Great Depression Quiz

1. What is the generally acknowledged start of the Great Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
2. What happened on Black Tuesday?

Wikimedia Commons
3. What is the demand-driven explanation for the severity of the Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
4. What do 'monetarist' theories claim was the root cause of the Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
5. Who was the President in 1929?

Wikimedia Commons
6. What was a 'Hooverville'?

Wikimedia Commons
7. Hoovervilles had a different name specifically in Indianapolis, Indiana--what was it?

Wikimedia Commons
8. What natural disaster simultaneously happened that exacerbated the Depression in America?

Wikimedia Commons
9. What were these large swaths of dry land called at the time?

Wikimedia Commons
10. An unfortunate drought wasn't the only cause of the bowl though; what did farmers do to the land that also contributed?

Wikimedia Commons
11. When did Prohibition begin?

Wikimedia Commons
12. Elected president after Hoover, which candidate actively campaigned to end Prohibition?

Wikimedia Commons
13. ...but why did FDR support repealing Prohibition?

Wikimedia Commons
14. For weeks after Black Tuesday, some New York hotel operators are believed to have asked Wall Street traders checking in if they, "need a room for sleeping or for __________."

Wikimedia Commons
15. In what year was Franklin Roosevelt elected?

Wikimedia Commons
16. Before moving on from Prohibition... How did FDR commemorate repealing the original amendment that put the movement into law?

Wikimedia Commons
17. Which titan of industry infamously said mid-Depression, "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."

Wikimedia Commons
18. What did Ford do less than a week after making that proclamation?

Wikimedia Commons
19. True or False: The United States had plenty of food and supplies for the public during the early years of the Depression.

Wikimedia Commons
20. Which notorious gangster opened a soup kitchen in Chicago?

Wikimedia Commons
21. In 1932, 20,000 people marched on Washington D.C. demanding what?

Wikimedia Commons
22. At its worst, how much did the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall between 1929 and 1932?

Wikimedia Commons
23. In what year did the Dow finally reach 381 points again?

Wikimedia Commons
24. What was the worst rate of unemployment during the Great Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
25. Did the entertainment industry boom or bust during the Great Depression?

MGM
26. Walt Disney's 1933 story "The Three Little Pigs" was thought to be emblematic of the Great Depression how?

Wikimedia Commons
27. What 1935 board game was a smash success?

Wikimedia Commons
28. Today, roughly 10 million out of 330 million Americans go to the movies each week. In the early years of the Depression, how many of the ~100 million Americans at the time were going to the movies each week?

Radio Pictures
29. What was the hyperactive first chunk of Franklin Roosevelt's first term in office called?

Wikimedia Commons
30. There are anecdotal stories out of the east coast of children becoming so hungry that they __________.

Wikimedia Commons
31. The title "The New Deal" is taken from Roosevelt's catch phrase:

Wikimedia Commons
32. Hoover infamously said that, "Prosperity is just around the corner." What was Roosevelt's motto?

Wikimedia Commons
33. Franklin Roosevelt belonged to which political party?

Wikimedia Commons
34. The crux of Roosevelt's New Deal was government funded projects and agencies that put Americans back to work. Because the names of these projects were often quite long, most people referred to them en masse as what?

Wikimedia Commons
35. What was the purpose of the HOLC?

Wikimedia Commons
36. What about the CCC, which was followed by the Works Progress Administration?

Wikimedia Commons
37. How many men were employed by the WPA?

Wikimedia Commons
38. What was meant by a "boondoggle"?

Wikimedia Common
39. Roosevelt's favorite program was the TVA, which stood for...

Wikimedia Commons
40. What did the Wagner Act prevent?

Wikimedia Commons
41. The NRA (not THAT NRA) worked hand-in-hand with the Wagner Act on worker's rights, focusing primarily on improving conditions at __________.

Wikimedia Commons
42. Not everyone was loving the New Deal, however. Who were the biggest detractors?

Wikimedia Commons
43. Which iconic bridge was completed during the Great Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
44. What famous John Steinback novel came out in the midst of, and about, the Great Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
45. What happened to schools during the Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
46. What family dynamic exploded during the Depression?

Wikimedia Commons
47. Unfortunately, World War II has to be acknowledged for its role in ending the Depression. When did the war in Europe break out?

Wikimedia Commons
48. Why was World War II a net positive for the American economy?

Wikimedia Commons
49. Franklin Roosevelt passed in what year?

Wikimedia Commons
50. Speaking of presidents with acronyms, John F. Kennedy's campaign fifteen years later was primarily funded by what?

Wikimedia Commons

You’ve probably seen movies about it, like “O Brother, Where Art Thou” or “Of Mice and Men,” or maybe you read “The Grapes of Wrath” sometime during your high school and college years, but what do you actually recall about the Great Depression from your history classes? A not-so-fun fact that will put the 1930s into perspective: the GDP of the entire world fell by less than 1% between 2008 and 2009, when the housing bubble burst and the American economy was thrown into chaos. Less than 1%, and it felt like the world was ending. Read more

1. What is the generally acknowledged start of the Great Depression?

2. What happened on Black Tuesday?

3. What is the demand-driven explanation for the severity of the Depression?

4. What do 'monetarist' theories claim was the root cause of the Depression?

5. Who was the President in 1929?

6. What was a 'Hooverville'?

7. Hoovervilles had a different name specifically in Indianapolis, Indiana--what was it?

8. What natural disaster simultaneously happened that exacerbated the Depression in America?

9. What were these large swaths of dry land called at the time?

10. An unfortunate drought wasn't the only cause of the bowl though; what did farmers do to the land that also contributed?

11. When did Prohibition begin?

12. Elected president after Hoover, which candidate actively campaigned to end Prohibition?

13. ...but why did FDR support repealing Prohibition?

14. For weeks after Black Tuesday, some New York hotel operators are believed to have asked Wall Street traders checking in if they, "need a room for sleeping or for __________."

15. In what year was Franklin Roosevelt elected?

16. Before moving on from Prohibition... How did FDR commemorate repealing the original amendment that put the movement into law?

17. Which titan of industry infamously said mid-Depression, "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."

18. What did Ford do less than a week after making that proclamation?

19. True or False: The United States had plenty of food and supplies for the public during the early years of the Depression.

20. Which notorious gangster opened a soup kitchen in Chicago?

21. In 1932, 20,000 people marched on Washington D.C. demanding what?

22. At its worst, how much did the Dow Jones Industrial Average fall between 1929 and 1932?

23. In what year did the Dow finally reach 381 points again?

24. What was the worst rate of unemployment during the Great Depression?

25. Did the entertainment industry boom or bust during the Great Depression?

26. Walt Disney's 1933 story "The Three Little Pigs" was thought to be emblematic of the Great Depression how?

27. What 1935 board game was a smash success?

28. Today, roughly 10 million out of 330 million Americans go to the movies each week. In the early years of the Depression, how many of the ~100 million Americans at the time were going to the movies each week?

29. What was the hyperactive first chunk of Franklin Roosevelt's first term in office called?

30. There are anecdotal stories out of the east coast of children becoming so hungry that they __________.

31. The title "The New Deal" is taken from Roosevelt's catch phrase:

32. Hoover infamously said that, "Prosperity is just around the corner." What was Roosevelt's motto?

33. Franklin Roosevelt belonged to which political party?

34. The crux of Roosevelt's New Deal was government funded projects and agencies that put Americans back to work. Because the names of these projects were often quite long, most people referred to them en masse as what?

35. What was the purpose of the HOLC?

36. What about the CCC, which was followed by the Works Progress Administration?

37. How many men were employed by the WPA?

38. What was meant by a "boondoggle"?

39. Roosevelt's favorite program was the TVA, which stood for...

40. What did the Wagner Act prevent?

41. The NRA (not THAT NRA) worked hand-in-hand with the Wagner Act on worker's rights, focusing primarily on improving conditions at __________.

42. Not everyone was loving the New Deal, however. Who were the biggest detractors?

43. Which iconic bridge was completed during the Great Depression?

44. What famous John Steinback novel came out in the midst of, and about, the Great Depression?

45. What happened to schools during the Depression?

46. What family dynamic exploded during the Depression?

47. Unfortunately, World War II has to be acknowledged for its role in ending the Depression. When did the war in Europe break out?

48. Why was World War II a net positive for the American economy?

49. Franklin Roosevelt passed in what year?

50. Speaking of presidents with acronyms, John F. Kennedy's campaign fifteen years later was primarily funded by what?