APUSH Chapter 24: Great Depression

What caused the Great Depression?

Post WWI economic devastation, high tariffs, overproduction, and lack of banking regulation.

What was the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929?

It helped farmers organize cooperative marketing associations and establish minimum prices with a $500 million revolving fund.

What actions did farmers take during the Depression?

Farmers dumped milk, held penny auctions, and returned farms to neighbors.

How did the Depression affect the average American?

Factories cut production, wages fell, unemployment rose, and starvation increased.

How did the Depression affect women differently than men?

Women maintained their roles and worked harder, while men lost their status as breadwinners.

What is the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)?

A government agency authorized to make loans to banks and other financial institutions.

What was the Glass-Steagall Act?

It expanded credit to make more loans available to businesses and individuals.

What were Hoover's beliefs about federal government responsibility?

He believed in promoting cooperation and that state and local governments should provide direct relief.

What was the Bonus Army?

WWI veterans who marched for early payment of their bonuses, leading to a violent dispersal by the U.S. Army.

What did Hoover fail to understand about the Bonus Army?

He could not comprehend their need for immediate relief instead of self-reliance.

What was FDR's belief in the welfare state?

He believed the government should aid the poor class.

What were FDR's Fireside Chats?

Radio addresses intended to explain his actions and reassure the American public.

What actions did FDR take in his first 100 days?

He declared a Bank Holiday to stabilize banks and passed the Emergency Banking Relief Act.

What is the purpose of the FDIC?

To protect bank depositors and maintain stability in the financial system.

What was the Beer-Wine Revenue Act?

It legalized 3.2% beer and was part of the Democratic platform to end prohibition.

Why did FDR go off the gold standard?

To help farmers raise prices and gain profit through inflation.

What is Keynesian Economics?

The idea that total spending drives economic output and employment, emphasizing demand.

What was the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)?

A program that created unskilled jobs to provide work and develop public facilities.

What was the Liberty League?

A conservative group opposing Roosevelt's New Deal, led by Alfred E. Smith and John W. Davis.

What did Smith and John W. Davis stand for?

States' rights, free enterprise, and the American system of the open shop.

What was Upton Sinclair's solution to poverty in California?

He proposed paying everyone over 60 years of age a pension of $50 a month, financed by higher income and inheritance taxes.

What was Dr. Francis Townsend's solution?

The Townsend Old Age Revolving Pension Plan promised $200 a month to all unemployed citizens over 60, provided they spent it within the same month.

What were Father Charles E. Coughlin's views?

He was anti-Semitic and described most 'evil' bankers as Jewish.

What was Huey Long's program?

The Share the Wealth program, which taxed the rich to fund hospitals, schools, and highways.

What happened to Huey Long?

He was assassinated in September 1935.

What was the purpose of the Resettlement Administration?

To relocate tenant farmers on land purchased by the government.

Was the Resettlement Administration successful?

No, it failed due to lack of funds and fears of establishing collective farms.

What was the Rural Electrification Act?

Authorized loans to cooperatives to generate and distribute electricity in rural areas.

Was the Rural Electrification Act successful?

Yes, it drastically changed the lives of farmers.

What was daily life like in rural areas before electricity?

Kerosene lamps were used, no bathrooms, and running water relied on electric pumps.

What caused the Dust Bowl?

Heat waves, below-average rainfall, and extensive agriculture led to farmland being turned into wasteland.

What was the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934?

It restricted the use of public ranges to prevent overgrazing.

What was the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act/Wagner Act?

To outlaw blacklisting and protect workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively.

What happened during the events at Ford Motor Co. in 1936?

Workers used non-violent tactics to demand rights, leading to a violent confrontation with hired gunmen.

What was the outcome of the Memorial Day Massacre in 1937?

Police fired into a crowd of workers, resulting in 10 deaths.

What were the Scottsboro Boys accused of?

Nine black men were accused of raping two white women.

What was the outcome of the Scottsboro Boys case?

The U.S. Supreme Court ordered new trials due to lack of proper legal counsel.

How did the Depression affect African Americans?

Many were forced to move north, faced higher unemployment, and received lower welfare payments than whites.

What was Roosevelt's 'Black Cabinet'?

A group of 50 young blacks appointed in various New Deal agencies.

Who was Mary McLeod Bethune?

She founded a black primary school and advocated for civil rights and jobs for African Americans.

How did Eleanor Roosevelt support African Americans?

She protested against racial discrimination, such as when a black concert singer was denied a stage.

What was the Indian Reorganization Act?

It aimed to restore political independence to Native tribes and end the allotment policy of the Dawes Act.

What caused the Roosevelt Recession of 1936?

Roosevelt cut federal spending and reduced outlays for relief.