The Great Depression and New Deal Flashcards
1
Q
Causes of Depression
A
- Drop in farm prices
- uneven distribution of income
- get rich quick using real estate and stocks
- over extension of credits
- too many goods
- immediately caused stock market crash
2
Q
Bubble Burst
A
- October 29, 1929
- stock market lost $30 billion
- beginning of great depression
3
Q
Banking System Collapse
A
- banks heavily invested in the market
- collapse of market -> bank failures
- depositors panicked -> more bank failures
4
Q
Hoover’s Response (to Crash)
A
- believed that private charity was best suited to solve problems
- efforts failed
- Reconstruction Finance Corporation achieved success (loaned money to businesses so people an get employed “trickle”)
5
Q
Hoovervilles
A
- settlements of shacks inhabited by transients and unemployed
- named after pres. hoover
- every city had at least one
6
Q
The Bonus Army
A
- Patman Bill was to move up bonus payments from 1945 to 1933
- Veterans camped near Capitol to support bill
- Bill failed in Congress
- Hoover removed veterans using army, seen as heartless
7
Q
Election of 1932
A
- Republicans -> Hoover
- Democrats -> FDR (winner by landslide)
8
Q
Franklin D. Roosevelt
A
- relative to Teddy
- married Eleanor (cousin)
- Political mirror to Teddy
- Lost 1920 election to be vp
- paralyzed in 1921
9
Q
The “New Deal”
A
- Relief: immediate assistance to jobs/banking
- Recovery: bring economy back to how it was before stock market crash
- Reform: fix things so crash doesn’t happen again
10
Q
The “Brain Trust”
A
- advisers who helped FDR in making early economic policy
- some ppl: Moley, Tugwell, and Berle
- members had varying opinions about jumpstarting the economy
- eventually disbanded
11
Q
The First Hundred Days
A
- Three month period after FDR’s Inauguration
- Flurry of Legislative activity
- HONEYMOON PHASE between FDR and Congress
- Allowed most New Deal’s relief program establishing act (including): Agricultural Adjustment Act, Tennessee Valley Authority, Glass-Staegall Banking Act
12
Q
Solving the Banking Crisis
A
- 1930-1933: Nearly 10,000 banks closed
- Michigan gov. ordered banking “moratorium” in state
- FDR called it bank “holiday”
- Glass-Staegall Act created FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
13
Q
Fireside Chats
A
- Radio talks
- FDR spoke about issues and concern, 30 chats
- informal
14
Q
“Pump Priming” and the Dole
A
- Federal Emergency Relief Act passed
- FERA pumped money into economy for jobs
- Also provided relief for unemployed
- spent billions on public works through Civil Works Administration and Emergency Work Relief programs
15
Q
FDR’s Farm Program
A
- Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 sought to reduce farm surpluses
- Resettlement Administration
- Farm Security Administration
- Rural Electrification Administration
- *Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1936 (2nd one bc 1st one was unconstitutional): food markets taxed consumers, paid farmers not to grow food
16
Q
The Dust Bowl: Causes
A
- Overcultivation of land in the Great Plains, drought throughout region, winds blew loose soil
17
Q
The Dust Bowl: Impact
A
- > 500,000 left homeless
- dust blew into cities such as Chicago and Buffalo
- “Red snow” fell in towns in New England
18
Q
The Plight of the “Okies”
A
- Farmers from Oklahoma, went to Cali for farm jobs, about 15% of the population were migrants
19
Q
Hardships (of Okies)
A
- unsanitary camps
- wages decreased for large numbers
- California passed “anti-Okie” law
20
Q
The “Migrant Mother”
A
- famous New Deal-era photo
- Shot for the Resettlement Administration by Dorothea Lange
21
Q
Work-Based Relief Programs
A
- FDR thought unemployment was a problem
- made programs so teens can work instead of dole (given money)
- some saw the “make work” programs as boondoggles : waste of time
22
Q
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
A
- Provided jobs for young MEN ages 18-25
- environmental works project
- paid $30, sent $25 to family
23
Q
National Youth Administration (NYA)
A
- provided part-time jobs for youths who wanted to stay in school
- paid $6-$40 per month “work study”
- employed both male and female students
24
Q
Public Works Administration (PWA)
A
- money given to contractors for public works
- Built bridges, schools, airports, roads, Navy ships
- administered by Ickes
- spent $6 mill
25
Q
Civil Works Administration (CWA)
A
- mainly constructed bridges and buildings
- spent over $1 bill in less than a year
- considered boondoggle, abandoned
26
Q
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
A
- Harry Hopkins
- Public works on bridges, roads, runways
- Included ARTS PROJECTS
27
Q
Federal Theater Project
A
- part of “Federal One” project
- Flanagan
- controversies, some plays critical of govt., socialistic
28
Q
Federal Arts Project
A
- Specialized in Visual Arts
- created over 200,000 works
29
Q
Federal Writers Project
A
- Writers work directly for the govt.
- writers paid “subsistence” wage
- Famous: Steinbeck, Zora Neale Hurston, Terkel, Wright
30
Q
National Industrial Recovery Act
A
- center of New Deal
- Sought to promote fair competition, raise wages and prices, institute collective bargaining
- “codes of fair competition”
- enforced by NRA
- symbol: Blue Eagle
31
Q
The “Sick Chicken” Case
A
- Supreme Court struck down the NIRA
- Decided Congress had given Pres. too much lawmaking power
- ruled NIRA violated the Constitution’s commerce clause
32
Q
The “Nine Old Men”
A
- Supreme Court dominated by conservatives
- FDR unable to make appointments to Court
- declared several New Deal programs unconstitutional
- FDR believed Court was hampering needed relief and reform
33
Q
FDR’s “Court-Packing” Plan
A
- FDR to preserve New Deal reforms
- Introduced Legislation: new judge for every Supreme Court member over age 70.5, increases Supreme Court to a max of 15 members
- didn’t pass, FDR lost political support
34
Q
New Deal “Agitators”
A
- Opposed New Deal, felt FDR gone too far, or not far enough
- Didn’t have much influence on the 1936 election or New Deal
35
Q
The American Liberty League
A
- saw FDR traitor to his class
- Believed New Deal lead to socialism
- challenged legality of Wagner Act
- disappeared by 1940
36
Q
Father Charles Coughlin
A
- Catholic priest who used radio to reach mass audience
- First a New Deal supporter, later a critic
- Sympathetic to anti-Semitic policies of Hitler and Mussolini
- forced off air because of broadcast rules
37
Q
Huey Long: “The Kingfish”
A
- Louisiana governor and senator
- Believed New Deal didn’t do enough
- proposed “Share the Wealth” program
- Revenue Act of 1935 incorporated some of Long’s ideas
38
Q
The Townsend Plan
A
- proposed a monthly pension of $200 for all citizens over 60
- paid by national sales tax
- Social Security Act
39
Q
The Election of 1936
A
Democrats -> FDR (winner)
Republicans -> Alf Landon
40
Q
“New Deal Coalition”
A
- groups who supported FDR in 1936: Labor unions, Urban political machines, Racial and religious minorities, Southern Whites
- agreed mostly on New Deal
41
Q
New Deal Reform Measures
A
- programs still in effect today: Social Security, Pure food and drug laws, Tennessee Valley Authority, FDIC
42
Q
Social Security Act of 1935
A
- suggested by Perkins
- Provided: old age pensions, unemployment insurance, aid to dependents
- funded by payroll tax
43
Q
National Labor Relations Act
A
- aka Wagner Act
- Allowed collective bargaining
- protected rights of laborers to form unions
- Also created NLRB (National Labor Relations Board)
44
Q
Fair Labor Standards Act
A
- Guaranteed federal minimum wage
- 25c per hours
- Guaranteed overtime paid “time and half”
- prohibited “oppressive child labor”
45
Q
Tennessee Valley Authority
A
- Lilienthal
- provided flood control and cheap hydroelectric power
- protect social and economical welfare of people in the area
46
Q
Help for Homeowners
A
- Home Owners Loan Corporation: low interest loans for current homeowners
- Federal Housing Authority: loans for home repair and new building projects
- United States Housing Authority: low-cost public housing
47
Q
Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act
A
- strengthened FDA
- standards for regulated quality of food
- safety and legitimacy of drugs
- controlled product advertisement
48
Q
Securities and Exchange Commission
A
- created through Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934
- laws required truth in sales of securities and fair treatment of investors
- SEC’s purpose to provide market stability and protect investors
49
Q
Creation of the “Welfare State”
A
- Govt. became overseer of citizens’ welfare from “cradle to grave”
50
Q
Women of the New Deal Era
A
- Roosevelt: most significant and influential first lady, ideas and deals come from her, advocate for Civil Rights
- Bethune: education, part of Black cabinet, part of Blacks Roosevelt would like
- Anderson: opera singer
- Perkins: first lady in pres. cabinet
51
Q
FDR and Civil Rights
A
- debate against FDR’s civil rights record
- Refused to support anti-lynching law
- Did not work to integrate armed forces
- FEPC (Federal Employment Practice Committee) ensured equal opportunity for African Americans in govt. and defense-industry jobs
- African Americans appointed to govt. positions
52
Q
Woody Guthrie
A
- This Land Is Your Land, other songs about Depression-era life
53
Q
John Steinbeck
A
- The Grapes of Wrath, praised and criticized
- insinuated govt. needed to do more
54
Q
Films of 1930s
A
- Hollywood’s “golden era”
55
Q
Will Rogers
A
- American humorist
- Radio, movie star, newspaper columnist
- satirized politics and current events
56
Q
The War of the Worlds
A
- produced by Welles
- episode “Mercury on the Air” caused mass panic, anxiety over events in Europe heightened fear
57
Q
The Election of 1940
A
Republican -> Wendell Willkie “dark horse”
Democrat -> FDR (winner)
58
Q
The End of the New Deal
A
- recession and jump in unemployment raised concerns about the New Deal
- Some New Deal agencies continued to early 1940s
- Full employment and the end of Depression only occurred with U.S. involvement in World War II
59
Q
The Legacy of the New Deal
A
- Enlargement of govt.
- Deficit spending
- Welfare state
- Inspiration for future welfare programs, such as Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society”
