McGraw-Hill SocialStudies 2003 Return to Unit List
Grade 5
Lesson Review Lesson Review
Unit 8: The Modern Era
Chapter 18: Good Times and Hard Times
Lesson 3: The Great Depression
 
Type your name:

 
The Good Times End

In 1929, the crashed, leaving many companies' stocks worthless. Investors lost all of their money that they put in stocks. By the 1930s, banks and businesses were failing, and many Americans were out of work. A drought in the Great Plains turned the farmlands into a "." Many farmers their farms and went to California to find work. This period became known as the .

A New President

was elected President in 1932 and promised to fight the Depression by using all the powers of the federal government. Roosevelt started a program called the to help Americans recover from the Depression. Some New Deal programs included controlling the way stocks were bought and sold, giving low interest loans to businesses, making sure banks were run properly, and passing the of 1935, which gave financial aid to retired and disabled Americans.

New Programs at Work

Under the New Deal, there were many different programs such as the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), which helped local relief organizations; the Works Progress Administration (WPA), which hired the to build schools, libraries, playgrounds, and hospitals; and the Public Works Association (PWA), which built , roads, and bridges. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt traveled around the nation visiting and talking to the people. The president called her his "extra set of eyes and ears."

Check Answers