The Great Depression: Causes, Solutions, and Hemispheric Impacts

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the economic perspectives, causes, presidential policies, New Deal legislation, criticisms, and social impacts of the Great Depression.

Keynesian View of the Depression

An economic perspective asserting that if fiscal spending is too low, the government can step in and make up the difference through deficit spending to stimulate the economy.

Monetarist View of the Depression

An economic perspective holding that the Great Depression began because the money supply decreased too quickly and was not replaced quickly enough.

Marxist View of the Depression

A historical perspective framing the economic crisis around class conflict, where the bourgeoisie (the "haves") exploit the proletariat (the "have-nots").

rGDPpc

Real Gross Domestic Product per capita, which measures national economic output per person adjusted for inflation.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)

A high protective tariff passed under President Herbert Hoover that raised rates on imported goods, exacerbating European economic problems and trade collapse.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

A federal agency created under President Herbert Hoover as part of his aggressive creation of regulatory boards to provide financial support to struggling institutions.

Bonus Army

A group of World War I veterans who marched on Washington, D.C., demanding early payment of their service bonuses; they were forcibly dispersed by General MacArthur, leaving thousands injured without their demands being met.

The Three R's

The core framework of Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal: Relief (for the poor), Recovery (of the economy), and Reform (of the financial system).

Bank Holiday

An emergency measure implemented by FDR during The Hundred Days that temporarily shut down banks to halt runs and restore stability to the banking system.

Gold Confiscation

A policy initiated by FDR to halt deflation by ending the use of gold as payment for public and private contracts and later fixing the price of gold at $\$35/\text{oz}$.

"Brains Trust"

A demographically diverse advisory group composed of legal, economic, and academic specialists who advised President Franklin D. Roosevelt on New Deal policies.

Frances Perkins

The first female cabinet member in United States history, appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Glass-Steagall Act

New Deal legislation that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to insure individual bank deposits and separated commercial banking from investment banking.

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

New Deal legislation establishing the National Recovery Administration (NRA) and minimum wage standards; it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1935 (Schechter).

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

New Deal legislation aimed at supporting agricultural prices by addressing farm difficulties and overproduction; ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1936.

Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)

A labor law that established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), protected workers' labor rights, and gave the authority to compel employers to engage in collective bargaining.

Father Charles Coughlin

A progressive/liberal New Deal critic who advocated for the pro-inflationary nationalization (federal ownership) of banks.

Dr. Francis Townsend

A New Deal critic who proposed a small sales tax to fund old-age pensions, an idea FDR co-opted when creating Social Security.

"Share Our Wealth"

A radical proposal created by Huey Long that sought to tax the rich heavily in order to guarantee an income of $\$5{,}000/\text{yr}$ to every American family.

Court-Packing Plan

FDR's proposal to appoint up to 6 additional justices to the Supreme Court after the "Nine old men" struck down the NRA and AAA; the plan was opposed by both Republicans and Democrats, though the Court subsequently grew friendlier toward New Deal programs.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

A labor organization formed during the New Deal era that organized both skilled and unskilled industrial workers, gaining prominence through actions such as the GM strike.

Fair Labor Standards Act

New Deal legislation that instituted a permanent federal minimum wage.

Mary McLeod Bethune

An African American leader who directed the Federal Council on Negro Affairs (part of FDR's "Black Cabinet") during the New Deal era.

A. Philip Randolph

A prominent African American labor union leader who successfully persuaded President Franklin D. Roosevelt to establish the Fair Employment Practices Committee.

Indian Reorganization Act

Federal legislation that repealed the Dawes Act, restored tribal governments, and promoted Native American culture.

Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)

A trade and economic policy adopted in Latin America in response to the Great Depression to replace foreign imports with domestic industrial production.

Buying on Margin

The practice of purchasing stock by paying a small percentage of the price and borrowing the rest, which contributed heavily to overspeculation prior to the 1929 market crash.

Hoovervilles

Makeshift shantytowns erected by unemployed and destitute individuals during the early years of the economic crisis, named derisively after the sitting president.

Dust Bowl

A catastrophic period of severe drought and massive wind-driven soil erosion that devastated agriculture across the Great Plains during the 1930s.

Fireside Chats

A series of informal radio broadcasts delivered by Franklin D. Roosevelt to explain New Deal legislation directly to the American public and rebuild national trust.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A New Deal work relief initiative that put young, unemployed men to work on rural conservation projects such as reforestation, park maintenance, and flood control.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A regional New Deal agency established to build dams, generate cheap hydroelectric power, and promote economic development in an impoverished river basin.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

An independent federal agency established in 1934 to regulate stock exchanges, monitor financial markets, and protect investors from fraudulent practices.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

The largest New Deal public relief agency, which funded millions of jobs building public infrastructure, roads, schools, and supporting community arts projects.

Social Security Act (1935)

A cornerstone New Deal law establishing a national safety net consisting of old-age pensions, unemployment compensation, and financial assistance to vulnerable families.

Marian Anderson

An African American opera singer who performed a renowned 1939 open-air concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied access to Constitution Hall due to racial segregation.

Mackenzie King

Canadian Prime Minister at the onset of the Great Depression whose initial laissez-faire response and refusal to provide federal relief to conservative-led provinces contributed to his electoral defeat in 1930.

R. B. Bennett

Canadian Prime Minister from 1930 to 1935 who initially relied on tariffs and relief camps, and later introduced a Canadian New Deal featuring social reforms and economic regulations to fight the crisis.

Latin American Political Instability (1930s)

The widespread collapse of civilian democratic governments across Latin America caused by export failure, leading to military coups, authoritarian regimes, and populist rule.

Agricultural Overproduction

A condition where post-World War I crop surpluses caused farm prices and incomes to plummet, leaving farmers unable to pay debts or maintain purchasing power prior to the 1929 crash.

Debt Moratorium (1931)

A one-year suspension on international war debts and World War I reparations proposed by President Herbert Hoover to prevent European financial collapse.

Federal Reserve Monetary Policy (1929–1933)

Central banking actions that restricted the money supply and raised interest rates during the economic collapse, severely contracting credit and worsening deflation.

Federal Farm Board

An agency established under President Herbert Hoover to stabilize crop prices by purchasing surplus wheat and cotton to hold them off the market.

Rugged Individualism

Herbert Hoover's political and economic philosophy asserting that individuals should succeed through personal effort without direct government relief or welfare doles.

The Hundred Days

The special 1933 congressional session during Franklin D. Roosevelt's first months in office in which an unprecedented amount of emergency New Deal legislation was enacted.

Alphabet Agencies

The collective name given to the numerous specialized federal relief, recovery, and regulatory bodies established under Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal.

Black Cabinet

An informal advisory group of African American public policy specialists appointed across federal agencies to ensure equitable distribution of New Deal relief and advocate for civil rights.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

A New Deal agency directed by Harold Ickes that contracted with private firms to build large-scale infrastructure projects such as dams, bridges, and municipal buildings to stimulate heavy industry.

Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935)

A landmark Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the National Industrial Recovery Act on the grounds that Congress had unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to the executive branch.

United States v. Butler (1936)

A landmark Supreme Court decision declaring the Agricultural Adjustment Act unconstitutional on the grounds that regulating agricultural production was an unconstitutional exercise of federal power.

Rural Electrification Administration (REA)

A New Deal agency created to finance and construct electrical distribution systems to bring affordable power to isolated American rural farms and households.

Revenue Act of 1935

New Deal tax legislation that significantly raised tax rates on high individual incomes, corporate profits, and capital gains to fund relief programs and curb wealth inequality.

Recession of 1937–1938

A sharp economic downturn during FDR's second term triggered when the federal government prematurely reduced relief spending and the Federal Reserve tightened credit.

GM Sit-Down Strike (1936–1937)

A pivotal labor action in Flint, Michigan, where auto workers occupied production facilities, successfully compelling corporate management to formally recognize the United Auto Workers (UAW).

Eleanor Roosevelt

The First Lady who traveled extensively, championed civil rights and equal opportunity, and served as the progressive moral conscience of the New Deal administration.

Fair Employment Practices Committee (FEPC)

A federal committee established by Executive Order 8802 to investigate and eliminate racial discrimination in defense industries and government agencies.

African American Political Realignment

The historic electoral shift during the 1930s where Black voters shifted their political allegiance from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party.

Women in the Great Depression

A societal dynamic marked by declining birth rates and rising female employment outside the home, accompanied by cultural backlash and New Deal relief codes permitting lower wages for female workers.

Stock Market Crash of 1929

The catastrophic collapse of Wall Street equity prices in October 1929, driven by rampant speculation and margin buying, which marked the onset of the Great Depression.

Bank Runs (1930–1933)

Panicked waves where depositors simultaneously withdrew cash from financial institutions, causing thousands of commercial bank failures prior to federal deposit insurance.

Dow Jones and S&P Composite Index

Financial market benchmark indicators tracking the share performance of major publicly traded American corporations.

Norris-La Guardia Act (1932)

Federal legislation signed under President Herbert Hoover that outlawed yellow-dog contracts and banned federal courts from issuing injunctions against nonviolent labor strikes.

Bennett's Relief Camps

Federal work camps established in isolated Canadian regions where single, unemployed men performed manual labor in exchange for bunkhouse accommodation, army rations, and an allowance of $20\,\text{cents}$ per day.

On-to-Ottawa Trek

A 1935 protest movement where striking Canadian relief camp workers boarded eastward freight trains toward the capital to demand living wages and genuine work, culminating in the violent Regina Riot.

"Five-Cent Piece" Speech

A controversial 1930 parliamentary declaration by Prime Minister Mackenzie King asserting that his Liberal federal administration would not grant a single nickel in unemployment relief to any province led by a Conservative government.

Bennett's New Deal

A 1935 Canadian legislative reform package promising federal unemployment insurance, minimum wage standards, maximum work hours, and agricultural price controls, enacted shortly before R. B. Bennett's electoral defeat.

Popular Mobilization and Repression in Latin America

A widespread cycle of rural and working-class resistance against Depression-era austerity, met by authoritarian crackdowns such as the 1932 massacre in El Salvador (La Matanza).

Getúlio Vargas and the Estado Novo

The Brazilian administration that restructured the national economy away from single-crop coffee export dependence toward state-directed industrial development, labor regulation, and import substitution.

Federal Project Number One

A cultural New Deal initiative under the Works Progress Administration that employed thousands of artists, musicians, actors, and writers to document American life and produce public art.

Documentary Photography of the Great Depression

A photographic movement sponsored by the Farm Security Administration that recorded stark visual documentation of rural poverty, displaced migrant families, and Dust Bowl conditions.

Section 7(a) of the NIRA

A statutory provision in the National Industrial Recovery Act guaranteeing industrial workers the legal right to organize labor unions and engage in collective bargaining without employer interference.

Revenue Act of 1932

A major fiscal measure signed under President Herbert Hoover that increased individual, corporate, and estate tax rates to balance the federal budget, inadvertently deepening economic contraction.

Exclusion of Agricultural and Domestic Workers

A statutory compromise in key New Deal programs, including Social Security and the Wagner Act, that excluded farm laborers and domestic staff, disproportionately denying protections to African Americans and women.

The "Dole"

A derogatory term used for direct cash welfare payments from the government, which President Herbert Hoover opposed on the principle that direct relief degraded individual independence and character.

Executive Order 6102

A 1933 executive directive issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that criminalized the private hoarding of gold coin, bullion, and certificates within the continental United States.

Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934

New Deal legislation that authorized the president to negotiate bilateral trade pacts and lower tariff rates by up to $50\%$ with participating nations, reversing the protectionism of Hawley-Smoot.