The Great Depression Era Trivia Quiz

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.

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.

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.

Answer: Groups of shacks that people moved into

Those who were devastated by the Great Depression and lost their houses and jobs regretfully made Hoovervilles their home. The inhabitants fashioned their dwellings from found rubbish. Many thought that President Hoover did nothing to assist those who were impacted by the Great Depression, therefore, they mockingly named their temporary homes after him.

The appalling living circumstances in Hoovervilles were exacerbated by the absence of suitable housing and safe water supplies. Usually there was a bed, a tiny stove and a few culinary utensils in the improvised home. The inhabitants were prone to sickness, wet, and cold conditions.

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.

Answer: True

Winston Churchill returned the pound sterling to the gold standard at the pre-war exchange rate of $4.86 US dollars to one pound, following the Bank of England's suggestion. As a result, the worth of the pound in gold could now be converted, but at a price that increased the cost of British goods on international markets. The overestimation of gold's price by 10-14% reduced the competitiveness of coal and steel as exports. The economic rebound slowed down right away. The export industry attempted to reduce expenses by cutting worker wages in an attempt to counteract the consequences of the high exchange rate.

A monetary system that bases money's value on gold is known as a gold standard. Under this system, a fixed amount of gold is equal to a standard economic unit of account, like a dollar.

In the 1920s, the United States instituted the gold standard. Many economists believe that because the Federal Reserve was unable to increase the money supply in order to boost the economy, bail out failing banks, or cover government deficits, the gold standard extended the Great Depression.

Answer: The Great Slump

The "Great Slump" was just another name for the Great Depression. Most of the second half of the 1920s saw sluggish growth and recession in Great Britain. It wasn't until early 1930 that the country entered a serious depression, and its industrial production declined from its peak to its lowest point at a rate around one-third that of the United States.

The main industries that suffered the most from the downturn were shipbuilding, iron, steel, and coal, which had a significant impact on industrial regions including southern Wales, the northeastern region of England, and portions of Scotland. This also meant employment was reduced dramatically.

Answer: All international loans held by American banks were called in

Germany's reliance on US loans, such the Young and Dawes Plans, which were halted by the 1929 Wall Street Crash, was the primary external factor. Furthermore, this disaster had a detrimental effect on international trade, which hurt Germany's economy.

These loans, made possible by the Dawes Plan in 1924, had been the cornerstone of Weimar's economic recovery from the devastating impacts of hyperinflation. The loans paid for reparations as well as German industries. When the German industry was unable to get these loans, the Great Depression began. People spent less since there were no wages coming in as a result of the decreased production and worker layoffs. Because there is currently less of a market for the goods, industry is cutting back on labour even further. Depression is the ultimate outcome. The government was also impacted by this, and it was forced to increase spending on other programmes like unemployment insurance.

Answer: A Docklands Area

During the Great Depression, dockworkers and local labourers who were out of work called Darling Harbour "The Hungry Mile". Workers would wander from quay to quay, looking for sporadic, low-paying day jobs, many coming up empty-handed. To get a job the foreman would use a system called the "Bull System". Both union and non-union labourers would gather at a pick-up location under this labour hire arrangement, where foremen would daily choose individuals to compete for the few positions that were available. Employers would typically choose workers solely based on their outward appearance.

During the Great Depression, job losses grew, especially in the construction and manufacturing sectors, as a result of bank failures, investment collapses, declining commodity prices, and a decline in trade.

Answer: World War II

Most historians concur that the onset of World War II, coupled with labour mobilisation and rearmament initiatives, successfully terminated the Great Depression by reducing joblessness. Defence production surged, as did the number of private sector jobs created as a result of Roosevelt's decision to support France and Britain against Germany and the other Axis powers.

The unemployment rate rapidly dropped below 10% after the United States entered the war in 1941. With regard to Great Britain, the same is true. To defeat Germany in 1939, millions of men and women enlisted in the armed forces, building anything associated with the war effort and also getting well-paid jobs in the process. There was an increase in government employment in a number of other war-torn countries, too, in order to support the war effort.