Chapter 25 1. What were the possible causes of the Great Depression? To what extent could a stock market crash of the intensity of 1929 occur again in America? The Great Depression was caused by a number of factors combining to create the greatest economic collapse in United States history. These factors include farm prices collapsing from an already low price, overproduction in industry and a weak banking system that received a shock from the stock market crash of 1929. Another major factor in the economic crash of the Great Depress was the Hawley-Smoot Tariff that caused internation trade partners to raise rates on US goods. The stock market of today has shown weakness a few times in recent memory, foremost of such being the 2008 burst of the housing bubble. The Great Depression has informed a lot of decisions made in times of stock market fluctuation, such as being quick to bail out banks and pump interest rates to try to regulate the market. 2. Why did people feel so confident before the stock market crash of 1929? What were some factors that led to irrational investing? The economic boom of the 1920s created a confidence in America around the economy. This led the middle class and wealthy Americans to make speculative investments that were unwise. The banks would lend money very easily at the time, so it was easy to make irrational investing decisions with borrowed money. The federal reserve was setting interest rates artificially low at the time, and making it easier for big banks to have less cash on hand in comparison to the money deposited by their customers. Chapter 26 3. Whom did the New Deal help the least? What hardships did these individuals continue to suffer? Why were Roosevelt's programs unsuccessful in the alleviation of their Adversities? The New Deal was least helpful for the African American population. The programs and financial reforms introduced by the New Deal were discriminatory against African Americans. They could not get social security benefits, which affected their ability to be employed. Similarly, the New Deal did little to help with wage discrimination for women or encouraging them to get out of the home. 4. Was Franklin Roosevelt successful at combatting the Great Depression? How did the New Deal affect future generations of Americans? Roosevelt's New Deal could only do so much to combat the Great Depression. It wasn't until the military spending of World War II that the country fully recovered. What the New Deal did accomplish was create a lot of social programs that endure to this day. Another concept that endured from Roosevelt's attempts to pull America out of the Great Depression was federal defecit spending. The idea that the government spending should put money into the hands of Americans to then use in the private sector endures and has been employed in the 2020 pandemic shutdown to stave off some of the effects the pandemic had on the economy.
Chapter 27 5. Given that the Japanese war against China began in 1937 and German aggression began in Europe in 1936, why was it not until 1941 that the United States joined the war against the Axis powers? Was the decision to stay out of the war until 1941 a wise one on the part of the United States? Many Americans adopted the view of isolationism after World War I. The country as a whole seemed hesitant to get involved in affairs in Europe or Asia. The United States policy of isolationism only applied when the country didn't have anything to gain from the conflict. Pearl Harbor was the turning point at which the United States was forced into the war. The United States had cut off oil supply lines to Japan. To retaliate, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. The decision to stay out of the war did not help the people being affected by the Nazi regime. Franklin Roosevelt knew the conditions for Jewish people at the time and didn't push as hard as he could have for the United States to support them through immigration. 6. In what ways did World War II improve the status of women and African Americans in the United States? 7. Should the United States have done more to help European Jews during the 1930s? What could it have done? When men went off to fight in the war, women had the opportunity to step up and work better positions, some even in management. That opened up those women's former jobs, which African Americans could fill. As the need for soldiers grew, African Americans were given more prominent roles throughout the military. There was also more room for urbanization at home.
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