Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: Causes of the Great Depression
1. Which of the following was NOT one of the causes of the Great Depression?
a) Most of America’s wealth was in the hands of a very few.
b) The manufacturing industry was under-producing consumer goods.
c) The U.S. banking system was weakening, as people could not afford to pay back loans.
d) Investors were buying stocks with loaned money, assuming the stock values would go up.
2. Which of the following is the correct chain of events that led to rural bank closures?
a) Prices dropped; farmers could not pay back loans; farms overproduced.
b) Farmers could not pay back loans; farms overproduced; prices dropped.
c) Farms overproduced; prices dropped; farmers could not pay back loans.
d) Prices dropped; farms overproduced; farmers could not pay back loans.
3. What percentage of the U.S. workforce was unemployed during the Great Depression?
a) 5 percent
b) 10 percent
c) 25 percent
d) 50 percent
4. Which of the following statements BEST describes the laissez-faire approach of the 1920s?
a) The government needs to assure fair business practices through regulation.
b) Moderate taxes assure the infrastructure needed for healthy business and economy.
c) The economy thrives and everyone benefits when government stays out of business.
d) Progressive reform is needed to keep uncontrolled, unethical business practices in check.
5. What new approach to spending in the 1920s contributed to the start of the Great Depression?
a) people practicing household budgeting
b) people purchasing consumer goods on credit
c) people saving and buying only what they really needed
d) people refusing to keep money in banks and other institutions
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Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: Causes of the Great Depression
6. In what state did misleading claims by agents lead to a real estate boom and bust?
a) New York
b) Georgia
c) Florida
d) Texas
7. Which of the following statements does NOT characterize the stock market of the 1920s?
a) Investors were not protected from fraudulent and misleading stock purchases.
b) Americans viewed the stock market as a safe way to invest and make money.
c) Buying on margin allowed investors to buy stocks they could not afford.
d) Buying and selling stock was highly controlled by the government.
8. What effect did the Smoot-Hawley Tariff have on American consumers?
a) It made domestic goods more expensive to buy.
b) It made foreign goods more expensive to buy.
c) It made domestic goods cheaper to buy.
d) It made foreign goods cheaper to buy.
9. Which of the following statements about the Dust Bowl is TRUE?
a) It took place in the west coast states of California, Oregon, and Washington.
b) It slowed the development of long-range federal conservation programs.
c) It was caused in part by dry farming, which removed buffalo grass.
d) It lasted from 1921 to 1929.
10. What event in 1929 is often thought to have signaled the start of the Great Depression?
a) the real estate boom and bust
b) the stock market crash
c) the Roaring Twenties
d) the Dust Bowl
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Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: Causes of the Great Depression
ANSWER KEY
1. b 3. c 5. b 7. d 9. c
2. c 4. c 6. c 8. b 10. b
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1 Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and
to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to
support conclusions drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.10 Read and comprehend complex literary and
informational texts independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough evidence to support analysis of
what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined
by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of
ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced
and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.10 By the end of grade 9, read and comprehend literary
nonfiction in the grades 9–10 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at
the high end of the range. By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at
the high end of the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including
determining where the text leaves matters uncertain.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.2 Determine two or more central ideas of a text and analyze
their development over the course of the text, including how they interact and build on one
another to provide a complex analysis; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.3 Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and
explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the
text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.11-12.10 By the end of grade 11, read and comprehend literary
nonfiction in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as
needed at the high end of the range. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend literary
nonfiction at the high end of the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.3 Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text;
determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are
used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of
history/social science.
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Name: __________________________________ Class: _____________ Date: _____________
Lesson Assessment: Causes of the Great Depression
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS (CONTINUED)
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CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in
several primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.10 By the end of grade 10, read and comprehend
history/social studies texts in the grades 9–10 text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.5 Analyze in detail how a complex primary source is
structured, including how key sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text
contribute to the whole.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.11-12.10 By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend
history/social studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
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