Great Depression

21st Amendment

Repealed Prohibition by ending the 18th Amendment and legalizing alcohol again.

22nd Amendment

Limited the U.S. president to two elected terms in office, after FDR was elected to a fourth term in the 1940s.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

New Deal program that paid farmers to reduce crop production to raise prices. It was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, challenging the New Deal and checking the power of the Executive Branch.

Bank Failures

When banks collapsed and closed during the Great Depression due to risky banking, causing people to lose their savings.

Bank Holiday

Emergency closure of banks ordered by FDR to stop massive withdrawals and restore trust in the banking system.

Bank Runs

Word began to spread that banks were out of money due to risky loans and people ran to the banks to get their money out before they lost everything. It caused even more bank failures as even the financially sound banks ran out of money from the withdrawals.

Banking Relief Act

Allowed only financially stable banks to reopen after the Bank Holiday. It helped to restore confidence in the banking industry.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929; the day the stock market crashed, marking the start of the Great Depression.

Bonus Army

Group of WWI veterans who marched on Washington in 1932 demanding early payment of promised bonuses. They were denied the bonus and chased out of D.C. with tear gas, several veterans were killed.

Brain Trusts

Group of expert advisers who helped FDR develop New Deal programs to help restore the economy.

Breadlines

Lines of people waiting to receive free food during the Great Depression. They were run on charitable contributions and were needed due to widespread business failures and unemployment. They're also called soup kitchens.

Buying on Margin

Purchasing stocks with borrowed money, which contributed to the stock market crash by helping to create artificially high stock prices. When the loans were not repaid, the banks began to fail.

Civil Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program that gave jobs to young men planting trees and working on conservation projects. They built national parks, lived in tents, and sent money home to their families.

Civil Works Administration (CWA)

Short-term New Deal program that provided manual labor jobs for millions during the winter of 1933-34.

Court Packing Scheme

FDR's failed plan to expand the Supreme Court by adding more justices who supported his policies. He wanted to add a new justice for each one over 70 ½ years old who would favor New Deal policies. Congress refused to approve the addition. Many believed that FDR was becoming a dictator. He tried to do this so New Deal policies would not be declared unconstitutional like the AAA was.

Dust Bowl

Severe drought and dust storms caused by poor farming practices and an extended drought in the Great Plains during the 1930s that forced many farmers to migrate.

Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady who redefined the role by actively promoting civil rights and social causes. She served as FDR's eyes and ears.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Law that set minimum wage, maximum work hours, and banned child labor.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Insured individual bank deposits to restore public confidence in banks. If a bank that was insured failed, the government would repay the depositors up to a certain amount.

Fireside Chats

Informal radio addresses by FDR to reassure and inform the American public. He talked in a conversational tone and told the American people what the government was doing to improve the economy and any successes they had.

First Hundred Days

The beginning of FDR's presidency when many New Deal laws were quickly passed.

Frances Perkins

First woman to serve in a presidential cabinet; FDR's Secretary of Labor.

Francis Townsend

Critic of the New Deal who proposed a pension plan for the elderly, influencing Social Security.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)

U.S. president who led the country through the Great Depression and created the New Deal. He was also president for the majority of WWII. He won the 1932 Presidential Election.

Glass-Steagall Act

Law that separated commercial and investment banking to reduce risk and speculation. It also created the FDIC to insure bank deposits.

Gold Standard

A monetary system where paper money was backed by gold. During the Great Depression, it was abandoned so the government could print more money, increase inflation, and raise prices. This made it easier to repay old debts, which stayed the same in value while money lost its worth.

Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic downturn lasting from 1929 to the early 1940s. It was caused due to a combination of factors including upregulating banking, unregulated stock market, laissez-faire economic policies, speculation in the stock market and real estate, overproduction of goods, overspending on luxury goods, risky banking, and installment plans.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

High tariff passed in 1930 on goods imported into the U.S., other nations retaliated and placed a tariff on American-made goods imported into their countries. It worsened the Depression by reducing international trade.

Herbert Hoover

U.S. president at the start of the Depression; criticized for not doing enough to help. He believed in laissez-faire for the government and the economy.

Hoovervilles

Shantytowns built by homeless people during the Depression; named sarcastically after President Hoover. They were dangerous places to be with no running water or electricity, the homes were shacks built out of whatever materials they could find. They were often located in city parks.

Huey Long

Senator who criticized FDR's New Deal and proposed a 'Share Our Wealth' program to redistribute income. He wanted to tax the rich and give it to American families.

Hundred Days

See 'First Hundred Days'; the period of rapid legislation at the start of FDR's term.

Installment Plans

Buying goods by making small monthly payments; contributed to consumer debt in the 1920s.

Mexican Repatriation

Several states forced Mexican immigrants and Mexican Americans to return to Mexico during the Depression to open jobs to unemployed Okies.

Migrant Workers

Farm laborers who moved place to place in search of work, especially during the Dust Bowl.

National Housing Act

Law to make home loans more affordable and prevent foreclosures.

New Deal

FDR's set of programs to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.

Okies

Farmers and their families from Oklahoma who were forced to abandon their farms during the Dust Bowl.

Overproduction

Producing more goods than could be sold, leading to falling prices and layoffs.

Overspeculation

Risky investment in the stock market or real estate hoping for quick profits, often on borrowed money.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

New Deal agency that funded large-scale public construction projects to create jobs.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Hoover-era program that gave loans to banks and businesses to stimulate the economy.

Securities Act

Required companies to provide truthful information to investors, regulating the stock market.

Securities Exchange Commission (SEC)

Government agency created to oversee and regulate the stock market to prevent fraud.

Shantytowns

Makeshift homes made of scrap material built by the homeless during the Depression.

Social Security Act

New Deal law that created pensions for the elderly, unemployment insurance, and aid for the disabled.

Stock Market Crash

Sudden and severe drop in stock prices in October 1929 (Black Tuesday) that is considered the official starting point of the Great Depression.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

New Deal program that built dams to provide electricity and prevent flooding in one of the poorest regions in the U.S.

The Grapes of Wrath

Novel by John Steinbeck about a family of Dust Bowl migrants during the Great Depression.

Wagner Act (National Labor Relations Act)

Law that protected workers' rights to unionize and bargain collectively.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Major New Deal program that employed millions to build roads, schools, and support the arts.