Question

What event led to a significant decrease in unemployment in the later years of the Great Depression?

A) The invention of the internet
B) The bombing of Pearl Harbor
C) The completion of the Hoover Dam
D) The Wall Street Crash of 1929

Answer 1

The correct answer is option B) The bombing of Pearl Harbor.

Step-by-step explanation:

The event that led to a significant decrease in unemployment in the later years of the Great Depression was B) The bombing of Pearl Harbor. This event triggered the United States' entry into World War II, leading to a vast military mobilization that provided employment for millions of Americans previously out of work. The construction of war supplies and the enlistment of troops meant that factories needed workers, and many unemployed citizens were able to find jobs, significantly lowering the unemployment rate.

While the New Deal programs, such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA), had already been working to reduce unemployment by creating jobs through federal projects like the Hoover Dam, the demand for labor created by the war effort had a much more dramatic effect on employment. The war economy led to an industrial boom that finally overcame the persistent unemployment that had plagued the American workforce since the stock market crash of 1929.