Chapter 23: Great Depression and the New Deal (1929–1939)

Hoovervilles

Settlements of shacks found on the outskirts of many American cities beginning in the early 1930s

Dust Bowl

Name given in the 1930s to regions of Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Texas, where severe drought and poor farming practices caused massive dust storms

Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)

Tariff act that imposed severe tariffs on all incoming goods; European countries responded with their own high tariffs

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Federal agency established during the "First Hundred Days" of the New Deal in 1933 in an effort to halt panic over bank closings

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Also established in 1933, the CCC eventually provided jobs for 2.5 million young Americans in forest and conservation programs

National Industry Recovery Act

New Deal legislation requiring owners and labor unions in various industries to agree upon hours, wages, and prices; as a result, wages did go up for many workers but so did prices

Tennessee Valley Authority

Agency created in the New Deal to oversee the construction of dams, providing electricity and flood control for many in the Tennessee River Valley; for many in the region, this was the first time their homes had electricity

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

New Deal program that employed nearly 8 million Americans; WPA projects included the construction of schools and roads

Wagner Act

Critical piece of New Deal legislation that protected the right of workers to form unions and utilize collective bargaining

Social Security Act (1935)

New Deal legislation providing pensions for workers reaching retirement age

New Deal Coalition

The political coalition created by Franklin Roosevelt that, by and large, kept the Democratic Party in power from the 1930s through the 1960s

Scottsboro Boys

Nine black defendants in a famous 1931 case; they were accused of raping two white women on a train, and despite the lack of evidence, eight were sentenced to death

1929

Stock market crash

1930

Hawley-Smoot Tariff enacted

1931

Ford plants in Detroit shut down

1932

Glass-Steagall Banking Act enacted

1933

Emergency Banking Relief Act enacted

1935

Beginning of the Second New Deal

1936

Franklin Roosevelt reelected

1937

Recession of 1937 begins

1939

Gone with the Wind published

1931

Initial trial of the Scottsboro Boys

1932

Bonus marchers routed from Washington

1932

Franklin D. Roosevelt elected president

1932

Huey Long announces “Share Our Wealth” movement

1933

Prohibition ends

1933

Agricultural Adjustment Act enacted

1933

National Industrial Recovery Act enacted

1933

Civilian Conservation Corps established

1933

Tennessee Valley Authority formed

1933

Public Works Administration established

1935

Beginning of the Second New Deal

1935

Works Progress Administration established

1935

Social Security Act enacted

1935

Wagner Act enacted

1935

Formation of Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO)

1936

Sit-down strike against GM begins

1937

Roosevelt’s plan to expand the Supreme Court defeated

1939

The Grapes of Wrath published

**Dust Bowl**

During the **____________** natural disasters exacerbated economic hardship. Poor soil conservation in Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Texas worsened erosion during a prolonged drought. The 1930s saw massive dust storms.

Okies

Californians despised these country "_____________" who worked in the fields from dawn to dusk as migrant agricultural workers.

*The Grapes of Wrath*

*Written* by John Steinbeck, this book immortalized their plight (1939).

Agricultural Marketing Act

In June 1929, Hoover signed the _____________, creating the federal Farm Board to lend farmers and buy crops to boost farm prices.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

In 1930, Hoover supported the __________, which raised tariffs to near-record levels.

**Reconstruction Finance Corporation**

Hoover backed the **_____________** in 1932.

It gave banks federal credit to lend to railroads and other businesses.

federal loans

In 1932, Hoover authorized ________ to the states so they could fund relief programs.

welfare

Hoover still worried that federal "______" would undermine the American character and federalism.

common man

The president's political opponents accused him of caring only about banks and big businesses and ignoring the "_______."

**Bonus Army**

President Hoover's treatment of the **_________** confirmed his uncaring image. In the summer of 1932, thousands of unemployed World War I veterans gathered in Washington to lobby for early bonuses that were legally due them in 1945.

Douglas MacArthur

Hoover ordered Army Chief of Staff _______ to use federal troops to clear protesters from downtown Washington after police clashes killed two veterans.

orthodox economic theory

This theory of the time and Republican success in the 1920s shaped Hoover's distrust of intensive government involvement in the economy.

New Deal

Roosevelt promised the American people a "________," but most importantly, the promise of change and his buoyant optimism were enough.

radicalism

In voting for Roosevelt during the Great Depression, Americans rejected political _________.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

The Banking Act of 1933 established the ___________ to insure savings accounts and prevent "bank runs."

Federal Emergency Relief Administration

States received loans from Harry Hopkins' ____________ to hire unemployed people.

Harold Ickes

The Public Works Administration, under Secretary of the Interior _________, built highways, bridges, dams, and schools (1933)

N**ew Deal**

This sought to revive industrial production to revitalize the American economy. Deflation, or a drop in prices, was also blamed by President Roosevelt and his New Dealers for business closures and job losses.

**National Industrial Recovery Act** (NIRA)

Business conditions were stabilized by the **____________**. In each industry, businessmen and labor leaders set prices, wages, and hours. Unions and collective bargaining were protected by the this.

**Agricultural Adjustment Administration** (AAA)

By raising agricultural prices, the \*\*_______________\*\*helped farmers. Farmers were encouraged to bring fewer crops and livestock to market by the government.

**Tennessee Valley Authority** (TVA)

The federal government's **_______________** was an innovative regional economic development experiment. The dams provided electricity and flood control to the Tennessee River Valley.

Twenty-First Amendment

By December 1933, enough states had ratified the _________ to end Prohibition's ambitious but failed experiment.

Resettlement Administration (RA)

The _____________ was established in May 1935 to resettle exhausted farmers. The camps housed Dust Bowl migrants.

Farm Security Administration (FSA)

The 1937-founded ____________ helped farmers get loans.

Wagner Act of 1935

The ___________ guaranteed workers the right to organize unions and collectively bargain. It outlawed unfair labor practices and created the NLRB to enforce them.

1935 Social Security Act

This act established a pension for 65-year-old workers. It also established unemployment insurance for involuntary job loss.

American Liberty League

This group attracted wealthy Republicans. Al Smith, a former Democratic presidential candidate, was its most prominent spokesman. The **Du Pont family** and other prominent businessmen led it.

Revenue Act of 1935

The __________ raised taxes for high-earners, infuriating the American Liberty League. American Liberty League publications called the New Deal "bolshevism."

Dr. Francis Townsend

New Deal opponents criticized it for not challenging American institutions more. __________ believed he had a plan to end the Great Depression and solve the elderly indigent problem.

Upton Sinclair

His "End Poverty in California" (EPIC) plan called for state control of factories and farms.

**Father Charles Coughlin**

**H**is radio ministry had become increasingly political. After initially supporting Roosevelt, he publicly called him a "liar" and "the great betrayer."

Huey Long

He promoted his "Share Our Wealth" program, which would redistribute wealth in the US by capping personal fortunes at $50 million and limiting the rich's annual income to $1 million.

**Justice Reorganization Bill**

Roosevelt introduced the **__________** shortly after his second inauguration. The president proposed legislation that allowed him to nominate a new Supreme Court justice when a sitting justice turned 70.

**General Motors**

The Flint, Michigan **____________** plant began a major sit-down strike in December 1936. It accepted United Automobile Workers (UAW) representation after a two-month standoff.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

A coalition of unions representing cigar makers, miners, and construction workers, had been the leading labor organization.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

The ______________ and its first president, John L. Lewis, wanted to organize unskilled workers industry-wide, which clashed with the AFL, which still grouped workers by craft.

Frances Perkins

The first female cabinet secretary, served throughout Franklin Roosevelt's presidency as Labor Secretary.

Scottsboro Boys

The nine young African-American men, raped two white women on a train in 1931. Eight of the nine were executed for rape after rushed and unfair trials.

Mary McLeod Bethune

Founder of the National Council of Negro Women and director of the Division of Negro Affairs in the National Youth Administration in 1936, was one of his most influential African-American advisors.

Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)

*Written* by Zora Neale Hurston depicted African Americans living in a small Florida town.

Studs Lonigan (1932–1935)

Written by James T. Farrell chronicled the life of a South Side Chicago middle-class Irish-American youth.

Tobacco Road (1932)

*Written* by Erskine Caldwell depiction of Georgia sharecroppers shocked readers.

Gone With the Wind (1936)

Margaret Mitchell's first novel, chronicled a feisty Southern belle's life and loves during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

*The War of the Worlds*

Orson Welles' 1938 adaptation of *__________*, based on Munich Crisis journalistic dispatches, showed radio and modern mass media's power.

*Mr. Smith Goes to Washington*

Popular dramas like Frank Capra's *_______________* (1939) reinforced American democracy.