Chapter 21 and 22 Reading Flashcards
roaring 20’s
republican decade; supported republicans by electing Hoover
republican presidents
led the nation and took credit for the good economic times
American farmers
borrowed money to buy land and machinery to increase the harvest yields during WW1; still producing large harvests; problems worsened during the depression
demand for American crops
fell after the war
cheap food
flooded the markets lowering farmers profits and making debt harder to pay off
industrial workers
wages rose steadily; did better than farmers
owners of companies
did even better than industrial workers; became very rich
1929 percentage
wealthiest .01% of the population earned about the same amount of money as the bottom 42%
easy credit meant many workers
took advantage to buy products; disguised the problem and helped the economy grow
1929 too much money was
being poured into stock speculation
investors
borrowed money to buy stocks then sold them to turn a quick profit
inflating the prices of stocks
led to frantic buying and selling; unrealistic levels
sharp drop in stock prices
led to panicked selling
black Tuesday
Oct 29, 1929; stock market crashes and stock prices bottomed
stock market crash marked the beginning
of the Great Depression
the Great Depression
period lasting from 1929 to 1941; US economy faltered and unemployment soared; thousands of banks closed and many businesses failed; cities and minorities hit hardest
Hawley-Smoot tariff
government tried to boost the sale of American goods; placed high taxes on foreign goods; result was closed markets and unsold goods; destroyed international trade
bread line
people lined up for handouts from charities or public agencies
Hoovervilles
makeshift shantytowns of tents and shacks built on public land or vacant lots
tenant farmers
working for bigger land owners rather than for themselves
severe drought and over farming
turned soil to dust on the Great Plains; made farming impossible and creating huge dust storms
dust bowl
high plain regions in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Colorado; many farmers left and moved to California for work
Okies
dust bowl refugees from California
African American sharecroppers
thrown off the land they were working on and migrated north
repatriations
government efforts to send Mexico immigrants and their American children back to Mexico; southwest white Americans urged it
Herbert Hoover
president; struggled to respond to the nation’s problems; felt the government shouldn’t interfere with what he thought was the natural downswing of the business cycle; volunteerism; later called in the military on the bonus army
volunteerism
Hoover asked business leaders not to cut prices and wages; government to simultaneously reduce taxes, lower interest rates, and create public-works programs; wealthy to give to poor through charities
localism
asked the state and local governments to provide more jobs and relief measures; businesses instead cut wages and laid off workers
towns, states, and charities
didn’t have the resources to respond to the crisis; charities ran low on money
trickle-down economics
government would provide loans to bankers so they in turn could lend money to businesses; then hire workers, leading to the increase production and consumption and the end of the depression
reconstruction finance corporation
RFC; provide loans to businesses; businesses that did receive loans didn’t always use them to hire workers
Hoover Dam
Colorado River; brought much-needed employment to the southwest in the early 1930’s
bonus army
group of almost 20 thousand unemployed WW1 veterans; marched in protest and set up camps in Washington, DC; wanted early payment of a bonus promised them; congress agreed; Hoover vetoed
general Douglas MacArthur
led army troops against the veterans
FDR
won the presidency by more than 7 million votes; lost the use of his legs to polio; congress passed 15 bills; used the legislation passed by the 2nd new deal to accomplish the goals of promoting the general welfare and protecting citizen’s rights
Eleanor Roosevelt
became FDR’s eyes and ears during his presidency; transformed the office of the First Lady to a politically active position; traveled extensively and advocated equal justice for all
first new deal
first 15 bills; 3 goals; relief, recovery, and reform; brought fundamental changes to the nation
relief
referred to improving the immediate hardships of the depression; immediate effort involved the government paying farmers subsides to reduce production; move that helped raise farm prices
recovery aimed at
achieving a long-term economic recovery
reform
designed to prevent further depressions
Tennessee valley authorities
TVA; build dams in the Tennessee river valley to control floods and generate electric power, and the creation of the CCC
civillian conservation corps
CCC: provided jobs for more than 2 million young men; replanted forests, built trails, dug irrigation ditches, and fought fires
recovery efforts; 2
national recovery administration; NRA; public works administration; PWA
national recovery administration
NRA; developed industry codes that set minimum wages for workers and minimum prices for goods
public works administration
PWA; created millions of new jobs, constructing bridges, dams, power plants, and government buildings
federal deposit insurance corporation
FDIC; insured bank deposits
securities exchange commission
SEC; regulated the stock market
FDIC and SEC
reformed the nations financial institutions
some Americans
thought the new deal made the government too powerful
other Americans
thought the new deal didn’t provide enough help to citizens; strongest criticism came from individuals with roots in the Populist movement
Father Charles Coughlin
Roman Catholic priest who aired increasingly angry views on a weekly radio show; Roman Catholic officials forced Coughlin to stop his broadcasts
Senator Huey Long
Louisiana; proposed placing high taxes on wealthy Americans so their income could be redistributed to the poor
works progress administration
WPA; provide new jobs doing public works; provided programs to employ displaced artists; government paid for programs by spending money it didn’t have; allowed people of varied backgrounds to get to know one another, breaking down regional and ethnic prejudice
John Maynard Keynes
British economist; argued that such deficit spending was needed to end the depression
social security act
created pension system for retirees, as well as unemployment insurance for workers who lost their jobs and aid for the disabled
new programs and laws aided
farmers and industrial workers
rural electrification administration
helped bring electricity to farms
Wagner act
gave workers the right to collective bargaining
collective bargaining
employers had to negotiate with unions about hours, wages, and other working conditions
fair labor standards act
established a minimum wage and a maximum number of hours for the workweek; outlawed child labor
congress of industrial organizations
CIO; established to organize workers in major industries; members staged a sit-down strike against General Motors refusing to leave the workplace until a settlement had been reached
success in sit-down against General Motors
led to other strikes, which improved wages and working conditions for union members
supreme court
FDR faced struggles; struck down a number of the key laws in the new deal
court packing
dilute the power of the 6 justices; FDR asked congress to add 6 new justices to the 9 member court
new economic downturn in 1938
FDR chose not to try to force more reforms through congress
secretary of labor Frances Perkins
first female cabinet member; played a leading role in establishing social security and minimum wages
African American leaders
FDR invited to advise him
black cabinet
unofficial advisers of FDR
Mary McLeod Bethune
member of the black cabinet; powerful champion of racial equality
Indian new deal
program to help American Indians by providing funding for the construction of new schools and hospitals
Indian reorganization act
restored tribal control of American Indian lands
bureau of Indian affairs
stopped discouraging the practice of traditional American Indian customs
new deal coalition
FDR united a culturally diverse group of Americans into a strong political force; gave the Democratic Party a sizable majority in both houses of congress; unify the nation
new deal programs increased
size and scope of the federal government like never before
government assumed the responsibility for
providing for the welfare of children and the poor, elderly, sick, disabled, and unemployed; led to the rise of a welfare state
expanding role of the government included
creation of many federal agencies; gave the executive branch much more power
22nd amendment
limited the president to 2 consecutive terms in office
large network radios
dominated the airwaves
movies were a form of
escapism during the Great Depression as American sought relief from their concern
the wizard of oz
promised wearily audiences that their dreams really could come true
many films reflected
public’s distrust of big businesses and the government
films of Frank Capra
celebrated American idealism and the triumph of the common man over adversity
fireside radio chats
FDR used; to explain his new deal programs
national radio networks broadcast
dramas, comedies, soap operas, and variety shows
war of the worlds movie
many people believed the martians were actually invading
music
swing music played by big bands
blues singers
focused on the harsh conditions faced by African Americans
Woody Guthrie
wrote ballads about the Oakies
federal art project
government funded arts for the first time; artists painted huge murals on walls
Dorothea Lange
documented the plight of America’s farmers
writers produced
novels featuring working-class heroes
the grapes of wrath
John Steinbeck; fictional Joad family from the Oklahoma dust bowl to California
Lilian Hellman
wrote several plays featuring strong roles for women as well as scnreeplans for movies
