The New Deal and the Great Depression

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from a lecture on FDR's New Deal and its response to the Great Depression.

Laissez Faire

A policy or attitude of letting things take their own course, without interfering. In economics, it refers to a system where the government does not intervene in the economy.

New Deal

FDR's domestic policies aimed at combating the Great Depression, lasting from 1933 to 1939.

FDR's Three R's

Relief (immediate needs), Recovery (medium-term economic health), and Reform (long-term prevention measures).

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A New Deal program providing jobs in nature, such as building national parks and planting trees. It is an example of 'Relief'.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

A New Deal program providing jobs in public works, such as constructing roads, bridges, schools, and hospitals. It is an example of 'Relief'.

New Deal Coalition

FDR's Democratic Party base, a broad coalition encompassing urban and rural populations, factory and farm workers, whites and blacks, and various religious denominations.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A New Deal program targeting the Tennessee River Valley for relief and recovery through flood control, irrigation, and hydroelectric dam construction. A form of 'Recovery'.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

A New Deal program that tried to create cooperation between business, labor, and government to set wages and prices. Ruled unconstitutional.

Court Packing Plan

FDR's controversial proposal to expand the Supreme Court to appoint judges who would support the New Deal.

Glass Steagall Act

A New Deal law that separated commercial and investment banking to prevent risky investments with depositors' money. It falls under 'Reform'.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

A commission that regulates the trade of stocks and bonds, requiring truthful disclosure of information and designed to prevent stock price manipulation; a form of 'Reform'.

Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)

A pro-union law that promoted the rise of unions in the private sector. It guaranteed workers' rights to organize, join unions, bargain collectively, and strike.

Social Security Act

A New Deal law that established social insurance against unemployment, disability, and old age.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

A New Deal law that established a federal minimum wage, a forty-hour work week, and banned child labor.

Bank Holiday

A temporary closure of banks declared by FDR to stabilize the banking system.

Emergency Banking Relief Act

Legislation that closed banks for inspection by federal officials, reopening them with a clean bill of health if sound.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

A corporation that guarantees deposits in federally regulated banks, insuring money up to a certain limit.

Fireside Chats

Speeches given by FDR on the radio to communicate policies and build national support.