GREAT DEPRESSION
Repeal - legal cancellation or reversal of a law.
18th Amendment- ushered in a period of time known as "Prohibition," during which the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal.
21st Amendment - repealed Prohibition laws in the United States.
Speculation -investing money at great risk with the anticipation that the price of stocks will rise.
Distribution of Income- refers to the way total output or income is distributed among individuals or among the factors of production including labor, land and capital.
Buying on Margin - buying stocks and securities with cash borrowed from a broker and using other stocks and securities as collateral.
Bear Market- a steady drop in stock market prices over a period of time
Bull Market- a steady rise in stock market prices, which increases investor confidence, motivating investors to buy in anticipation of future price increases and future capital gains.
Dust Bowl -area in the Great Plains that was ravaged by severe droughtand wind storms during the Great Depression.
Hoovervilles- popular name for shantytowns built by homeless people during the Great Depression.
Black Tuesday - the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the U.S.; took place in October of 1929.
Bonus Army - thousands of World War I veterans who marched to Washington, D.C., to demand that their bonuses be paid early, during the spring and summer of 1932.
Pension -financial support for people who are no longer earning a regular income from employment.
Herbert Hoover - elected to the presidency in 1928, he was largely (and mistakenly) blamed for the Great Depression.
Hawley-Smoot Tariff -Passed in 1930 at the beginning of the Great Depression this act hurt export sales by raising the average tariff to the highest level in American history.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation- Created in 1932, agency that gave $2 billion in aid to state and local governments, and made loans to banks, railroads, farm mortgage associations, and other businesses.
Hoover Dam - dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border of the U.S. states of Arizona and Nevada. When completed in 1936, it was both the world's largest electric-power generating station and the world's largest concrete structure.
Franklin D. Roosevelt - elected in 1932, his New Deal policy is largely credited with alleviating the pressures of the Great Depression.
New Deal - FDR’s economic programs during the Great Depression that intended to provide relief to the unemployed, reformbusiness and financial practices, and promoterecovery of the economy during The Great Depression.
Bank Holiday- emergency bank closures mandated by Congress to remedy the financial crises during the Great Depression.
Fireside Chats- series of thirty evening radio speeches given by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt between 1933 and 1944.
Keynesian Economics - theory by John Maynard Keynes that advocated “deficit spending” during economic downturns to reach full employment.
Deficit Spending -government practice of spending borrowed money rather than raising taxes, usually in an attempt to boost the economy.
FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)- provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank.
SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)- holds primary responsibility for enforcing the federal securities laws and regulating the securities industry, the nation's stock and options exchanges, and other electronic securities markets.
TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) -dam-building project to control floods, conserve forestlands, and bring electricity to rural area in a seven-state region.
WPA (Works Progress Administration)- federal program headed by Harry Hopkins that employed 8.5 million workers to constrict highways, roads, streets, public buildings, parks, bridges, and airports.
Federal Number One - controversial program of the Works Progress Administration that offered work to artists, musicians, theater workers, and writers.
CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) - one of the most highly praised New Deal work relief programs, it employed young men 18 to 25 years of age in the national forestry service planting trees, fighting forest fires, and building reservoirs.
Social Security Act - one of the most important pieces of legislation in U. S. history, 1935 act that provided financial security to workers, by establishing a pension for retirement, disability, and dependents.
National Labor Relations Act-(a.k.a. the Wagner Act)1935 act that guaranteed workers the right to organize unions and to bargain collectively; set up a process of grievances called “binding arbitration.”
Fair Labor Standards Act- 1938 law that provided more protection for workers, abolished child labor, and established a 40-hour workweek for many workers.
Black Cabinet- an informal group of AfricanAmerican public policy advisors to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Francis Perkins- U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet.
Mary Bethune- an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for the children of African American railroad workers; close friends with Eleanor Roosevelt, she was appointed director of the Negro Division of the National Youth Administration, which provided job training for young people.
Eleanor Roosevelt - as First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, she supported the New Deal policies of her husband, and assumed a role as an advocate for civil rights.
Huey P. Long -known as the Kingfish, began his career as a senator from Louisiana and went on to become governor; championed the downtrodden, improved schools, colleges, and hospitals, as well as built roads and bridges; organized “Share Our Wealth” programs across the country and posed a threat to FDR in the election of 1936 before his assassination.
Frances Townsend- American physician best known for his revolving old-age pension proposal during the Great Depression, known as the"Townsend Plan."
Father Coughlin -a challenger of Roosevelt, he usedhis popular radio program originally to promote the New Deal, and, later, to criticize it for being too moderate.
“Court Packing” Plan -Roosevelt’s frustration with the “nine old men” of the Supreme Court led him to issue a proposal to increase the number of justices by appointing a justice for each justice over the age of 70; FDR’s first serious political mistake as president.
American Liberty League- business leaders and anti-New Deal politicians who organized opposition and claimed to "defend and uphold the Constitution" and to "foster the right to work, earn, save and acquire property.”
CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations) -created on the heels of the Wagner Act, John L. Lewis of the United Mine Workers set out to organize workers in industries where unions did not yet exist; began by focusing on the automobile and steel industries.
New Deal Coalition- the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates; included farmers, laborers, African Americans, new immigrants, ethnic minorities, women, progressives, and intellectuals.
Unit 12: The Great DepressionName______
1 Causes of the Depression and the Administration of H. HooverGuided Notes
Election of 1928
Republicans
______bowed out & Herbert Hoover stepped up
Hoover had never run for public office
Platform-continued prosperity and prohibition
“a ______in every pot” & “the end of poverty in our time”
Democrats
Still divided, & nominated Gov. Alfred Smith of NY
Wet, abrasively urban & ______, lost support of Southern Democrats
Radio used to campaign
Hoover won the ______by pushing America & “rugged individualism”
Campaign turned dirty, but not by the major candidates
“a vote for Al Smith is a vote for the ______.”
“Rum, Romanism and Ruin”
March 4, 1929
Hoover’s inauguration, the economy was good and stock prices were increasing
October 29, 1929
Everything collapsed and the US economy started a ______spiral
Bull Market or Bear Market
The stock market was established as a system for ______and selling shares of companies.
The value of stocks continued to rise throughout the Twenties which convinced many Americans to invest heavily in ______.
Common practice was to buy stocks on ______, small cash down payments. This was safe as long as stock values increased.
Causes of the Great Depression, 1929 - 1941
- Uneven Distribution of ______, wages had risen relatively little compared to the increases in productivity and corporate profits
- Stock Market ______,
- Excessive Use of Credit, consumers went into debt due to the ______plan and easy credit
- ______of Consumer Goods, ability to produce outran the capacity to consume
- Weak Farm Economy, overproduction drove prices down, had not profited since the end of WWI
- Government Policies,government did little to control or regulate business and the Federal ______failed to raise interest rates
- ______Economic Problems, global interdependence
The Great Crash
Black ______(October 29, 1929) stocks took their deepest dive, and lost 10 to 15 billion dollars in value.
The market crash severely weakened the nation’s ______.
When stock values collapsed, the banks lost money on their investments, speculators defaulted on their ______, and everyday Americans lost their ______.
Hoover’s Response to the Great Depression
Hoover felt industry, thrift and self-reliance were the virtues that had made America great (“rugged-______”)
The economy would fix itself (natural business cycle)
Encouraged banks to assist each other and businesses to keep wages ______
Government handouts would destroy the national fiber
Direct aid should be distributed by ______governments and ______, not the federal government
Hoover promoted the idea that “prosperity is just around the corner”
Hoover believed in the “______down” theory
In the congressional election of 1930, Republicans lost control of the House & almost lost the Senate
Hawley-Smoot Tariff, 1930
designed to assist the ______, good bill at first
Senate added about 1,000 amendments to it
became the highest protective tariff in American history, 38.5% (Fordney-McCumber Tariff) to _____%
What does this mean?
Imports became so expensive that Americans bought less of them. In response, foreign countries raised their own tariffs against ______products.
**plunged both America and other nations deeper into the depression
Hoover Moratorium
June 1931, to deal with a very serious banking collapse in Central ______that threatened to cause a worldwide financial meltdown, Hoover issued the Hoover Moratorium.
Called for a one-year halt in reparations payments by ______to France and in the payment of Allied war debts to the ______.
Temporarily stopped the banking collapse in Europe.
In June 1932, a conference canceled all reparations payments by ______
Public Work Projects
As conditions declined, Hoover was forced to act.
Congress appropriated $2.25 billion for work projects that would create jobs and stimulate business production.
______Dam (later renamed Hoover Dam), began construction in 1930 for irrigation, flood control & electric power along the Colorado River.
Muscle Shoals bill (vetoed by Hoover) would have built a dam on the ______River for the same purposes.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation, 1932 - 1957
RFC was a government lending bank for ______companies, big businesses, ______, agricultural organizations, railroads & state/local governments.
RFC did not make loans to individuals (just businesses & government)
The idea was “______priming” loans, but it was too late for maximum benefits during the early Depression years.
**laid the ground work for later ______legislation under FDR
Norris-La Guardia Anti-Injunction Act, 1932
One of the first federal ______laws in favor of organized labor
Outlawed yellow ______contracts
Federal courts could not issue injunctions to restrain strikes, boycotts or peaceful protests
The Bonus Army
1924, Congress passed legislation to pay ______veterans a “bonus” in 1945, because the veterans missed the economic prosperity during the war.
1932, the Patman Bill was introduced in Congress to allow WWI vets to receive their “bonus” early ($500/soldier)
20,000 veterans led by Walter ______marched on Washington, D.C. to put pressure on Congress to pass the bill (“Bonus Expeditionary Force”).
The Bonus Army established ______in D.C.
June 17, Congress voted NO!
Hoover arranged to pay the expense for about 6,000 vets to return home
Some of the bonus marchers refused to go, led to riots, 2 died and police encouraged Hoover to respond, sent in the army
July 28, General Douglas ______w/ bayonets and tear gas moved into the camps, burned them down, 3 died
**Crushed ______’s reputation and the Republican chances in the election of 1932
2 Life During the Great DepressionGuided Notes
Bank Runs
As the American public lost faith in the banking system, bank customers would ______their savings.
If too many people tried to withdraw money at one time (bank run), the bank would run out of cash and the bank would ______.
Because savings could be lost in a bank, people refused to deposit money and the amount of available ______disappeared.
Unemployment
- Unemployment is a vicious cycle.
- By 1932, ____% of workers are unemployed and the other 75% are working fewer hours at reduced wages.
Soup Kitchens and Bread Lines
No job. No money. No ______.
No government help.
People would line up in breadlines and at soup kitchens to receive free food from charities, churches, and local governments.
Shantytowns
No job. No money. No food. No ______.
No government help.
As mortgages and taxes went unpaid, people were evicted from their homes.
These people began to “______” on unused or public lands and make shelters out of anything they could find.
Called shantytowns and ______villes.
Riding the Rails
When conditions did not improve, homeless and unemployed Americans, called ______, began to wander aimlessly across the country trying to find ______.
Many men left their families behind without any support to find work.
Poor, Dirty, Angry, Farmers
Farmers began to suffer during the 1920s when farm prices dropped.
To make matters worse, farmers in the Great ______experienced severe droughts from 1930 to 1936 which resulted in ______storms (Dust Bowl).
Many farmers followed Route _____ to California in search of work (Oakies).
Farms along the Mississippi River were ruined following the Great Flood of 19_____.
Challenges
African Americans
Last hired, first ______
Unemployment rate higher than national average
Often excluded from state and local relief programs
Women
Challenged to feed & cloth family
% of women in labor force ______
Were paid less and accused of taking jobs from men
Middle-Class America
Economic hardships had the greatest impact on the middle-class (Why?)
Marriage rate, birth rate & divorce rate ______
Informal breakups of families occurred as unemployed men left in search of work
Mexican Americans
Had been principal source of agricultural labor in the ______
Job competition in the 1930s resulted in forced deportation
Escapism During Hard Times
The ______picture industry and ______industry attracted audiences during the depression.
Many European actors, directors, and writers came to the United States to flee rising dictators and economic hardships.
People used the big screen and radio programs to escape the hardships of daily life.
Cartoons were loved and the first feature-length animated film was ______ White and the ______Dwarfs (1937)
Other influential films were:
The Wizard of ______(color)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Gone with the ______
Popular radio shows included:
Comedies-Jack Benny, Will Rogers, George Burns
Heroic Adventures-Green Hornet, Lone Ranger
Daytime Dramas (soap operas)- The Guiding Light
Neat Depression Era People
Grant Wood’s American ______
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
1936 Olympic gold medalist Jesse ______
Dorothea Lange photographer
Gutzon Borglum completed Mount ______
3 Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New DealGuided Notes
“I pledge you, I pledge myself, to a new deal for the American people.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt emerged in politics in the 1912 election supporting Wilson and became Asst. Secretary to the Navy following Wilson’s election.
After losing the election of 1920, FDR was stricken with ______in 1921, which left him handicapped.
Thanks to his wife, ______, FDR stayed active in politics and later became governor of New York.
By 1932, the country had turned against Hoover and the Republican party as the country sank deeper into the depression. (The Bonus Army fiasco hurt, too.)
Democratic candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt, offered the American people hope and government assistance with his domestic plan of a “______.”
Election of 1932
The Democrats Come to Power
In the election of 1932, FDR campaigned for a repeal of prohibition, a balanced budget, economic & social reforms, and a “New Deal” for the “forgotten man.”
The New Deal was not based on a clear strategy shaped by a single philosophy.
FDR gathered the most intellectual, reform-minded experts to advise his administration on new programs and solutions to the crisis. “______Trust”
The New Deal’s primary purposes were to provide ______, Recovery and ______. (3Rs)
And it begins
March 4, 1933
FDR’s inauguration.
“We have nothing to fear but ______itself”
FDR called for a special session of Congress
March 5, 1933
The most pressing issues were ______closings and faith in the banking system.
FDR announced a national bank holiday (March 6-10, 1933)
March 9 – June 16, 1933, “The ______Days”
Congress passed 15 major acts to combat the Great Depression during this special session of Congress
The First New Deal legislation was passed during 19____ and 19____
Is my money safe in the bank?
Emergency Banking Relief Act, March 9, 1933
First act passed in the special session, took less than 8 hours
Authorized the Treasury Dept. to inspect the country’s ______
Sound banks were reopened & others could receive loans to prop them up
First ______Chat, March 12, 1933
Messages to the country using the radio by FDR
First message was to reassure and explain the banking intervention
Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act, June 12, 1933
Created Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (______) and insured individual banking deposits up to $5,000
Gold Standard Repealed, June 5, 1933
US went off the gold standard, all gold money was to be exchanged for paper money (caused ______)