Which program paid farmers to reduce crop production to raise prices?

• A. Social Security Act
• B. Agricultural Adjustment Act
• C. Dust Bowl
• D. Stock Market Crash

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is using government payments to reduce agricultural output in order to lift prices. The Agricultural Adjustment Act created programs that paid farmers to reduce the amount of land cultivated and to limit production. By cutting supply, prices tended to rise, helping farmers' incomes during the Great Depression. This was a New Deal policy designed specifically to address collapsing farm prices and widespread rural hardship.

The other options don’t fit because they refer to things that aren’t about paying farmers to curb production: the Social Security Act established pensions and unemployment insurance; the Dust Bowl was an ecological disaster, not a wage-support program; and the Stock Market Crash was a financial collapse event, not a policy.