The Great Depression and FDR's New Deal

These flashcards cover key terms and definitions related to the Great Depression, FDR's policies, and significant events during the early to mid-20th century.

Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic depression that started around 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s, characterized by widespread unemployment and financial instability.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

The 32nd President of the United States who served from 1933 to 1945 and implemented the New Deal to combat the Great Depression.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

An act that raised tariffs on imports in the U.S., which contributed to the decline of international trade during the Great Depression.

Dust Bowl

A period of severe dust storms during the 1930s that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American prairies.

Bonus Army

A group of WWI veterans who marched on Washington in 1932 demanding early payment of bonuses; their disbandment by troops led to public backlash against President Hoover.

New Deal

A series of programs and reforms enacted by FDR to promote economic recovery and social reform during the Great Depression.

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

A New Deal agency that provided jobs for millions of unemployed Americans from 1935 to 1943.

Social Security Act of 1935

Legislation that created a federal retirement program and provided assistance to those in need.

Monetary Policy

Actions taken by the Federal Reserve regarding interest rates and money supply, which during the Great Depression included raising interest rates contrary to supporting recovery.

Korematsu v. U.S.

A Supreme Court case that upheld the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II as a wartime necessity.

Internment Camps

Detention centers where Japanese Americans, as well as some German and Italian Americans, were forcibly relocated during World War II.

Lend-Lease Act

A program under which the U.S. supplied Allied nations with war material during World War II.

Tuskegee Airmen

The first American military pilots of African descent, who fought in World War II.

Blitzkrieg

A German term meaning 'lightning war'; a military strategy employed by Germany during WWII featuring rapid attacks.