The Roosevelt Era Flashcards
What challenges faced the United States as FDR entered the presidency?
- The US was in the Great Depression.
- Record unemployment (~25%)
- Record homelessness and foreclosures
- Record bank failures.
- The Dust Bowl
What prior experiences prepared the Roosevelts to help the American public during their time in the White House?
- FDR suffered from polio, leaving him paralyzed.
- Related to TR who had successfully used the presidency to help many Americans.
What was the New Deal?
FDR’s collection of programs created to respond to the challenges presented by the Great Depression.
How did FDR address challenges facing banks and other financial institutions?
- FDR announced a “bank holiday” to close all the nation’s banks, allowing them to be inspected and improved.
- The EBRA was created to allow for the inspection of banks.
- The FDIC was created to protect bank investments up to $5,000 ($250,000 today)
- The SEC was created to monitor stock market practices.
How did FDR work to alleviate high unemployment?
- During the New Deal many programs were created to jobs for the unemployed.
- The WPA was a public works program that created 8 million jobs during the New Deal.
How did FDR respond to the challenges facing American farmers?
- The government paid farmers to farm less, wanting to help the price of farm goods increase and allow the Dust Bowl lands to recover.
- The AAA provided money to farmers to get. them to farm less.
How did FDR attempt to help those who could not work (elderly, disabled, orphaned children)?
- The SSA (Social Security) was created to provide funds to support people who could not work.
- This program has supported millions of Americans over its nearly 90 years of operation.
How did Frances Perkins contribute during the New Deal?
- First American woman to lead a cabinet department.
- Served as Secretary of Labor, where she helped create the Social Security system.
How did John Collier contribute during the New Deal?
- Social work and activist how helped create the Indian New Deal.
- This program adopted changes to support Native Americans- including the end of many boarding schools.
How did Mary McLeod Bethune contribute during the New Deal?
- Member of FDR’s informal group of advisors called the “Black Cabinet”
- Bethune promoted many programs increasing access to jobs and education for Black youth.
Why did some people complain about FDR’s New Deal?
- The felt he was spending way too much money on the New Deal– more than the US could afford.
- They felt he was becoming too powerful- almost dictatorial in some of his actions.
What is deficit spending?
When the government is spending more money than it brings in income tax revenue.
Why was there controversy surrounding FDR’s New Deal in the Supreme Court?
The Supreme Court found multiple of FDR’s programs to be unconstitutional, and forced them to be eliminated.
What was FDR’s “court-packing plan”?
FDR wanted to revise the structure of the Supreme Court, allowing him to add new justices that would support his policies.
In what ways was the New Deal effective?
- The New Deal did help encourage the American people, with most supporting the New Deal.
- The New Deal did help decrease American unemployment.
In what ways was the New Deal ineffective?
- The New Deal did not manage to COMPLETELY end the Great Depression, it was still ongoing when World War II began.
What factors enabled the rise of dictators around the world during the Interwar Period?
- In Germany, the collapsing economy caused hyperinflation and high unemployment.
- In Italy, communist-led strikes caused many middle and upper class Italians to demand stronger leaders.
- Vladimir Lenin died in the Soviet Union, allowing Joseph Stalin to come to power.
- Even though it was on the winning side in WWI, Japan felt overlooked at the Paris Peace Conference.
What global dictators came to power in interwar: Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union?
Germany: Adolf Hitler
Italy: Benito Mussolini
Japan: Hideki Tojo
Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin
What is anti-Semitism?
Hostility and discrimination towards Jews.
How did anti-Semitism deepen in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler?
- Hitler adopted laws to strip away the rights of German Jews.
- Hitler ordered the creation of concentration and extermination camps to target and eliminate Jews.
What is genocide?
The mass killing of a targeted group of people, such as what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust.
What examples exist of Nazi hatred and aggression during the Holocaust?
- The Nuremberg Laws
- Kristallnacht
- Genocide
What were the Nuremberg Laws?
Laws created by Germany under Adolf Hitler to strip away the rights of Jews.
What was Kristallnacht?
The “Night of Broken Glass,” in November 1938, during which many Jews homes, businesses, and synagogues were destroyed.
What was Auschwitz?
The largest and deadliest Nazi extermination camp during the Holocaust where over a million people died.
What happened at the Munich Conference?
- Leaders from Great Britain and France met with Hitler when he wanted to take over the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia.
- The leaders agreed to the Munich Agreement, which allowed Hitler to take the land if he stopped after.