Ch. 12 & 13: The Great Depression & the New Deal

Herbert Hoover

President from 1929-1933

Speculation

When investors gamble that stock prices will rise

Black Tuesday

October 24, 1929, the day the stock market crashed

Business Cycle

periodic expansion and contraction of the economy

Great Depression

The collapse of the United States and world economies beginning in 1929

Hawley Smoot Tariff

high protective tariff passed in June 1930 that contributed to a worldwide depression

Bread Line

where charities or local agencies gave food to the poor

Hoovervilles

shantytowns set up on empty land in cities during the Great Depression

tenant farmers

rural farmers who rent land or work for larger landowners

Dust Bowl

millions of acres in the Great Plains that were destroyed when wind storms blew away the topsoil

Okies

Great Plains farmers forced off their land by the Dust Bowl

Repatriation

policy whereby local, state, and federal governments encouraged or coerced Mexican immigrants--- some of them U.S. citizens -- to return to Mexico

trickle-down economics

economic theory that held that money lent to large banks and corporations would in turn be invested in small businesses which would hire more workers

Bonus Army

a march on Washington in 1932 in which World War I veterans seek bonus payment early.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President from 1933 to 1945

Eleanor Roosevelt

FDR's wife and First Lady; known for her active role in the administration

New Deal

Programs and legislation enacted during the Great Depression to promote economic recovery

Fireside chat

informal radio broadcast in which FDR communicated with the American people

FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

government agency that insures bank deposits

Pump priming

Economic theory that favored public-works projects because they put money in the hands of consumers who would buy more goods, stimulating the economy

Social Security Act

1935 law that created a pension system for elderly citizens

Collective bargaining

process in which employers negotiate with labor unions about hours, wages, and other working conditions

Sit-down strike

labor protest in which workers stop working and occupy the workplace until their demands are met

Court packing

FDR plan to add more justices to the Supreme Court after the Court ruled some New Deal legislation unconstitutional

Indian New Deal

Program that gave Native Americans economic assistance and greater control over their own affairs

New Deal coalition

Diverse group of southern whites, northern blue-collar workers, mid-western farmers, and African Americans that united behind FDR and the New Deal

Welfare state

Government that assumes responsibility for providing for the welfare of children and the poor, elderly, sick, disabled, and unemployed

SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission)

federal agency that regulates the stock market

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

New Deal program which built dams on Southern rivers gave electricity and jobs to rural Appalachia

REA (Rural Electrification Act)

An agency established to offer loans to groups to install power lines to remote farming areas