Question

Read the excerpt from the song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”

They used to tell me I was building a dream,
And so I followed the mob—
When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear
I was always there—right on the job.
They used to tell me I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead—

Based on this excerpt and your knowledge of American history, why did the stock market crash make Americans lose confidence in business?
Following the mob without asking questions can potentially lead to financial or emotional devastation.
People worked diligently to participate in the building of the American dream with the understanding they would profit.
The promise of peace and glory compelled many people to work for the wealthy and make them richer.
Instead of plowing the fields and going to war, American should have gone to college.

Answer 1

Short answer: Because the crash exposed that the promises of steady profit and broad prosperity from business were false — banks and corporations failed, savings vanished, and millions lost jobs — so people stopped trusting that “building the dream” through business would protect them.

How the answer choices line up:
- “People worked diligently ... with the understanding they would profit.” — Correct. Many Americans invested time and money expecting continued returns; when the market and banks collapsed they lost savings and jobs, so confidence evaporated.
- “The promise of peace and glory compelled many people to work for the wealthy and make them richer.” — Largely correct in spirit. The lyric criticizes how ordinary workers helped create big projects and corporate profits but didn’t share the gains; the crash showed that wealth and power in business didn’t guarantee ordinary people’s security.
- “Following the mob without asking questions can potentially lead to financial or emotional devastation.” — Partially true. Herd behavior and rampant speculation (buying on margin) helped inflate the bubble and made the crash worse, but the loss of confidence was also caused by bank failures, unemployment, and structural economic problems, not just crowd-following.
- “Instead of plowing the fields and going to war, American should have gone to college.” — Incorrect/irrelevant. The lyric contrasts workers’ contributions in industry and war with false promises of prosperity; the solution isn’t about education timing but about economic collapse, bank failures, and unequal distribution of wealth.