Great Depression & New Deal Vocabulary

Unit 5 Vocab

Overspeculation

Risky business ventures involving buying or selling in the hope of making a large & quick profit.

Tariffs

A tax on imported goods or services that a country imposes on another country.

Federal Reserve System

Central Bank of the United States - supports all the other banks in the United States.

Installment Plan

Paying for goods at regular intervals, usually with interest added. - Buy Now, Pay Later.

Buying on Margin

Borrowing money from a broker or the bank to buy stock.

Smoot - Hawley Tariff

High tariff on imports passed in 1930 in an attempt to protect American-made goods.

Deportation

The forced removal of a person or group from a country.

Black Tuesday

October 29th-the day the Stock Market crashed causing prices to fall to all-time lows and fortunes and life savings lost.

Saturated

The supply of products exceeded the demand for the product.

Dust Bowl

Area of the Great Plains where a series of drought and destructive wind storms of the 1930's turned the soil to wind-borne dust. One of the worst environmental disasters in history.

Great Plains

A region of the United States 

generally considered to include North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

Oakies & Arkies

Nickname given to migrant workers from Oklahoma or Arkansas who were displaced by crop failures and dust storms.

Bear Market

Time when the prices of stock on the market continued to drop.

Bull market 

Time when the prices of stock on the market continue to rise; 1920s prices continued to rise leading to many wanting to invest even if they had to borrow money to do so.

21st Amendment

Repealed the 18th Amendment, allowing for the manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of alcohol in the United States.

Economic Instability

A stage in which the economy is going through a recession or an unhealthy expansion.

1929

The year the Stock Market Crashed and the start of the Great Depression.

Great Depression(1929 - 1941)

A period of severe economic hardship that began with the stock market crash in 1929 and continued until World War II.

Stock Market

A place where agents for the public buy & sell shares of stocks & bonds. 

Repatriation

As the economy slowed, close to foreign workers were sent back to their country of origin even though many were American citizens.

Drought

A long period of time without 

precipitation.

Bread Lines

A line of people who wait to receive free food from a charitable organization or government agency.

Hooverville

Term used to describe the makeshift shelter towns (known as shanty-towns) where many of the unemployed lived during the Depression.

Bonus Army

World War I veterans converged on Washington, D.C., demanding immediate bonus payment for wartime services to provide relief from the economic hardship during the Great Depression.

Beneficiary

Someone who will receive the benefits from things like a will, insurance, life insurance, or trusts.

Executive Branch

This branch consists of the President, & their advisors. This branch is responsible for enforcing the laws.

Judicial Branch

This branch consists of the Supreme Court, and is responsible for interpreting the laws to determine if they are or are not constitutional.

Rugged Individualism

Moto by Herbery Hoover in response to the Great Depression in which he believed that individuals should rely on themselves and not depend on government assistance.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

This organization, founded by the National Housing act, looks to protect mortgage lenders from harm in case a borrower defaults on their loan.

Securities & Exchange Commision (SEC)

This organization was formed to prevent market manipulation and protect investors in the stock market.

Tennessee Valley Authority

New Deal Program that was created to oversee the construction of dams to control flooding, improve navigation, and create inexpensive electric power in the Tennessee Valley.

(TVA) Court Packing Plan

FDR's proposal to allow the president to appoint an additional Justice for every member of the Supreme Court over 70.

Good Neighbor Policy

FDR's foreign policy of promoting better relations with Latin America by using economic influence.

“Share the Wealth” Program

This program called for massive federal spending, a wealth tax, and wealth redistribution.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Recruited unemployed young men from urban areas to perform conservation work throughout the nation's forests, parks, and fields.

Legislative Branch

Branch of government that makes laws. Consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Federal Deposit Insurance

    Corporation (FDIC)

New Deal program created to maintain public confidence in the financial system by insuring deposits, regulating banks, and managing failed banks.

Reconstruction Finance

Corporation(RFC)

New Deal agency was created by President Hoover and gave $2 billion in aid to state/local governments, and banks & businesses to boost the country’s confidence and help banks return to performing daily functions.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

New Deal Program created a federal insurance program that assisted the disabled, unemployed, and elderly.

Works Progress

Administration (WPA)

New Deal Program that employed millions of jobseekers to carry out public works projects, such as the construction of public buildings and roads.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

New Deal agency that paid farmers not to plant crops in order to raise crop prices.

Relief, Recovery, & Reform

The three goals of FDR’s New Deal Plan.

Fireside Chats

Radio broadcasts by Franklin D. Roosevelt to the American people in order to explain his ideas and policies; helped to restore the confidence of the people and give them hope.

New Deal

Series of programs and regulations Franklin D. Roosevelt endorsed to end the Great Depression after he was elected.

Government Subsidy

Grants given by the Federal government to stimulate businesses or promote activities that are in the interest of the public

Deficit Spending

Government spends more money than it brings in.

Economic Stability

The stage in which a country's financial system has low inflation, steady growth, and minimal fluctuations in production and employment.

Eleanor Roosevelt

The first wife of a president to use her unique position to fight for the rights of minorities, women, and the destitute.

Father Coughlin

Known as the "radio priest" of the era of the Great Depression, turned from liberal views to bigotry as he espoused hatred of such targets as the New Deal and Roosevelt going as far to call Roosevelt a liar on his public radio show.

Herbert Hoover

President at the start of the Great Depression. Criticized for his inability to prevent the Stock Market Crash or to regulate the economy afterwards.

Francis Townsend

Created a pension plan for the elderly that he claimed would bring an end to the Great Depression. Despite being financially unsound and poorly administered, the Old Age Revolving Pension Plan (OARP) nonetheless became a popular movement in the United States; critic of the New Deal.

Franklin D. Roosevelt(1932 - 1945)

32nd President of the U.S. Passed 15 major laws in the “New Deal” as an effort to reverse the Great Depression.

Huey Long

Roosevelt’s fiercest critic who believed the New Deal didn’t go far enough and instead supported his own Share-Our-Wealth program.