Worksheet Answers: Economist s Worksheet:

Transcription

1 Economist s Worksheet: Worksheet Answers: 1) How were Americans buying so many automobiles and household appliances during the Roaring Twenties? They were borrowing the money. 2) The mechanization of manufacturing increased the average worker s wages by 8 percent while increasing business profits by 65 percent? 3) The imbalance between the rich and the poor, with 0.1 percent of society earning the same total income as 42 percent, combined with production of more and more goods and rising personal debt, could not be sustained. 4) What is the stock market? In the 1920's many people invested money in the Stock Market. The Stock Market is the how companies raise money to get started and, later, to grow larger. Companies sell shares of stock. 5) What is the purpose of shares of stock? A person who buys the share of stock is buying a part of that company. The person holding shares can make profits if the company makes money or lose money if the company does not do well. 6) What happened on October 24, 1929? On October 24, stock prices began to fall and brokers began to sell. By noon, millions of shares had been sold. The selling frenzy continued all afternoon. By closing, 13 million shares had been traded and the market dropped four billion dollars. People who had invested their entire life savings during the boom were now bankrupt. Many banks and businesses were forced to close. But the worst was yet to come. 7) What happened on October 29, 1929? What name was given for this day? On October 29, later nicknamed "Black Tuesday," the stock market crashed. 8) On October 29 th, the market fell over _14 billion dollars. By comparison, the entire budget of the U.S. Government that year was 3 billion dollars.

2 9) List four reasons for the Wall Street crash linked to overproduction. Companies were producing too many goods. American goods could not be sold abroad because other countries had put tariffs (taxes) on them to make them more expensive. When the demand for goods began to fall, workers' wages were cut and some workers became unemployed, which meant that they could no longer afford to buy the new consumer goods. Farmers could not afford to buy the new consumer goods. 10) Explain six reasons linked to money and the stock market that led to the Wall Street Crash. a. People were allowed to borrow too much money and they could not afford to pay it back. b. People had taken out loans or invested their savings in the stock market, but there were too few controls on the buying and selling of shares. c. The US President had not taken any notice of what was going on; he just left the businesses and banks to themselves. d. Advertising and hire purchase agreements were not controlled, and this encouraged people to spend more. e. Too many people thought that share prices could only go up, which encouraged them to invest more than they could afford in the stock market. f. Banks did not have enough money in reserve to help businesses that were in trouble. This was because they had lent too much money but now the banks were facing difficulties because people could not afford to repay their loans. 11) Why were farmers having trouble selling their crops? With unemployment rising throughout America, people could no longer afford to buy the farmers' produce, even at low prices.

3 Historian s worksheet: 1) Farm income fell some 50 percent. By 1932 approximately one out of every four Americans was unemployed. 2) February 1931 Food riots begin to break out in parts of the U.S. Resentment of foreign workers increases along with unemployment rolls. In Los Angeles, California, Mexican Americans found themselves being accused of stealing jobs from "real" Americans. During the month, over 6,000 of them were deported. 3) About 250,000 young people were homeless in the early years of the Depression. Many became _nomads, traveling the highways and railways. 4) 20% of America's children were hungry and without proper clothing. In some coal mining regions, the percentage of malnourished children reached as high as 90%. Children went without shoes and warm clothes for the winter. 5) The drought that helped cripple agriculture in the Great Depression was the worst in the climatological history of the country. By 1934 it had desiccated the Great Plains, from North Dakota to Texas, from the Mississippi River Valley to the Rockies. Vast dust storms swept the region. 6) Construction all but stopped. Even established industries, like railroads and publishing, failed. Many unskilled laborers were turned out of work, white-collar workers fell into the ranks of the unemployed masses, and even the professional class was hit by this tragedy. One out of three Brooklyn doctors went out of business. Six out of seven architects had to find other means of employment to support themselves and their families. 7) Unemployment rose, homelessness increased, and soup kitchens and bread queues became a familiar sight in American cities, but still Hoover did very little to help. He believed in 'rugged individualism' (people should look after themselves and stand on their own two feet). He appealed to businesses and charities to do what they could to help.

4 8) Hoovervilles were the names given to the areas where homeless people lived in shacks that they had built out of wood, boxes and any other materials that they had managed to find on dumps. Due to unemployment or the loss of life savings, these people could no longer afford to pay their mortgages or rent. They had lost their homes and now had nowhere to live. The fact that these areas were called Hoovervilles shows what the people thought of President Hoover. They even called the newspapers that they covered themselves to sleep with Hoover blankets'. 9) Farmers, who had already missed out on the boom of the 1920s, were also affected by the Depression. Low agricultural prices meant that in some places farmers could not afford to harvest or market their crops, which were left in the fields to rot. With unemployment rising throughout America, people could no longer afford to buy the farmers' produce, even at low prices. In some areas, for example Oklahoma, terrible soil erosion meant that farmers could not even attempt to grow any crops. Many of these, having lost their homes and farms, left with their families to search for work elsewhere.

5 Policy Analyst s Worksheet: 1) What were Roosevelt s three goals for his New Deal? Help the people hurt by the Depression Bring the U.S. out of the Depression. Make changes for the better. 2) What were the four main things new laws accomplished during Roosevelt s first 100 days in office? The government lent banks money. Money in banks was insured. The government helped the farmers by lending them money. The government controlled the prices of farm products. 3) April 27, 1935: Congress declares soil erosion "a national menace" in an act establishing the Soil Conservation Service in the Department of Agriculture (formerly the Soil Erosion Service in the U.S. Department of Interior). Under the direction of Hugh H. Bennett, the SCS developed extensive conservation programs that retained top soil and prevented irreparable damage to the land. Farming techniques such as strip cropping, terracing, crop rotation, contour plowing, and cover crops were advocated. Farmers were paid to practice soil conserving farming techniques. 4) During the depths of the Great Depression of the 1930s and into the early years of World War II, the Federal government supported the arts in unprecedented ways. For 11 years, between 1933 and 1943, federal tax dollars employed artists, musicians, actors, writers, photographers, and dancers. Never before or since has our government so extensively sponsored the arts. 5) April 1933: The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) is established. Designed as a relief and employment program for young men between the ages of 17 and 27, the CCC was envisioned by FDR as a kind of volunteer "army" that would work in national forests, parks, and federal land for nine-month stints. The first 250,000 young men were housed in 1,468 camps around the country. At its peak in 1935, the CCC would include 500,000 young men. 6) October 1933: The Civil Works Administration is established. Devised as a wide scale program that could employ up to 4 million people, the C.W.A was involved in the building of bridges, schools, hospitals, airports, parks and

6 playgrounds. Additionally, C.W.A. funds went toward the repair and construction of highways and roads. Early in 1934, Congress authorized $950 million for the continued operation of the C.W.A.

7 Biographer s Worksheet: 1) When and where was Will Rogers born? In 1879 on a large ranch in the Cherokee Nation near what later became Oologah, Oklahoma. 2) Why was he listed in the Guinness Book of Records? He could throw three lassos at once capturing a horse s neck, the rider and the horse s legs all at the same time. 3) In how many movies did he star? 71 4) How many books did he write? six 5) How did he die? In a plane crash 6) Will Rogers, the most popular male actor in Hollywood, was instrumental in the election of what President? FDR 7) Where did Will Rogers start his show business career? South Africa in Texas Jack s Wild West Show. 8) After the Great Depression hit the U.S., Rogers gave radio talks on what subject? Unemployment 9) Who did FDR defeat in 1932? How close was the election? Herbert Hoover by a landslide. FDR won all but six states. 10) What is meant by the term alphabet soup? The abbreviations for the many programs implemented during FDR s first 100 days as part of the New Deal. 11) In 1934, Eleanor Roosevelt coordinated a meeting between FDR and NAACP leader Walter White. What did they discuss? Anti-lynching legislation 12) As first lady, how were Eleanor Roosevelt s press conferences unusual? Only women could attend 13) What was the name of the daily syndicated newspaper column Mrs. Roosevelt published? My Day

8 14) Name at least four ways Mrs. Roosevelt broke with precedent and transformed the role of First Lady? She held press conferences. She traveled to all parts of the country. She gave lectures and radio broadcasts. She expressed her opinions candidly in a daily syndicated newspaper column. 15) Eleanor Roosevelt pressed the cause of what four groups? Black people, youth, the poor, and the unemployed. 16) In the dark days of the Depression, how did Mrs. Roosevelt make Americans feel? That someone cared and would try to help. 17) What was the name of the plane Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic? Spirit of St Louis 18) Did Lindbergh have a copilot? No 19) What was the date he took off from New York? May 20, ) How long did it take him to finish the trip and land near Paris? 33.5 hours (without sleep!) 21) Upon his return, how many people lined the streets of New York City to honor him in a parade? Four million 22) Over the course of three months, Lindbergh visited 92 cities in 49 states, extolling the virtues of flight to a captivated audience.