13-1 to 13-3 Flashcards
Black Tuesday
October 29, 1929; date of the worst stock-market crash in American history and beginning of the Great Depression.
Great Depression
Period lasting from 1929 to 1941 in which the U.S. economy faltered and unemployment soared.
Causes of the Great Depression
-Too much buying with credit
-Overproduction
-Less consumer spending
-Banks collapsing
-Falling stock prices, too much speculation and buying stock on margin
-Farmers struggling with high debt and low crop prices
Hoovervilles
Shanty towns that the unemployed built in the cities during the early years of the Great Depression.
Dust Bowl
Region of the Great Plains that experienced a drought in 1930 lasting for a decade and leaving many farmers without work or substantial wages.
"”Okies”
Displaced farm families from the Oklahoma dust bowl who migrated to California during the 1930s in search of jobs.
Trickle-Down Economics
Theory that money lent & tax breaks to businesses/individuals and banks would trickle down to consumers.
Bonus Army
Group of World War One veterans that marched to D.C. in 1932 to demand the payment of their government war bonuses early.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Democratic Governor of NY, winner of Election of 1932 and created a “New Deal” to deal with the Great Depression.
New Deal
FDR’s programs and legislation during the Great Depression to promote economic recovery and social reforms. Relief, recovery and reform were the three parts of the program.
Fireside Chats
Informal radio broadcasts in which FDR explained issues and New Deal programs to average Americans.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Government agency that insures bank deposits, guaranteeing that depositors’ money is safe.
Tennessee Valley Authority
New Deal program that built dams to control flooding and produce cheap electric power.
Townsend Plan
Dr. Francis Townsend, a California physician, won wide support for a plan by which the government would make a monthly payment of $200 to older Americans, with the requirement that they spend it immediately. Some of his ideas became part of the Social Security Act.
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
New Deal program that provided young men with relief jobs on environmental conservation projects, including reforestation and flood control.
Securities and Exchange Commission
An independent agency of the government that regulates financial markets and investment companies.
Huey Long
Political leader from Louisiana who criticized the New Deal.
