SS quiz on Great Depression

Overproduction

Increase in production, but not enough people to buy all of the products produced! -> slow production down -> downsize/reduce wages -> if unemployment decreases, even less people will be able to buy products! -> production slows further.

Installment Buying

Purchasing a commodity over a period of time. The buyer gains the use of the commodity immediately and then pays for it in increments. Buying on CREDIT.

Credit

the ability of a customer to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future.

Stock Exchange

Owning part of a company. As business profits increased in the 1920s, many Americans thought they could make a lot of money by buying shares in successful companies!

Buying On Margin

Buying stocks in payments (credit!)

Black Thursday

October 24, 1929: a then-record number of shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange by panicked investors.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929: share prices on the New York Stock Exchange completely collapsed, becoming a pivotal factor in the emergence of the Great Depression.

Rugged Individualism

the idea that people succeed through their own efforts and should not depend on the government to bail them out. Instead, Hoover called on business leaders to not cut wages and production, as well as charities.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

Created under Hoover; lent money to businesses and provided funds for state and local programs. However, did not make risky loans and much of budget remained unspent.

Public Works

Hoover authorized federal spending on these projects, such as highways, parks, and libraries, in attempts to create new jobs