ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by Rosie the Riveter,

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a woman who really holds your attention.

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All right, how does the image relate to the Great Depression?

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And here are your potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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All right. Well, at the start of World War II, the United States

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was still in the throes of the Great Depression.

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Let's see how things were shaping up by the time the conflict

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drew to a close.

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Did B - the Great Depression continue throughout

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the war despite the efforts of working women?

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Well, actually, the Great Depression tapered off during the war

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in part due to the efforts of the female labor force.

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So that eliminates B and C.

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Does this image relate to the Great Depression because D -

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men struggled to find jobs upon returning

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from the war, which worsened the Great Depression.

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Hmm. The economy was booming and many women handed

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back their jobs to the soldiers returning from battle.

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So it's not D, either. Which means that A -

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increased production during the war helped

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to end the Great Depression.

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Though the New Deal programs were helping to pull the U.S.

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out of its financial crisis, it was the massive increase in

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production during World War II

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that finally brought the turmoil to an end.

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So A is the correct answer. And as they say,

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give a man a fish and you feed him for a day.

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Teach a woman to weld and rivet and you

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pull the economy back from the brink of disaster.

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[ woman crying ]

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