2010 U.S. History Mid-Term Practice Test

Name:

Matching

Directions: Match the definitions with the terms. Write the correct letter in each blank. You will not use all of the terms.

a.	Great Depression	j.	business cycle
b.	localism	k.	repatriation
c.	tenant farmers	l.	Douglas MacArthur
d.	bread line	m.	Hoover Dam
e.	Herbert Hoover	n.	Okies
f.	trickle-down economics	o.	Hawley-Smoot Tariff
g.	Bonus Army	p.	speculation
h.	Black Tuesday	q.	Dust Bowl
i.	RFC

World War I veterans who marched to demand payment of money promised by Congress

Dust Bowl refugees who moved westward to find work

risky stock purchases made by investors with the hope of high returns

President when the stock market crashed

government efforts to encourage or pressure Mexican immigrants to return to Mexico

General who dispersed protestors in the capital by ordering federal troops to fire on them with tear gas

the periodic expansion and contraction of the economy

agricultural workers who work on land owned by someone else

the theory that money invested in banks and businesses will work its way through the system to laborers

10.

the occasion of the stock market crash

Directions: Match the definitions with the letter of the correct term or person. You will not use all the terms and people.

a.	business cycle	d.	Hawley-Smoot Tariff
b.	Herbert Hoover	e.	speculation
c.	Black Tuesday	f.	Great Depression

11.

a time of economic downturn and high unemployment between 1929 and 1941

12.

the periodic expansion and contraction of the economy

13.

United States President from 1929 to 1933

14.

a risky stock purchase intended to turn quick profits

15.

a tax passed in 1930 on foreign products brought into the United States

Directions: Match the definitions with the letter of the correct term or person. You will not use all the terms and people.

a.	bread lines	d.	Okies
b.	Dust Bowl	e.	tenant farmers
c.	Hoovervilles	f.	repatriation

16.

Dust Bowl refugees from the Great Plains, called _____, headed west to look for work.

17.

During the Great Depression, many homeless people grouped together to build _____, or makeshift shantytowns of tents and shacks.

18.

_____ lived on and worked land owned by someone else.

19.

Local, state, and federal governments tried to coerce Mexican immigrants to return to Mexico through _____.

20.

Impoverished people in the cities often waited in _____ to obtain free food from charities and public agencies.

Directions: Match the definitions with the letter of the correct term or person.

a.	William Durant	f.	Henry Ford
b.	Charlie Mitchell	g.	Franklin Roosevelt
c.	Jesse Livermore	h.	“Pretty Boy” Floyd
d.	Herbert Hoover	i.	Dow Jones
e.	Michael Meehan

21.

As Vice President of National City Bank, he was 1^st to make loans available to ordinary people so they could buy stock. On behalf of the bank, he provided $25 Million of credit to stop the panic selling in March of 1929.

22.

He had once been voted the greatest man in history after Napoleon and Jesus.

23.

He was an outlaw who robbed banks and gave money away to the poor.

24.

Former president of General Motors who made a fortune playing the stock market. He lost it all after the crash.

25.

He put brokerage offices on ocean liners, & ran the most successful pool of RCA stock, in history making $100 Million in one week.

26.

The billionaire who never had another job in his life besides playing the stock market & made more money on October 29^th , 1929 than he had ever made before.

27.

The name given to the index (average stock price) of the 30 leading industries in the United States.

28.

He believed that government should not regulate the stock market, and should leave the economy alone and let it regulate itself. Many people blamed him for the Depression.

29.

In November of 1932 he won the presidential election in a “Landslide”.

Directions: Match the definitions with the letter of the correct term or person.

a.	Leverage	e.	Hedge Funds
b.	Mutual Funds	f.	Prime Mortgages
c.	Pension Funds	g.	Sub-prime Mortgages
d.	401-K plan

30.

Loans to responsible homeowners.

31.

Loans to less responsible home owners

32.

Money from major corporations who offer Retirement Plans
to employees as a fringe benefit.

33.

Professionally managed type of investment scheme where a fund manager pools money from many investors and invests the money in stocks, bonds & other funds.

34.

A lightly regulated investment fund typically open to a limited range of wealthy investors.

35.

Borrowing large amounts of money to increase the impact of investments.

36.

Retirement savings plans which allow a worker to save for retirement and have the savings invested while deferring current income taxes on the saved money and earnings until withdrawal.

Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

37.

Which group experienced an early depression in the 1920s?

a.	bank owners	c.	stock market investors
b.	industrial workers	d.	farmers

38.

During the 1920s, the United States economy moved through which phase of the business cycle?

a.	expansion	c.	regression
b.	deflation	d.	contraction

39.

In 1929, the stock market crashed because

a.	Germany ceased reparations payments to the United States.
b.	the Federal Reserve increased the money supply.
c.	depositors lost their investments and tried to withdraw all of the savings from banks.
d.	investors lost confidence in the market and rushed to sell their shares.

40.

Which factor contributed to the spread of the Great Depression overseas?

a.	American industry reduced production levels.
b.	The United States raised tariffs & cut back investment in Europe.
c.	Europe increased trade to the United States.
d.	Congress lowered tariffs on foreign imports.

41.

Both African Americans and Mexican Americans had an especially difficult time during the Great Depression because they

a.	faced discrimination when competing with white Americans for a limited number of jobs.
b.	had to fight repatriation efforts by local, state, and federal government officials.
c.	were forced to migrate from the South to find work in northern cities.
d.	had little community and family support upon which to rely.

42.

Why did volunteerism fail in the 1930’s?

a.	President Hoover supported more federal government intervention.
b.	Charitable organizations took control of local and state relief efforts.
c.	Banks made too many loans to struggling businesses.
d.	Businesses and citizens acted in their individual best interests.

43.

In 1932 Congress instituted the RFC to loan money to

a.	banks so that they could lend money to businesses to stimulate economic activity.
b.	depositors so that they could withdraw their savings from banks.
c.	European nations so that they could pay off their war debts.
d.	investors so that they could engage in more stock speculation.

44.

Why did the Bonus Army march on Washington, D.C.?

a.	The Federal Reserve refused to pay veterans their bonuses.
b.	President Hoover vetoed a bill providing for early payment of bonuses.
c.	General MacArthur attacked protestors demanding their bonuses.
d.	Congress passed a bill promising to pay veterans their bonuses early.

45.

Which of these factors helped hide economic problems in the 1920s?

a.	Farmers sold crop surpluses to pay off their debts.
b.	Americans purchased many consumer goods on credit.
c.	Investors lost confidence in the market.
d.	Wages increased at the same pace as worker productivity.

46.

What event occurred on Black Tuesday in 1929?

a.	Germany stopped reparation payments to the United States.
b.	Investors sold more than 16 million shares of stock.
c.	The Federal Reserve lowered interest rates.
d.	Unemployment reached nearly 25 percent.

47.

Why did so many banks collapse at the beginning of the Great Depression?

a.	Too many investors tried to open new accounts.
b.	The Federal Reserve put too much money into circulation.
c.	Too many depositors tried to withdraw their money all at once.
d.	The stock market collapsed too slowly to collect on debts.

48.

European countries reacted to the Hawley-Smoot Tariff by

a.	importing more American goods.	c.	lowering prices on European goods.
b.	increasing global trade.	d.	passing high protective tariffs.

49.

What economic condition did economist John Maynard Keynes believe caused the Great Depression?

a.	limits on production and consumer spending
b.	lack of government intervention
c.	too much oversight of the banking system
d.	strict controls on stock speculation

50.

At the beginning of the Great Depression, urban unemployment

a.	increased dramatically.	c.	increased slightly.
b.	stayed about the same.	d.	decreased slightly.

51.

Members of the Taxpayers Protection League resisted evictions by

a.	staging nonviolent protests.	c.	building Hoovervilles.
b.	moving to cheaper lodgings.	d.	pooling resources to pay their rent.

52.

Which of these factors contributed to the plight of rural farmers in the 1930’s?

a.	increased demand for agricultural products
b.	a long rainy season
c.	falling prices for crops and livestock
d.	decreased debt burden

53.

Farmers contributed to the problems that led to the Dust Bowl by

a.	moving off of the plains to find new farmland.
b.	using intensive farming practices that removed protective grasses.
c.	damming western rivers and using irrigation techniques.
d.	putting down new layers of topsoil.

54.

During the Great Depression the unemployment rate among African Americans was

a.	nearly double the national rate.
b.	slightly lower than the national rate.
c.	about the same as the national rate.
d.	slightly higher than the national rate.

55.

President Hoover responded cautiously to the Great Depression because he

a.	thought that the business cycle would correct itself.
b.	did not have any experience with business methods and economic theory.
c.	was distracted by the giant dust storms in the Great Plains.
d.	believed that the federal government needed to take an active approach to recovery.

56.

President Hoover’s policy of volunteerism called for which of the following?

a.	less reliance on charitable contributions
b.	businesses to keep employment, wages & prices at current levels.
c.	higher taxes
d.	cuts in employment and wages

57.

President Hoover urged Congress to institute the RFC because he believed that the economy suffered from

a.	too much government regulation.
b.	over-employment.
c.	a concentration of wealth in large businesses.
d.	a lack of credit.

58.

Some Americans blamed the Great Depression on

a.	communism.	c.	socialism.
b.	fascism.	d.	capitalism.

59.

Why did many Americans decide that the country needed new leadership in 1932?

a.	Prices for farm products were rising again.
b.	President Hoover denied responsibility for the use of federal troops against protestors.
c.	President Hoover’s volunteerism and trickle-down economic policies had failed.
d.	Congress had passed a bill to pay World War I veterans their bonuses early.

60.

What was the destination of most Dust Bowl migrants?

a.	Colorado’s central valley	c.	Kansas City
b.	cities to find work	d.	agricultural areas to the north

Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

61.

How did the uneven distribution of the nation’s wealth lead to the Great Depression?

a.	Farmers had huge surpluses of crops but demand for them decreased drastically so they went into debt.
b.	Acquiring a line of credit was easy, but it caused more debt for people who could not make payments.
c.	Wealthy people grew wealthier and had money to spend on consumer products, but this spending was not enough to keep the economy booming.
d.	All of the above.

62.

In the Crash of ‘29, why were banks one of the first institutions to feel the effects of the stock market crash?

a.	The Federal Reserve increased interest rates in the 1920s to stimulate economic growth, but then limited money supply to discourage lending.
b.	Banks gave out too many loans in the early 1920s so there was a great deal of money in circulation.
c.	People began to lose confidence in the economy and frightened depositors began to remove their money from banks.
d.	After the stock market crash people went to banks to secure their hard money so they could circulate it back into the economy.

63.

What did President Hoover do that directly led the Bonus Army march on Washington in 1932?

a.	allowed federal troops to remove the Bonus Army with great force
b.	vetoed the Adjusted Compensation Act
c.	encouraged the beginning of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation
d.	vetoed the bill that Congress passed allowing early bonus payment to out-of-work veterans

64.

What event happened when the veteran groups marched in protest on Washington?

a.	General MacArthur, along with Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton, agreed it was necessary to use poison gas to remove the protestors.
b.	The U.S. Senate ordered General MacArthur to use federal troops to remove the protestors by using force.
c.	Federal troops used tear-gas and marched with their bayonets on the protestors, many of the veterans were injured and their “Hoovervilles” were burned.
d.	Five hundred thousand protesters used force to occupy government buildings.

65.

In 1927, in order to cut costs, Ford cut wages & speeded up the assembly line. That was the same year he gave his son Edsel _______for his 21^st birthday.

a.	a Million Dollars in gold	c.	a new Ford
b.	controll of the company	d.	50 Million dollars of Ford Stock

66.

In the 1920’s, because many ordinary people wanted to buy some of the new luxury goods becoming available to them, they began to rely on consumer ___________ to make their major purchases.

a.	relations	c.	reports
b.	cash	d.	credit

67.

. Buying stocks on __________ allowed an investor to put just 10% down, and allowed him to use his stock as collateral for the loan.

a.	E-Trade	c.	Account
b.	Purpose	d.	Margin

68.

In the 1020’s, wealthy stock manipulators often got together to drive up the price of a stock by trading among themselves and bribing journalists to write good predictions for the company they were trading in. This practice, which in now illegal, was called ________________.

a.	Cheating	c.	Pooling or “Painting the tape”
b.	Collaborating	d.	Short selling

69.

In 1929 the ________ Board decided to restrict the money supply by raising interest rates on loans, because they were disturbed by the boom which had largely been caused by buying stock with borrowed money.

a.	Monopoly	c.	Finance
b.	Federal Reserve	d.	Federal Stock

70.

In 1929, one writer said that the two most important emotions on Wall Street were ________ & _______.

a.	Fear & Anger	c.	Fear & Greed
b.	Greed & Hatred	d.	Greed & Anger

71.

In the Great Depression some homeless people began to build homes out of any wood, cardboard, or scrap metal they could find. They called these shacks “_______”.

a.	Garbagevilles	c.	Hoovervilles
b.	Rooseveltvilles	d.	Wall Streetvilles

72.

Tuesday, October 29^th 1929 is known as __________ _____________, because when the stocks took a tumble for the third time in a week, they continued to fall and could not be stopped, even by the wealthy pool of Wall Street bankers.

a.	Black Thursday	c.	Black Tuesday
b.	Black Wednesday	d.	Black Monday

73.

In the 1920’s & 30’s ___________ was the only major industrial country in the world at the time that had no unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, or National Relief program for the unemployed.

a.	England	c.	The United States
b.	Germany	d.	France

74.

In the early years of the Depression Cities set up “______ Kitchens”, where unemployed people could get food.

a.	Pie	c.	Soup
b.	Sandwich	d.	Bread

75.

As unemployment rose in the 1930’s, more and more families were going hungry. The ____ Party organized “Hunger Marches” in the streets of major U.S. cities.

a.	Libertarian	c.	Communist
b.	Republican	d.	Democratic

76.

President Hoover authorized the Federal government to make loans to _____ & State-run public works projects, but he refused to authorize “direct relief” to the unemployed.

a.	Auto Manufacturers	c.	Stock Speculators
b.	Businesses	d.	Bankers

77.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt opposed Hoover in the election of 1932. As a young man FDR had contracted ____which left him unable to walk or stand without braces. This fact was not mentioned much by the press.

a.	Small Pox	c.	Yellow Fever
b.	Leprosy	d.	Polio

78.

In 1931 there were nearly 150 ________ per day in the United States, and there was one death by starvation every 7 hours.

a.	Bankruptcies	c.	Bank Failures
b.	Dust Storms	d.	Evictions

79.

The theme song of Roosevelt’s “New Deal” was “___________”.

a.	“We Are the Champions”	c.	“Happy Days are Here Again”
b.	“Brother Can You Spare a Dime”	d.	“Blue Skies”

80.

What turned public opinion against Charles “Pretty-Boy” Floyd?

a.	He robbed the wrong bank.	c.	He burned up mortgages in the Banks files.
b.	He shot a retired Sherriff.	d.	He shot the Mayor of Oklahoma City.

81.

In his campaign for president Franklin D. Roosevelt promised the American people a “New _____” between the government and the people.

a.	Deal	c.	Bargain
b.	House	d.	Car

82.

The __________ was a public works project, operated under the control of the army, which was designed to promote environmental conservation while getting young, unemployed men off city street corners. Recruits planted trees, built wildlife shelters, stocked rivers and lakes with fish, and cleared beaches and campgrounds.

a.	The National Recovery Administration	c.	The Civilial Conservation Corps
b.	The Congress of Industrial Organizations	d.	The Agricultural Adjustment Administration

83.

FDR spoke to the people on the radio in what came to be called “____ chats”. He spoke to them in a personal way and tried to restore the confidence of the people. He told them that “...the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself”.

a.	Economic	c.	Radio
b.	Personal	d.	Fireside

84.

Some liberal members of Congress wanted FDR to nationalize the banks, but FDR had no intention of taking such a radical step. Instead, he declared a “national _________”, closing all banks, purportedly in order to give inspectors time to review their solvency.

a.	Crisis Week	c.	Disaster Day
b.	Bank Holiday	d.	Moratorium on the Stock Market

85.

In 1935, Congress passed the _____Act which gave workers the right to form labor unions, but Sharecroppers were excluded.

a.	Union	c.	Wagner
b.	Strikers	d.	Labor Relations

86.

FDR’s New Deal program called the _____________ tried to raise farm prices. It used proceeds from a new tax to pay farmers not to raise specific crops and animals. Lower production would, in turn, increase prices.

a.	Civilian Conservation Corps	c.	Agricultural Adjustment Administration
b.	National Recovery Administration	d.	Farm Bureau Insurance Administration

87.

The _______was the most controversial piece of legislation to come out of the Hundred Days and many of its opponents charged it with being un-American, socialist, even communist, even though it did not violate the sanctity of private property or alter the American wage system.

a.	N.I.R.A.	c.	W.P.A.
b.	A.A.A.	d.	C.C.C

88.

John L. Lewis wanted to unionize all workers (not just skilled labor) into a single union. He called his organization the ___________________.

a.	A.W.U.	c.	C.I.O.
b.	W.W.W.	d.	A.F. of L.

89.

Between 2000 and 2007 the global pool of money ____________ in size.

a.	Doubled	c.	Tripled
b.	Quadrupled	d.	Quintupled

90.

For many years after World War II, United States ___________ Bills were the traditional safe investment

a.	Federal Reserve	c.	Utility
b.	Dollar	d.	Treasury

91.

After the Dot.com bubble burst in 2000 and the September 11, 2001 attacks in N.Y. & D.C. the U.S. ______________ led by Alan Greenspan, lowered it’s interest rate to 1%.

a.	Treasury	c.	Mint
b.	Savings and Loan Board	d.	Federal Reserve Board

92.

In 1999 the U.S. _______ repealed parts of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 which had put restrictions on banks to keep them from getting involved in high-risk stock market speculation

a.	Treasury	c.	Congress
b.	Savings and Loan Board	d.	Federal Reserve Board

93.

In the 1990’s & 2000’s, Investment Companies borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars to buy thousands of home mortgages. Then they bundled the mortgages together into a kind of investment called a _____________.

a.	Mutual Fund	c.	Credit Default Swap
b.	Mortgage Stock Swap	d.	Mortgage Backed Security

94.

Wall Street Investment banks sliced up the MBS’s according to how safe the deal was and packaged the slices into a new type of security called a _________.

a.	OCD	c.	CCC
b.	CDO	d.	DOC

95.

From 2000 – 2006 although housing prices rose but _________ did not.

a.	Bond prices	c.	Interest Rates
b.	Family Incomes	d.	Stock prices

96.

Mortgages granted without any proof of income or proof of assets were called __________.

a.	Trust me loans	c.	Short loans
b.	NINA loans	d.	MONEY loans

97.

After 2008 banks wouldn’t lend to Corporations or small businesses to restock inventory or expand their business, they wouldn’t even lend money to each other. This created a __________.

a.	Housing Bubble	c.	Bank failure
b.	Credit Crisis	d.	Stock Market Boom

98.

In the 2000’s, the unrated riskiest loans were known as ___________ by Wall St. investment companies.

a.	Loser Loans	c.	Laugher Loans
b.	Toxic Waste	d.	Toxic Bombs

99.

In 2008 the U.S. had 1.1 Million ____________.

a.	in National Debt	c.	Bank Defaults
b.	in Federal deficit	d.	Bankruptcies