The Great Depression & The New Deal, 1929-1939 Flashcards
Causes of the Crash
1) Uneven distribution of income
2) Stock market speculation
3) Excessive use of credit
4) Overproduction of consumer goods
5) Weak farm economy
6) Government policies
7) Global economic policies
Herbert Hoover’s Policies
1) Believed prosperity would return soon
2) Government assistance would destroy self-reliance
3) Tried to balance the budget
4) Americans believed in rugged individualism
Hawley-Smoot Tariff, 1930
Highest in history
New Deal Philosophy
1) Willing to experiment with political solutions
2) Poverty is an economic problem
Brain Trust and Other Advisors
1) Group of university professors
2) Frances Perkins, first woman in cabinet
3) Harold Ickes and Harry Hopkins: advisors
The First Hundred Days
Congress passed into law every request
Bank Holiday
1) First action by FDR
2) President ordered the solvent banks closed
Industrial Recovery Program
1) National Recovery Administration (NRA): fair wages and hours for labor (pro union)
2) Schechter v. United States: illegally regulated commerce
Social Security Act
1) Federal insurance program
2) Monthly payments to retired persons over the age of 65
3) Suggested by Francis Townsend
4) Did not include national health insurance
Huey Long
1) “Share Our Wealth” program
2) Annual income of $5000 paid by taxing the wealthy
Supreme Court
Declaring programs as unconstitutional
Court-Reorganization Plan
1) “Court-packing” bill
2) Add up to six more justices to the court
Rise of Unions
1) National Industrial Recovery Act
2) Wagner Act
3) Legalizing labor unions
4) Union membership increased.
Last Phase of the New Deal
1) WWII finally ended the depression
2) Expanded the federal government
Keynesian Economics
Deficit spending was acceptable
