Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Documenting the American Promise: “Americans Encounter the New Deal”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. Whom did Charles Fusco argue was responsible for the Great Depression, and was capable of fixing everything if compelled by the government?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. In his interview, Fusco said that “the money men,” or capitalists, started the Depression, and he believed that “the government should make laws to force these capitalists to bring back prosperity. They can do it if they wanted to.” Fusco believed that the government should not just be administering the WPA to help ordinary people, but also compelling big businessmen to fix the economy as a whole.
Incorrect. The answer is c. In his interview, Fusco said that “the money men,” or capitalists, started the Depression, and he believed that “the government should make laws to force these capitalists to bring back prosperity. They can do it if they wanted to.” Fusco believed that the government should not just be administering the WPA to help ordinary people, but also compelling big businessmen to fix the economy as a whole.

Question

2. According to Myron Buxton, most people in his community disliked the WPA because they wrongly believed that the WPA only helped

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is d. Buxton was a strong supporter of the WPA, and he criticized members of his community who maligned the WPA as being a “racket” that gave “a bunch of loafers and drunks steady pay to indulge their vices.” On the contrary, Buxton appreciated how the WPA helped educated men and women who, through no fault of their own, had lost their jobs during the Great Depression. Buxton believed that the WPA was a great help for “the ordinary guy” in America.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Buxton was a strong supporter of the WPA, and he criticized members of his community who maligned the WPA as being a “racket” that gave “a bunch of loafers and drunks steady pay to indulge their vices.” On the contrary, Buxton appreciated how the WPA helped educated men and women who, through no fault of their own, had lost their jobs during the Great Depression. Buxton believed that the WPA was a great help for “the ordinary guy” in America.

Question

3. What does Jim Cole’s experience with the AFL suggest about the limits of unionized labor in the early twentieth century?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is c. When Cole tried to join the AFL union for butchers and meat cutters, he was denied membership. Although they didn’t say the reason directly, Cole was certain that the “reason of it was plain. Negro. That’s it.” Cole’s experience illustrates how the growth of organized labor had uneven benefits for American workers because unions like the AFL only included white workers.
Incorrect. The answer is c. When Cole tried to join the AFL union for butchers and meat cutters, he was denied membership. Although they didn’t say the reason directly, Cole was certain that the “reason of it was plain. Negro. That’s it.” Cole’s experience illustrates how the growth of organized labor had uneven benefits for American workers because unions like the AFL only included white workers.

Question

4. In the 1930s, in which of the following ways was the CIO different than the AFL?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is a. As Jim Cole’s experience demonstrates, while the AFL restricted membership to white workers, the CIO was welcoming of people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Cole reports that he knew CIO officers who were African American, Polish, Irish, German, and other ethnicities.
Incorrect. The answer is a. As Jim Cole’s experience demonstrates, while the AFL restricted membership to white workers, the CIO was welcoming of people from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Cole reports that he knew CIO officers who were African American, Polish, Irish, German, and other ethnicities.

Question

5. Why did Myron Buxton argue that the WPA was an important program?

A.
B.
C.
D.
Correct. The answer is b. Buxton argued that the WPA was extremely beneficial to his community and to “the working guy in this country,” who “never had such a swell chance to get a toe-hold as he’s had in the last four years!” The WPA helped good, hard-workers who were out of work through no fault of their own.
Incorrect. The answer is b. Buxton argued that the WPA was extremely beneficial to his community and to “the working guy in this country,” who “never had such a swell chance to get a toe-hold as he’s had in the last four years!” The WPA helped good, hard-workers who were out of work through no fault of their own.