Study Aid for Great Depress, American Yamp Chapter 23 terms, AMH2020

Why did the U.S. want to create a property-owning democracy?

reverse the corruption of political power by redistributing property across a great proportion of society, facilitating a more equal distribution of political power

What is a property-owning democracy?

a social system whereby state institutions enable a fair distribution of productive property lacrosse the populace generally, rather than allowing monopolies to form and dominate

How did the US create a property-owning democracy?

government reduced the risk for private saving and loan banks

What is redlining?

refuse a loan or insurance to someone because they live in an area deemed to be a poor financial risk

What is the National Archives?

an independent agency of the United States government charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records

When was it set up and who worked to get it set up?

It was set up in June 19, 1934 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt

How does the National Archives and its holdings demonstrate that the United States remained a democratic country through the Great Depression?

the Archives is valuable in preserving history- the good and the bad. Dictatorships and other authoritarian societies attempted to hide such sources; they limit or deny access to records.

What signs would suggest that a country was no longer democratic?

-younger gen turn from democracy
-non-democracies gaining favor
-trust in political structures
-political freedom on decline
-democracies challenged within
-elected leaders falling, corruption
-weak voter participation

How did WWI affect the economy of the 1920s?

there was a worldwide (not the Soviet Union) economic downturn

Were all sectors of the United States economy prosperous during the 1920s? Why or why not?

no, mostly farmers and stockbrokers because farmers prices dropped because they provided food for world war 1 and the machinery was expensive.

What was the Stock Market Crash? Did it cause the Great Depression?

the stock market crash was an abrupt drop in stock prices and it didn't not cause the great depression

What caused the Great Depression? (First World War? Gold Standard? Federal Reserve? Decentralized banking?)

mixture of first world war, gold standard, federal reserve and decentralized banking

How did WWI play a role in the coming of the Great Depression?

Left most countries with a lot of debt

What caused the international financial system, set up at the end of WWI, to collapse?

banks ran out of money

How did countries react to the depression, which in turn made the depression worse?

Germany owed money to France and Britain. The U.S. was owed money from Britain and France.

How did Herbert Hoover respond to the Great Depression?

Promote associationism and created the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which provided emergency loans to banks, railroads, and other private industries.

How did FDR respond to the Great Depression? (In general)

-introduced the first comprehensive unemployment relief program
-helped pioneer efforts to expand public utilities.
-he also relied on like-minded advisors
-he declared a national "bank holiday" closing American banks and set to work pushing the Emergency Banking Act swiftly through Congress. Glass-Steagall Banking Act instituted federal deposit insurance and barred the mixing of commercial and investment banking

How was the U.S. able to maintain a democratic country rather than fall to communism or fascism?

stabilized banks and created programs to helped out the people

In the section from Yawp, what is the main theme? In other words, what was the purpose of each program that FDR's administration tried to implement?

to stabilize the banks and provided employment and help to civilians

Was FDR able to pass legislation himself or did he need Congress to pass legislation?

he needed congress to pass legislation, but congress debated, amended and passed what Roosevelt proposed

What did a business have to do in order to display NRA's Blue Eagle?

provide reasonable wages and hours, end child labor, and allow workers the right to unionize

What did "red revolution" mean?

a socialist or communist revolution

What group was excluded?

ethnic or religious minorities, specifically African Americans

What was the consequence of that exclusion?

there was five days of rioting where the city went up in flames (violence against property not people)

Huey Long

"Share Our Wealth" program; populist rhetoric appealed those who saw deeply rooted but easily addressed injustice in the nation's economic system

Black Tuesday

the stock market began its long precipitous fall

NIRA

The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), which created the NRA in June 1933, suspended antitrust laws to allow businesses to establish “codes” that would coordinate prices, regulate production levels, and establish conditions of employment to curtail “cutthroat competition

NRA

the National Recovery Administration (NRA). suspended antitrust laws to allow businesses to establish "codes" that would coordinate prices, regulate production levels, and establish conditions of employment to curtail "cutthroat competition."

TVA

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) built a series of hydroelectric dams along the Tennessee River as part of a comprehensive program to economically develop a chronically depressed region

FERA

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) provided direct cash assistance to state relief agencies struggling to care for the unemployed

CCC

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed young men on conservation and reforestation projects

CWA & WPA

Civil Works Administration (CWA) and, later, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) put unemployed men and women to work on projects designed and proposed by local governments.

AAA

Agricultural Adjustment Administration, The AAA, created in May 1933, aimed to raise the prices of agricultural commodities (and hence farmers’ income) by offering cash incentives to voluntarily limit farm production (decreasing supply, thereby raising prices).

PWA

Public Works Administration (PWA) provided grants-in-aid to local governments for large infrastructure projects, such as bridges, tunnels, schoolhouses, libraries, and America’s first federal public housing projects.

RFC

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which provided emergency loans to banks, railroads, and other private industries

Deeper Causes of the Depression

weak banking systems AND public panic

Glass-Steagall Act

instituted federal deposit insurance and barred the mixing of commercial and investment banking

Frances Perkins

the nation's first female Secretary of Labor

Franklin D. Roosevelt

oversaw the rise of the Depression and drew from progressivism to address the economic crisis

Second New Deal

oversaw the restoration of a highly progressive federal income tax, mandated new reporting requirements for publicly traded companies, refinanced long-term home mortgages for struggling homeowners, and attempted rural reconstruction projects to bring farm incomes in line with urban ones

Wagner Act

offering federal legal protection, for the first time, for workers to organize unions

Court-packing scheme

called for legislation allowing him to expand the Court by appointing a new, younger justice for every sitting member over the age of 70

Grapes of Wrath

most famously, John Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath, published in 1939 and turned into a hit movie a year later, captured the Depression's dislocated populations.

"Hoovervilles"

makeshift towns, usually on the edge of cities

Bonus Army

15,000 unemployed veterans and their families

Dust Bowl

rolling winds churned the dust into massive storms that blotted out the sky, choked settlers and livestock, and rained dirt

"Okies"

westward migrants

"Brain Trust"

team of advisors, academics and experts

Francis Townsend

former doctor and public health official from California, promoted a plan for old age pensions

Charles Coughlin

gained a following by making vitriolic, anti-Semitic attacks on Roosevelt for cooperating with banks and financiers and proposing a new system of "social justice"

Scottsboro Boys

became a national symbol of continuing racial prejudice in America and a rallying point for civil rights-minded Americans

Election of 1928

Roosevelt won election as governor of New York.

Migrant Mother

She was a migrant, having left her home in Oklahoma to follow the crops to the Golden State. She took part in what many in the mid-1930s were beginning to recognize as a vast migration of families out of the southwestern plains states. In the image she cradles an infant and supports two older children, who cling to her. Lange's photo encapsulated the nation's struggle. The subject of the photograph seemed used to hard work but down on her luck, and uncertain about what the future might hold.

Election of 1932

Few presidential elections in modern American history have been more consequential than that of 1932. Franklin D. Roosevelt, exasperated voters overthrew Hoover in a landslide electing Democratic governor of New York, Franklin Delano Roosevelt as president.

Emergency Banking Act

Its main purpose was to stabilize the banking system and restore public confidence in banks.

Fair Labor Standards Act

law that sets rules to protect workers. Created Minimum Wage, Overtime Pay, prevented Child Labor, and instilled Record Keeping.

New Deal

The First New Deal was a series of programs and policies implemented by Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s to help the United States recover from the Great Depression. Focused on Relief, Recovery, and Reform.

Fireside Chats

Addresses towards the American people by Roosevelt through radio to explain New Deal legislation to the people in an informal manner, asking the people to trust in banks; very successful.

John L. Lewis

Lewis was known for his strong leadership and influence in the labor movement, particularly during a time when workers were seeking more power and protections against unfair practices. He helped found the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

Social Security Act

It provides financial support to people who are retired, disabled, or survivors of deceased workers.

Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune was an important African American educator and civil rights leader. African American advisor in the National Youth Administration

John Maynard Keynes

John Maynard Keynes was a British economist who is best known for his ideas on how government policies can influence the economy, especially during times of recession

Herbert Hoover

Republican candidate who assumed the presidency in March 1929 promising the American people prosperity and attempted to first deal with the Depression by trying to restore public faith in the community.