The Great Depression and New Deal Flashcards
What were some of the major causes of the Great Depression?
Overproduction;
Underconsumption;
Unequal Distribution of Wealth;
Too much buying on credit; Buying stocks on margin; stock market speculation; the stock market crash in 1929.
What was Black Tuesday?
October 29, 1929 when the Stock Market CRASHED!
What are some of the characteristics of an economic depression? In other words, what happens economically during a depression?
Production in factories DROPS.
Unemployment INCREASES or is high. Prices fall because there is a surplus and not enough demand for goods. Banks and businesses fail. The morale (or spirits) of the people falls. Family issues like violence, divorce, etc. often INCREASE.
What was the peak (or highest) rate of unemployment during the Great Depression?
Around 25%
That means 1 in every 4 people could NOT find a job.
What were some of the SYMBOLS of the Great Depression?
Bread Lines Soup Kitchens Hoovervilles Hoover Blankets = Newspapers Hoover Flags = Empty Pockets Hover Hotel = Cardboard Box Beggars Hobos 'Riding The Rails'
What was the dust bowl?
A section of the country on the GREAT PLAINS (in the Midwest) that became impossible to farm due to extreme drought and overfarming.
What did many people do because of the dust bowl?
‘Okies’ migrated to California to try to find work and start life over.
People packed up their cars with everything they could carry and MIGRATED. This became one of the largest migrations in US History.
Hoover believed that the government should NOT take too active a role to end the depression. Instead, he wanted people to rely on what two things?
Charity and Themselves.
Hoover believed in “Rugged Individualism.” He wanted people to be self-sufficient and NOT rely on the government for a handout. However, he did think that private and religious charities should try to help Americans who were struggling.
What was the Bonus Army March?
World War I veterans were promised a bonus payment for their service in the war. But it was not scheduled to be paid until 1945. These veterans marched on Washington to demand their bonus payment. When the government said no, the veterans refused to leave. Douglas MacArthur took Hoover’s orders way too far and forcibly removed the veterans and burned down their Hooverville. The public blamed Hoover and elected Franklin D. Roosevelt in a landslide in 1932.
What did FDR promise the American people in the 1932 campaign for the Presidency?
A New Deal.
He didn’t quite know at the time he promised it what it would look like. He just knew the government had to do more than it had been doing under President Hoover.
What is the New Deal?
The name given to the new ideas FDR developed to help end the problems of the Great Depression. It develops into a long list of programs designed to offer RELIEF, RECOVERY and REFORM - The Three Rs.
What are the Three Rs of the New Deal?
Relief, Recovery and Reform
FDIC stands for _________ which was created to _______.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured BANK ACCOUNTS of people. It was created to restore the confidence that people once had in banks.
AAA stands for _______ which was created to _______.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act was created to stabilize and INCREASE the prices of Farmers’ crops, largely by regulating how much crops were produced. The goal was to HELP FARMERS.
SEC stands for ______ which was created to _____.
The Securities & Exchange Commision was created to REGULATE THE STOCK MARKET. A goal of this Commission was to increase or restore confidence in America’s financial system and get people to invest in the stock market again.
