Critical Thinking Questions

12. What were the possible causes of the Great Depression? To what extent could a stock market crash of the intensity of 1929 occur again in America?

13. Why did people feel so confident before the stock market crash of 1929? What were some factors that led to irrational investing?

14. Why was Herbert Hoover’s response to the initial months of the Great Depression so limited in scope?

15. How did the cultural products of the Great Depression serve to reflect, shape, and assuage Americans’ fears and concerns during this volatile period? How do our cultural products—such as books, movies, and music—reflect and reinforce our values in our own times?

16. To what extent did the Great Depression catalyze important changes in Americans’ perceptions of themselves, their national identity, and the role of their government? What evidence of these shifts can you find in the politics and values of our own times?

17. Why is Herbert Hoover so often blamed for the Great Depression? To what extent is such an assessment fair or accurate?