Chapter 14 Flashcards
Even though there were prosperous times in the 1920s, what industries struggled?
Railroad, textile, housing, banks, coal, lumber, automobile.
Why did so many industries struggle?
Because there was superficial prosperity and new industries ended up pushing people out of business
What industry suffered the most?
Farming
Why did farming struggle?
Because farmers had planted too much because during WWI when there was a huge demand for crops. Now, that there was not such of demand for crops, farmers could not pay back the loans that they took out for the land. Farmers began to default on their loans. Rural banks began to fail
Price Supports
key products such as wheat, corn, cotton, and tobacco. The gov. would biy supplies at guarenteed prices and sell them on the world market
What did President Coolidge do about the price supports:
He vetoed the bill saying that farmers had never made money anyway.
What was one problem with consumers
They were buying less and less
Why were Americans buying less and less?
Because the prices were rising.
Credit:
People bought goods, promising to pay it back later. By offering credit systems, businesses encouraged them to pile on large amounts of debt.
What happened to wealth distribution during the 1920s.
The rich got richer and the poor got poorer. More then 70% of the families got 2500 durign the whole year. The income was dripping
Who won the election of 1928? What was the reason for the vote?
Herbert Hoover beat Alfred A. Smith. He said that this was because people had lived under Republican prosperity for years.
What was the Dow Jones Industrial Average?
It basically measured the healthiness of the stock market. It did this by taking an average of 30 influential stocks prices.
Speculation
risky business ventures, such as investment in the stock market. Just to make a quick profit
Buying on marginL
Paying a small percentage of a stocks price as a down payment and borrowing the rest.
When the stock market declined, people could not pay back their loans
In what year and what month did stock markets start dwindling
1929 September
On what day in October did stock prices fall?
Oct. 24
What was the Great Depression?
The period in which the economy plummeted and unemployment sckyrocketed
After the crash, what did people do?
They panicked and took all of their money out of the bank. Unemployment leaped and businesses had to file for bank ruptcy
The United States was/was not the only country gripped by the great depression
was not
What was the Hawley Smoot Tariff
it raised tariffs on imported goods so much. It also dropped trade by 40%
What were the causes of the Great Depression?
- Tariffs and war debt policies that cut down foreign market s for American goods
- A crisis in the farm sector
- the availability of easy credit
- an unequal distribution of income
What happened to people in the cities?
People lsot their jobs and were evicted from their homes and ended up in the streets. Some slept in parks or sewer pipes, wrapping themselves in newspapers to fend of the cold
Shanty Towns?
Litte towns consisting of shacks sprang up.
Soup Kitchens and Bread Lines
Lines of people wating to get free or reduced food
Conditions for what ethnic groups were tough?
African Americans and Latinos (deportation)
What was one advantage of rural farming?
They could grow food. But most farms were lost through foreclosure
What was the dust bowl
Huge dust storms in the Great Plains because of overfarming.
What was a source of strength for Americans?
Their family
How did people entertain themselves
board games
Which gender had a lot of problems
males had problems finding jobs. Some abandoned their families and became hoboes
What was direct relief?
Cash payment or food provided by the government to the poor
What women do?
They sufferend because the could not work. Some starved and others could not find work because they were married
What happened to Children?
They had many diseases, also, they did not have enough education, Lastly, some just hoped on the trains and left
What were some social and psycological effects from the Great Depressions
Stop dreams, stop going to the doctor and give up dreams of life
After the stock market crash, what did Hoover reassure to Americans>
The worst was over, and they should remain optinistic
Hoover believed that one of governments chief functions was to foster coorperation between competing groups and interests in society.
What did Hoover do after the crash?
He approached key leaders of business and banking and labor. He urgerd themt owork together to find a solutions,. He also hoped that employers would bee good to employees
What was the Boulder Dam?
Dam used to make electircity, and make an agreement of the water rights on the colorodo river. In 1929, nearly one year into the presidency, he made the dam.
Which party won the election of 1916 and why?
Democrats, because Hoover was not doing anything. The people made sure Hoover heard their point by burning fields and naming bad things after him
Who did Hoover back?
Cooperatives. He tried to end the depression by negotiating deals among private people. He wanted to establish the National Credit Coorperation which loaned money to small banks
Federal Home Loan Bank Act
lowered mortage rates for homeowners and allowed farmers to refinace their farms and avoid forclosure
Glass Steagall Banking At
Seperated investment from the commercial banking world
Reconstuction Finance Corporation
authorized up to 2 billion for emergency financing for banks, life insurance, railroads, and other large businesses. All approachs failed
What was the Bonus Army?
It was an army of WWI vets that wanted their raise
The Patman Bill
The Patman Bill authorized the gov. to pay a bonus by 1945
What Hoover think of the Bonus Marches
They were communists and should be disbanded with force.
