Peacetime FDR 1933 - 1941 Flashcards
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Depression provided the impetus for Franklin Roosevelt’s unprecedented expansion of the federal government. This deck describes domestic affairs and foreign policy during Roosevelt’s first two terms in office.
Explain what happened to Mexican Americans across the Southwest in states like California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
Starting in 1929, and throughout the entire Great Depression, Hoover and Roosevelt had allowed local governments and private businesses to deport 2 million Mexican-Americans, 1.2 million of which had been born in the United States. Some of the people who were being forced out of the United States had never been to Mexico and didn’t know any Spanish.
The State of California, the only such state to do so, formally apologized to the Mexican-American people in 2006 and requires that this content be taught in their public schools today.
Explain the issue with land seizures.
When Mexican-Americans were deported to Mexico, their land was taken by the government, and often sold to prospective White buyers. If Mexican-Americans had possession of valuable land, oftentimes their race was used as an excuse to deport them and take away their land.
Black Americans also faced similar issues from White people, especially after the end of Reconstruction. Groups like the KKK, who re-emerged in the 1920s, terrorized Black people, threatening some with death if they did not leave their land. Oftentimes, the KKK would work with local city governments, to ensure that Black people’s land could be taken away, using the power of “eminent domain”. One such famous case is Bruce’s Beach in California.
What were the results of the 1932 election?
Running for re-election in the midst of a Depression, Hoover was resoundingly defeated by Roosevelt. In addition, Democrats swept both houses of Congress.
During his first inaugural address, President Franklin Roosevelt announced the “Good Neighbor Policy” in his relations with Latin America. What did Roosevelt’s Good Neighbor Policy entail?
Under the Good Neighbor Policy, the United States would no longer intervene in the internal affairs of Latin American countries.
How did the Nye Committee influence foreign policy in the 1930s?
The Nye Committee, led by Senator Gerald Nye of North Dakota, held the strict belief that American entrance into World War I was fueled by the greed of bankers and arms manufacturers. As isolationists, the Committee had a vital influence on the passing of the Neutrality Acts of the mid-1930s.
Define:
Isolationism
Isolationism is a foreign policy under which one isolates their country from economic and diplomatic relations with other countries. Isolationists typically devote their entire efforts to their own internal advancement.
During the 1930s, American foreign policy was profoundly isolationist.
Define:
Fascism
Although Fascism escapes an easy definition, it can generally be described as a system of government that is ruled by a dictator, usually has a heavy emphasis on strong military, is strongly nationalistic, and promotes hatred of those who are considered “impure.”
In 1933, Adolf Hitler seized control of Germany, although his Nazi Party never received more than 40% of the popular vote. What tools did Hitler use to increase his popularity in Germany?
Hitler appealed to the German people by promising a return to economic prosperity, and by holding the Jews responsible for Germany’s loss in World War I.
Explain the significance of the impact of the New Deal on the Great Depression.
This New Deal would end up being a massive expansion of the Federal Government’s power into the economy. To achieve this, FDR engaged in what is called deficit spending to help stimulate economic growth.
Most historians and economists have concluded that FDR’s New Deal could not lift the US out of the Great Depression since there was not enough government spending. Instead, it would be the US entry into World War II, which forced the government to spend so much money on building weapons of war that it lifted the US out of the Great Depression since almost anyone who wanted a job could find one.
Immediately after his inauguration, President Roosevelt called Congress into a one hundred-day session to consider legislation to address the economy. What agencies resulted from the “Hundred Days”?
At Roosevelt’s direction, Congress passed legislation which established several agencies directed at stimulating the economy, including the:
- Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
- Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
- National Recovery Association (NRA)
On his first full day in office, President Franklin Roosevelt announced the closure of what type of businesses?
On March 5, 1933, President Roosevelt announced a “bank holiday” and ordered all banks closed. The measure was necessary, he contended, to prevent further bank runs, and to allow the government and the banks themselves to assess their solvency.
Although many banks would never reopen, on March 9, 1933, Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act, which allowed banks to reopen on March 13, provided they were solvent. The Emergency Banking Act provided an explicit federal guarantee of all bank-held funds, and stopped further runs.
Passed as part of Franklin Roosevelt’s “Hundred Days” legislation, what was the purpose of the Public Works Administration (PWA)?
The PWA employed millions of unskilled workers on public works projects, such as building parks, post offices, and bridges.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established in 1933 as part of the “Hundred Days” legislation. What was this agency’s purpose?
The CCC focused on forestry, the prevention of soil erosion, flood control, and similar projects. Aimed primarily at young men whose families received $25 (the men only received $5), many of the CCC’s camps were set up in National Forests and under the control of the Army.
How did the Agricultural Adjustment Act (1933) seek to remedy the low crop prices that plagued farmers in the early years of the Depression?
The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA), passed during the “Hundred Days,” paid farmers to let a portion of their land lie unplanted, in the hopes that the crop supply would be reduced and the price of those crops would increase.
Although the AAA did stabilize prices, it had a disastrous effect on sharecroppers in the South, where landowners merely removed the sharecroppers from their land, or failed to pay AAA money forward. Sharecropping became exceedingly rare. In 1935, the Supreme Court ruled the AAA unconstitutional.
What was the National Recovery Act (1933)?
The National Recovery Act (NRA) was one of the first New Deal programs, passed as part of Roosevelt’s “Hundred Days” program. The NRA suspended antitrust laws and required each industry to set amounts for finished products, wages, hours of work, and maximum goods produced.
The NRA, modeled on a similar program established by Benito Mussolini, had only a negligible effect on the economy, and the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1935.
Define:
Hooverville
A “Hooverville” was a nickname for the shantytowns built by homeless people during the Great Depression, and named after President Hoover, whom they blamed for the Depression.
The term “Hooverville” was coined by the publicity chief of the Democratic National Committee, Charles Michelson.
Define:
Fireside chat
On occasion during his four terms in office, President Franklin Roosevelt conducted radio broadcasts, during which he explained his perceptions of the problems facing the country and his proposed solutions. These talks with the American people were known as fireside chats.
During his presidency Roosevelt held 30 of these conferences, which typically began, “My friends, I want to talk…”
Complete the sentence:
In an effort to halt falling prices (deflation), Congress ended the convertibility of paper dollars into _____ in 1933.
gold
The United States was still ostensibly on the gold standard because the amount of paper currency was still limited by the amount of gold held by the Treasury. Congress also made it illegal for American citizens to hold onto American gold dollars and other gold currency.
What federal agency was created by Congressional legislation in 1933 and 1934 to oversee the operations of the country’s stock exchanges?
The Securities and Exchange Commission
The SEC monitors stock issuance, regulates companies’ disclosure of material information, and oversees stock trades to ensure fairness for all investors.
Complete the sentence:
Receiving a federal charter in May of 1933, the _____ _____ _____ provided rural electrification in six Southern states.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
In addition to building power plants and running electrical lines, the TVA provided construction jobs and advised farmers on planting techniques, such as the use of fertilizer and crop rotation.
In late 1933, two thirds of states approved the Twenty-First Amendment. What did this amendment provide?
The Twenty-First Amendment ended Prohibition by repealing the Eighteenth Amendment. To date, the Eighteenth Amendment is the only repealed Amendment of the Constitution.
Although not supported by President Roosevelt, Congress passed legislation to establish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in June of 1933. What is the FDIC’s primary role?
The FDIC guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, by ensuring that deposits in an amount up to $250,000 will be repaid by the U.S. government to the depositor in the event the member bank fails.
By backing banks with the full faith and credit of the U.S government, the FDIC reassured bank customers during the Great Depression and helped prevent bank runs.
Historians typically divide Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal programs into two periods; the First New Deal and the Second New Deal. What are the differences between the two?
The First New Deal focused primarily on Recovery and the programs were mostly enacted in 1933. Many of these programs failed to boost the economy.
The Second New Deal focused on the second two “Rs,” relief and reform. Enacted after the Democratic victory in the Congressional election of 1934, the Second New Deal included programs like the Works Progress Administration and the Social Security Administration.
After seeing two elderly women dig through the trash outside his home in Long Beach, California, Dr. Francis Townsend came up with a controversial plan to rejuvenate the economy. What did Townsend propose?
Townsend proposed establishing a 2% national sales tax and using the proceeds to provide $200 to each U.S. citizen over age 65. Townsend believed that the prompt spending of the $200 would stimulate the economy.
Although unfeasible, the plan’s nationwide popularity prompted Roosevelt to suggest the Social Security Administration.
