Prereading Quiz: Portraits of an Era

Before you read “Portraits of an Era,” take this five-question quiz to find out how much you already know.

1

Which term describes a period of severe economic hardship that began in 1929 in the United States and spread around the world, lasting about 10 years? 

The Great Depression was a period of severe economic hardship that began in 1929 in the United States and spread around the world, lasting about 10 years. About 25 percent of Americans lost their jobs, and many lost their life savings.

2

Dorothea Lange was a famous ____.

Lange was a photographer who helped change the way people around the world viewed those who were suffering during the Great Depression.

3

Migrant Mother, which is one of the most reproduced photos of all time, shows ____.

Migrant Mother is one of the most reproduced and imitated photos of all time. It shows Florence Owens Thompson and two of her children at a pea farm in California.

4

Which of these words means “the ability to recover quickly from a difficult situation or change”? 

Resilience means “the ability to recover quickly from a difficult situation or change.” Migrant Mother is a symbol of human resilience.

5

True or False: In 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt began to implement the New Deal, a series of programs that helped bring jobs and relief to pull the U.S. out of the Great Depression.

True. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932 after promising a New Deal for Americans. The programs his government adopted helped to largely end the Great Depression by the end of the 1930s.

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