The Great Depression Read Comprehension

The Great Depression
In the summer of 1929, people in the United States began to spend less. Thus,
more products were building up in storage for manufacturers and stores. Debts
began to increase. Stock market prices began to climb. A stock is a share or
piece of a company which ordinary citizens can buy. They may or may not
receive earnings on that stock depending on the business trends.
On October 4, 1929, stock owners began selling their stocks in great quantities.
The stock market was said to have collapsed. The day was called 'Black
Thursday.' On 'Black Tuesday', 5 days afterwards, millions more stocks were
sold. Millions of shares couldn't be sold and had no value anymore. Many people
who had put money into these stocks lost everything.
Factories slowed down because people didn't have money to buy products.
Fewer workers were needed, so many people became unemployed. Wages for
the working people went down. Many people lost their houses because they had
no money to pay their mortgages.
These conditions spread around the world. The period from 1929-1939 was
known as the Great Depression. A depression is a time of a great downturn in
business profits. By 1931, 6 million people were out of work. Many had to try to
get free food by standing in lines at various soup kitchens provided by those
who could help. Businesses collapsed. Farmers couldn't sell their crops and left
them in the fields because they couldn't afford to harvest them. Beginning in
1930, people started to withdraw all their savings from their bank accounts
because they were afraid the banks would fail and did this for 3 more years.
Many banks went out of business.
President Herbert Hoover didn't think that the federal government should get
involved in trying to solve the situation. However, in the fall of 1932, Franklin
Delano Roosevelt was elected President. By inauguration day in March, all banks
had been told to close for 4 days (a 'bank holiday'). New banking laws would be
passed and only the strong banks would reopen.
President Roosevelt spoke regularly on the radio to encourage the people of the
United States. These talks were called 'fireside chats.' During his first 100 days
in office, the President passed laws to try to get business going again and to
help farmers with their crops. He created the FDIC, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Commission, to protect the money people put into banks in the
future. He also set up the SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, to prevent
a serious stock market crash from happening again.
President Roosevelt put into place a program called the New Deal. Included in
this program was the TVA, Tennessee Valley Authority, which involved building
dams and providing water for the Tennessee Valley. The WPA, the Works
Progress Administration, hired thousands of men to work on projects around the
country. Beginning in 1933, the economy began to improve and did so for three
years.
In 1937, another serious downturn occurred and wiped away much of the
progress which had been made. Hardships throughout Europe made it easier
for Adolph Hitler to rise to power in Germany. In 1939, Hitler's troops began to
invade neighboring countries. The United States then began manufacturing
military supplies and equipment. Many more jobs were now available. The
United States wanted to support its friends Germany and France. They had been
invaded by Hitler's forces.
After the United States was attacked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1941,
production and manufacturing began to increase and unemployment went down
to what it was before the Great Depression.
1) Which of the following men was President at the beginning of the Great Depression?
A: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
B: Herbert Hoover
C: Woodrow Wilson
D: Harry Truman
2) Which of the following is a true statement?

A: Herbert Hoover wanted the federal government to help the situation during the
depression.
B: Herbert Hoover gave a lot of the government's money to help struggling Americans.
C: Herbert Hoover didn't think the federal government should get involved with the
troubles of the depression.
D: Herbert Hoover got people back to work by various programs he started.
3) Which of the following is the name given to the day of the stock market crash in 1929?
A: Desperate Monday
B: Black Tuesday
C: Black Thursday
D: Fatal Friday
4) Which of the following events pushed the United States into full manufacturing production
and brought unemployment way down?
A: The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese
B: The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt
C: The creation of the TVA
D: The creation of the SEC
5) Which of the following is NOT a fact about conditions during the Great Depression?
A: Millions of people lost their jobs.
B: Many people lost their homes.
C: Farmers could help out the poor in the cities with free food.
D: Many banks had to close permanently.
6) Which of the following is the name for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's weekly talks
to the American people?
A: Evening Reports
B: Saturday Morning Talks
C: Fireside Chats
D: People to People

The Great Depression Read Comprehension

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The Great Depression

A: Franklin Delano Roosevelt

2) Which of the following is a true statement?

D: Herbert Hoover got people back to work by various programs he started.

A: The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese

B: The election of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

C: The creation of the TVA

D: The creation of the SEC

A: Millions of people lost their jobs.

B: Many people lost their homes.

B: Saturday Morning Talks

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