Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on the book 'Prosperity, Depression and the New Deal' by Peter Clements.

Federal system of government

Where there is both a central system of government and state governments, each state having its own powers that are not subject to interference from central government.

Republic

Country led by a president rather than a monarch.

Executive

The branch of government that makes policy.

Legislature

The branch of government that passes laws.

Veto

The president’s refusal to pass laws he disagrees with.

Vertical integration

Where a firm controls all the stages in production and marketing of its product.

Trusts

Companies that collude to control manufacture, supplies and prices to ensure that other firms cannot compete, thereby guaranteeing maximum profits for themselves.

Monopolies

Where one firm controls a whole market for a product.

Communism

The belief that the planning and organising of an economy should be state controlled, so that people are rewarded according to their work. There should be little gap between rich and poor.

Anarchism

Belief in no government, no private ownership and the sharing out of wealth.

Gold Standard

Where the value of money is based on the amount of gold in the nation’s reserves.

Bimetallists

Those who wanted both silver and gold used in the coinage.

Labor union

US term for a trade union, formed to look after the interests of its members.

American Federation of Labor

Organisation representing American labor unions.

Blackleg labor

Strike-breakers.

Marginal district

Electoral district where most voters seem undecided about which candidate to vote for.

White Man’s Burden

The belief that white people were superior to other races and therefore had a duty to bring them up to the standards of white people.

Preclusive imperialism

The taking of colonies to prevent other countries from doing so.

McKinley Tariff

Abolished import duties on raw sugar.

Progressivism

US movement to expand the role of government in dealing with social and economic problems and tackle corruption and abuses.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt’s legislative programme.

Arbitration

Where two opposing sides go to a neutral body for a judgement in their dispute.

Suffrage

The right to vote.

Prohibition

Banned the transportation, manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages.

Return to normalcy

Harding meant by this a return to minimal government with people being dependent on their own efforts and limited US involvement in foreign affairs.

Middle America

Phrase used to describe the vast majority of Americans who just want to get on with their lives without government interference. It also implies decent living and high moral standards. There is some implicit suggestion that the phrase refers primarily to Americans who live away from large cities in small semi- rural communities.

Federal aid

Help from the federal government for specific issues.

Ku Klux Klan

In the 1920s this was a racist group advocating white supremacy and adopting tactics of terror to intimidate other groups such as African-Americans and Jews. It was particularly prevalent in the southern and mid-western states.

White supremacy

The racist belief that white people are superior to those of other ethnic origins.

‘Speakeasies’

Illegal clubs where alcohol was sold.

Bootleggers

People who made alcohol illegally to sell.

Still

Place where illegal alcohol is made.

Moonshine

Illegally manufactured alcoholic drinks.

Religious fundamentalism

Involved, among other things, a belief in the literal truth of the Bible and a desire to live one’s life according to its teachings.

Recession

Downturn in the economy.

Gross national product (GNP)

The amount earned over the country as a whole.

Mass production

Making large numbers of the same item using machinery and conveyor belts.

Free market

A system that allows the economy to run itself with minimal government interference.

Laissez-faire

An approach where the government deliberately avoids getting involved in economic planning, thus allowing free trade to operate.

Fordney-McCumber Act

Bill to raise tariffs to cover the difference between domestic and foreign production costs, passed in 1922

Federal Trade Commission

Body charged to ensure businesses were operating fairly.

Price fixing

Where companies agree to fix prices between them, thereby preventing fair competition.

Per capita income

Income per head of the population.

Labor union

US term for a trade union, formed to look after the interests of its members.

Farm lobby

Politicians and interest groups who put forward the farmers’ case to the federal government and Congress.

Share-croppers

Farmers who rented land and were paid by the landowners a percentage of what they produced.

Equalisation fee

The fee farmers would pay to join the proposed McNary-Haugen scheme. It was based on the difference between the price the Agricultural Export Corporation paid farmers for their produce and the price it could be sold for on the world markets.

Agricultural businesses

Large-scale farms using machinery and techniques of mass production.

‘Speakeasies’

Illegal clubs where alcohol was sold.

‘On the margin’

Buying stocks and shares on credit.

Federal Reserve Board

A centralised system that allowed banks to run their own affairs with only limited government interference.

Rediscount rates

The interest rate at which banks borrow money from the federal reserve banks.

Inflation

Rise in prices due to more money being in circulation.

Deflation

Fall in prices due to less money being in circulation.

Reparations

Under the postwar settlements Germany had been required to pay compensation of $33,000 million to the victorious countries.

Dawes Plan

1924 Offered Germany scaled-down reparations and provided it with a loan of $250 million to help stabilise its currency.

Young Plan

1929 Offered further scaled-down reparations.

President Coolidge

The only president to state, ‘The chief business of the American people is business’.

Ticket

A list of candidates offered to voters for election to an office.

Laissez-faire

An approach where the government deliberately avoids getting involved in economic planning, thus allowing free trade to operate.

Square Deal

Theodore Roosevelt’s legislative program.

Inauguration

The ceremony that begins the president’s term of office.

Alphabet agencies

New government bodies set up to tackle problems. They were so called because they became known by their initials, e.g. AAA, CCC.

Middle America

Phrase used to describe the vast majority of Americans who just want to get on with their lives without government interference. It also implies decent living and high moral standards. There is some implicit suggestion that the phrase refers primarily to Americans who live away from large cities in small semi- rural communities.

New Frontier

President J F Kennedy to inspire America to support his programs that would boost the economy, support freedom in the nation

Federal loans

Money owed to the government and repayable over a set period.

Farm lobby

A powerful group within America's Republican party.

Economic planning

A country needs to control its markets and prices in order to prevent either inflation or recession.

Economic crisis

A credit crunch that affects industry, and businesses cutting back, thus affecting the state.

President Coolidge

His policies led to huge government loss in interest from taxes.

Key industries in state hands

Not possible as this meant that in practice it would involve a large takeover.

Federal tax cuts

To those with a higher-than-average income would spend more, increasing their purchase of goods.

The 1921, Transportation Act

Act designed to keep transport prices and profits fair.

Federal tax revenues

Revenue taken from taxes to provide public services.

Wages per employee

Wages were at a level where spending could be made and there was little demand on what goods could be afforded

Farm foreclosures

Local farmers agreed to bid only a few cents and then return the farm to the former owner.

State funds

Ran out of funds to support people because they could not repay state taxes.

Hoover set up, THE WICKERSHAM COMMISSION to investigate,

But that had proved disastrous and many had taken to illegal moonshine distribution.

Prohibition agents

10 percent if them were fined for corruption.

20th Amendment

It has the effect of splitting the party, and helped Smith lose the 1928 electron.

Wall Street was

Seen as a symbol of great hope.

Grossly irresponsible

The economies were affected , people were losing their homes and farms people committed suicide