Causes & Early Effects of the Great Depression

1. What happened on "Black Tuesday"?
On Black Tuesday the stock market crashed and people began to sell all their stocks before prices dropped even lower. People were stuck with debt and with nothing to repay it, and others lost all of their savings.

2. How did the economic trends of the 1920s in industry, agriculture, and with consumers help cause the Great Depression? (Make sure you include significant details about each area in your answer. It should be at least a paragraph)
The economic trends of the 1920s in industry helped cause the great depression because many industries were not preforming well. There were some that during the war had done very well, and now were no longer needed, and others that just were not doing well. The agriculture helped cause the Great Depression because people did not need as much food after the war, and prices dropped significantly. Consumers helped cause the Depression because they did not have enough money to spend on goods and prices were increasing.

3. According to your reading, what are the major causes of the Great Depression?
The major causes of the Great Depression were over production, low wages, paying with credit, and lack of consumption.

4. What was Hoover’s philosophy of government?
Hoover's philosophy of government was that it should cause cooperation between competing groups in society. In other words that the government should make compromises for the groups that argued.

5. What was Hoover’s initial reaction to the stock market crash of 1929?
Hoover's initial reaction to the stock market crash of 1929 was to try to get the leaders in the American economy to try to work together and keep wages and such at there current place and demand no more or less of them, this didn't help. He also created the Hoover Dam which did somewhat help the economy.
6. What was the nation’s economic situation in 1930?
In 1930 the nation's economy was shrinking, unemployment was increasing, the number of homeless was rising, and shantytowns were popping up everywhere.
7. How did voters in 1930 respond to this situation?
Voters responded to this in 1930 by voting the Republicans out of Congress and voting anti-Hoover Democrats in.
8. What did Hoover do about the economic situation?
Hoover supported and helped create many cooperatives, and started to intervene directly in the form of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act, the Glass-Steagle Banking Act, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation.
9. How did the economy respond to his efforts?
The economy did not respond at all to his efforts and if anything, kept getting worse than it already was.

The Twenties Woman

1. Note two ways women's fashions changed.
Two ways woman's fashions changed were they wore shorter skirts and had shorter hair as well.
2. Note two ways women's social behavior changed.
Women also becasme much more asseritive, and also tried to be equal within marriage.
3. Note two words that describe the attitude reflected by these changes.
Two words that describe the attitude reflectid by these changes are rebelious and free.
4. Note one way women's work opportunities improved.
Women's work opportunities improved because they now were able to work as clerks and had other opportunities to be payed to work thhey didn't have before.
5. Note two ways women's home and family life improved.
Two ways women's home and family life improved were the many new inventions that allowed them to do houshold jobs easyer, and were able to do more things they wanted to do, such as spend time with their children.
6. Note three negative effects that accompanied women's changing roles in the 1920s.
Three negative effects that accompanied women's changing roles in the 1920's were rebellious teens, patterns of discrimination in the buisiness world were established and double standereds were set for women's behavior.

Prohibition and the Scopes Trial

Do you think the passage of the Volstead Act and the ruling in the Scopes trial represented genuine triumphs for traditional values? Think About:

The Scopes trial was not a genuine triumphs for traditional values. For example the Scopes trial did not stop schools from teaching evolution in the future. So, all it did was slow the advance of untraditional values in one state for a short amount of time. Obviously not an advance of the traditional values. Also, the trial wasn't really a trial, it was more of a debate that didn't have an effect on legal issues So all it really did was just kept public opinion and law as it was.
The Volstead Act also was not a true advance for traditional values. All it did was allow the government to arrest people found with alcohol. For example, mobsters imported and bootlegged alcohol that they were able to sell to those who wanted it. Also, doctors were allowed to give alcohol to their patients and would if they wanted it. Furthermore, the government was not able to pay for the officials needed to enforce the job. Thus they could not enforce the Act and there fore it was not a triumph. Finally, the majority of Americans did not like the act, and mostly only women supported it. Therefore it wasn't even based on 'traditional' values, but more on the whims of women trying to prevent there husbands from spending money on alcohol.


• changes in urban life in the 1920s
• the effects of Prohibition
• the legacy of the Scopes trial

Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues

After World War I, many Americans feared that Communists would take over the country.

1. How did the Justice Department under A. Mitchell Palmer respond to this fear?
Palmer responded to the fear by hunting down the communists, anarchists, and socialists in the U.S as well as invading peoples houses to find them. However, he was unsuccessful.
2. Why did Palmer eventually lose his standing with the American public?
Palmer eventually lost his standing with the American people because he didn't get any results and people began to think he was doing it for personal gain.
3. How did the Ku Klux Klan respond to this fear?
The Klan responded to this fear by harassing and killing people that wer unlike them as well as destroying anything they didn't like.
4. Why did the Klan eventually lose popularity and membership?
The Klan eventually lost popularity and membership because of its criminal activities.
5. Briefly describe how Sacco and Vanzetti became victims of the Red Scare.
Sacco and Vanzetti became victims of the Red Scare because a factory paymaster was robbed by two Italians and Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested for it. They provided evidence to their innocence but were sentenced to death by a prejudiced Judge and Jury.

Public opinion turned against labor unions as many Americans came to believe that unions encouraged communism.

6. Why was the strike by Boston police unpopular with the public?
The strike be Boston police was unpopular with the public because they felt that they were unprotected with out the police force seeing as they were on strike.
7. Why did Massachusetts governor Calvin Coolidge become so popular?
Coolidge became so popular because by ending the Boston police strike and stating that striking should never endanger the public people saw him as the protector of Boston. People also saw his actions as stopping the spread of Communism in Massachusetts and the U.S.
8. Why was the strike at U.S. Steel unpopular?
The strike at U.S Steel was unpopular because it was very violent and the strikers were portrayed as Communists.
9. How did President Wilson respond to the steel strike?
Wilson responded to the strike by requesting that the strikers and compony to refrain from violence during a time when America was trying to avoid war.

Woodrow Wilson Fights for Peace

1. What was Wilson's 14th Point?
Wilson's 14th point was the creation of the league of nations.
2. What terms of the treaty specifically affected Germany?
Germany had to pay $33 billion dollars to the allies, couldn't have an army, and had to give land back to France.
3. What were the weaknesses of the treaty?
The treaty made a lot of people angry preventing lasting peace with things such as the guilt clause, as well as Germany's inability to pay the debt. Also Russia and colonies in Asia didn't get what they wanted.
4. Why did Henry Cabot Lodge object to the treaty?
Henry Cabot Lodge objected to the treaty because he wanted congresses right to declare war in the treaty as well as the League of Nations gone.
5. How did Wilson help bring about the Senate's rejection of the treaty?
Wilson brought about the Senate's rejection of the treaty by refusing to compromise on the League of Nations and by ignoring the Republican majority in Congress.
6. What circumstances at this time would eventually lead many Germans to support Adolf Hitler?
At the time the German people were angry that the war was ended and wanted to start another in order to regain their position in the world and restore their honor.
7. Who is George Clemenceau?
George Clemenceau was the French premier at the time of the end of the war.
8. Who is David Lloyd George?
David Lloyd George was the British prime minister at the end of the war.
9. Describe the participation of Russia at the peace conference.
Russia did not go to the peace conference because they were not invited and did not have a controlled situation in their country.

The U.S. enters World War I

1. How did the United States raise an army?
The U.S raised an army by instituting the Selective Service Act meaning that everyone had to sigh up for the military and could be randomly selected to join. This raised 2 million troops.
2. How did U.S. soldiers help win the war?
American soldiers helped win the war by helping raise moral. Also General Pershing made an offensive stopping the German advance and taking enemy positions.
3. What were the estimated economic costs of the war?
The estimated economic coasts of the war were $338 billion.
4. What did the war cost in terms of the number of civilian deaths; military deaths?; injuries?; and refugees?
The war costed 11 million civilian deaths, about 11 million military deaths, 20 million wounded, and 10 million became refugees.
5. Define armistice.
Armistice is a truce that ends fighting in a war.

World War I Begins

1. What are the four main causes of World War I? Give an example for each as to why it was a cause.
Four main causes of WW1 were Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism. An example of each respectively are; each major nation creating incredibly large standing armies and large technological advances in weaponry,each nation allied itself with a few others so when one was attacked everyone got involved, all the new colonies the European nations conquered allowed them much more recourses then previously available as well as new markets, and many small nations thought they had a right to independence and Germany thought it had a right to rule.
2. How did the June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand become the spark for WWI?
TH assassination of Archduke Fanz Ferdinand became the spark of the war because i promoted Austria-Hungry to invade Serbia which caused the Russians to support the Serbs and then the Germans invaded Russia and France in support of Austria-Hungry which made the British join to support the French and Russians.
3. What happened within the first few months of fighting?
During the first few months of the war, Germany stoped any Russian advances while conquering Belgum and advancing into France. Then, allies and Central Powers spent a while tring to out flank each other until they gave up and began to besige each other in long trench networks.
4. Generally, why did the United States want to stay out of the war?
Generally, the U.S wanted to stay out of the war because it was three thousand miles away, and people didn't want their children to die.
5. Specifically, Why did the following groups of Americans tend to oppose U.S. participation in the war? Naturalized citizens; socialists; pacifists; parents.
Naturalized citizens opposed U.S participation in the war because they still had ties to their home countries and didn't want to be on the other side, socialists saw the war as a promotion of imperialism and capitalism to which they always were opposed, and the pacifists opposed violence in general and wanted the U.S to provide an example for peace.
6. How did Germany respond to the British naval blockade of Germany’s ports? What was the U.S. response?
Germany responded to the British naval blockade by sinking all ships military and otherwise in the area surrounding Great Britain with their unterseeboots.
7. What forced the United States into the war?
The German unrestricted submarine warfare, their attempts to get Mexico to attack the U.S in the event that war brock out between it and Germany, and a revolution in Russia that allowed the U.S to claim the war was one of democracy against oppressive monarchies.