Great Depression and New Deal

Black Cabinet

A group of African American advisers who worked with President Franklin D. Roosevelt and helped address issues affecting Black Americans.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed dramatically, helping trigger the Great Depression.

Bonus Army

A group of World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to demand early payment of their promised military bonuses.

Civilian

A person who is not serving in the military or police.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A New Deal program that employed young men in conservation projects, such as planting trees and building parks.

Collective Bargaining

Negotiations between workers’ unions and employers over wages, hours, and working conditions.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

A labor organization that organized workers in major industries, including steel and automobiles.

Deficit Spending

When the government spends more money than it collects in revenue.

Dust Bowl

A period of severe dust storms and drought during the 1930s that devastated Great Plains farmland and forced many families to migrate.

Fair Labor Standards Act

A 1938 law establishing a federal minimum wage, overtime pay requirements, and restrictions on child labor.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

A government agency created in 1933 to insure bank deposits and protect depositors’ money if a bank fails.

Fireside Chats

Radio broadcasts in which President Franklin D. Roosevelt explained government policies and reassured Americans during the Great Depression.

Glass-Steagall Banking Act (Banking Act of 1933)

A law that introduced major banking reforms, established the FDIC, and separated commercial banking from investment banking.

Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic crisis that began in 1929 and caused widespread unemployment, poverty, and business failures.

Hoover, Herbert

The 31st U.S. president who was in office when the Great Depression began; he initially favored limited federal direct relief to individuals.

Hooverville

A nickname for makeshift communities of homeless people during the Great Depression, named after President Hoover.

Indian New Deal

Federal policies under FDR that supported Native American tribal self-government and cultural preservation, particularly through the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.

Keynes, John Maynard

A British economist who argued that governments should increase spending during economic downturns to stimulate demand and reduce unemployment.

Localism

The belief that local governments and communities, rather than the federal government, should take primary responsibility for addressing problems.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

A New Deal agency that sought to revive industry by establishing codes for prices, wages, working hours, and business practices.

New Deal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s programs and policies designed to provide relief, promote economic recovery, and reform the economy during the Great Depression.

New Deal Coalition

A political alliance of groups, including labor unions, African Americans, urban workers, and many farmers, that supported the Democratic Party under FDR.

Okies

A nickname for migrants, especially farming families from Oklahoma and neighboring Great Plains states, who left their homes during the Dust Bowl to seek work elsewhere.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

A New Deal agency that funded large construction projects, such as roads, bridges, schools, and dams, to create jobs and improve infrastructure.

Repatriation

The process of returning people to their country of origin; during the Great Depression, many people of Mexican descent were pressured or forced to leave the United States for Mexico.

Roosevelt, Franklin D.

The 32nd U.S. president who introduced the New Deal to address the Great Depression and led the country through most of World War II.

Social Security Act

A 1935 law that established a federal system of retirement benefits and unemployment insurance, along with aid for certain vulnerable groups.

Speculation

Buying assets, such as stocks, in the hope of making a profit from price increases, often while taking significant financial risks.

Tenant Farming

A farming system in which farmers rent land from landowners and pay rent with money or a portion of their crops.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A New Deal agency that built dams, generated electricity, controlled flooding, and supported economic development in the Tennessee Valley.

Trickle-Down Economics

The idea that policies benefiting businesses and wealthy individuals, such as tax cuts, may eventually benefit the broader population through investment and economic growth.

Wagner Act

A 1935 law that protected workers’ rights to form unions and engage in collective bargaining.

Welfare State

A system in which the government provides social programs and economic assistance, such as retirement benefits and unemployment support, to help protect citizens’ well-being.