U.S. History Vocab: New Deal

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

commonly known by his initials FDR, was an American politician and statesman who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. He was a member of the Democratic Party and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms in office.

Polio

An acute infectious disease affecting the skeletal muscles, often resulting in permanent disability and deformity.

Gold Standard

A monetary standard in which one ounce of gold equals a set number of dollars.

Bank Holidays

Closing of banks during the Great Depression to avoid bank runs.

United Auto Workers (UAW)

An American Labor Union that represents workers in the United States, founded as part of the Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) in the 1930s.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the first lady of the United States, during her husband's four terms in office, making her the longest-serving first lady of the United States.

Fireside Chats

Radio broadcasts made by FDR to the American people to explain his initiatives.

Deficit-Spending

The government practice of spending borrowed money rather than raising taxes, usually an attempt to boost the economy.

Works Progress Administration

The (WPA) was an American New Deal Agency that employed millions of jobseekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads.

Benefits

Something that promotes well-being, or useful in aid.

Binding Arbitration

The process whereby a neutral party hears arguments from two opposing sides and makes a decision that both must accept.

Sit-Down Strikes

A method of boycotting work by sitting down at work and refusing to leave the establishment.

Court Packing

The act of changing the political balance of power in a nation’s judiciary system whereby a national leader, such as the President of the US, appoints judges who will rule in favor of their policies.

Broker State

Role of the government to work out conflicts among competing interest groups.

Farm Security Administration

A New Deal agency created in 1937 to combat rural poverty during the Great Depression in the United States.

New Deal

A series of programs, public works projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President FDR in the US between 1933 and 1938, including constraints and safeguards on the banking industry.

Social Security

A type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter, sometimes synonymous with welfare.

Mary McLeod Bethune

Was an American educator,philanthropist, humanitarian, and civil rights activist. She also founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935, established the organization's flagship journal Aframerican Women's Journal.

Central Valley Project (CVP)

Devised in 1933 to provide irrigation and municipal water to much of California's Central Valley by regulating and storing water in reservoirs in the northern half of the state, and transporting it to the San Joaquin Valley.

Glass-Steagall Act

A New Deal initiative that required companies that sold stocks and bonds to provide complete and truthful information to investors.

FDIC

The Federal Deposits Insurance Corporation, which required the government to provide government insurance for bank deposits.

SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission was set up in order to regulate the stock market and limit fraud.

PWA

The Public Works Administration created in 1933, emphasized building highways, dams, and schools in an effort to boost the construction industry.