been covered with grasses, which served to retain moisture in the topsoil and hold the soil in place, to farmland. Farmers were able to plant a large area during this period of time thanks to the availability of tractors and other mechanical agricultural equipment. Due to increased demand, cattle and crops saw high prices during World War I. Production did not change after World War I, but demand did. The surpluses caused a decline in prices. Farmers, who were already struggling, saw their situation worsen when the severe weather arrived, with livestock dying and crops not growing. With his "New Deal," which paid farmers to reduce output in order to raise agricultural prices, Franklin Roosevelt did try to assist, but the lack of rain between 1934 and 1936 made things much worse for farm families.

28. Given the short life on the Civil Works Administration (CWA), what New Deal program replaced it?

From Quiz The New Deal

Answer: Works Progress Administration (WPA)

The WPA became the cornerstone of New Deal work programs. There are few areas where the WPA did not have an effect such as post offices, airports, roads, and sidewalks. Many of these are gone as time and progress has taken its toll. From 1935 to 1942 eight million people worked for the WPA, the peak being 1938 with 3.3 million workers. World War Two reduced the need for federal work programs. My father had to quit school at 16 to help support his family. The WPA was his first real job. He earned 18 dollars a week, enough to pay the rent and put food on the table. He worked in war plants during WW2 but entered the building trades in the post war era and became a union leader.

29. For what does SSA stand? (It is a major agency that Roosevelt's New Deal created.)

From Quiz New Deal Agencies

Answer: Social Security Administration

The SSA, formed by the Social Security Act passed in 1935 and amended many times since then, covers many programs such as retirement, disability benefits, and Medicare.

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