C9

review 9-1 9-2

stock market

stock market

a system for buying and selling stocks in corporations; circumstances in stock market led to a long period of rising stock prices

bull market

a long period of rising stock prices; in late 1920s, a prolonged bull market convinced many Americans to invest heavily in stock

invest

to put money into a company in order to gain a future financial reward

margin

making only a small cash down payment; as low as 10% of the price

margin call

demand by a broker that investors pay back loans made for stocks purchased on margin

speculation

investing money at great risk with he anticipation that the price will rise

sum

a specified amount of money

installment

buying an item on credit with a monthly plan to pay off the value of the good

reaction

the response to a stimulus; the chain reaction put more and more Americans out of work

Alfred E. Smith

4-time governor of New York. Irish American from New York’s Lower East Side and 1st Roman catholic ever nominated to run for president chosen by Democrats

Black Tuesday

October 29, prices took steepest dive yet, that day stocks lost $10-$15 billion in value

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

In June 1930; congress passed an act raising the average tariff rate to the highest level is American history. They aimed to protect American manufacturers from foreign competition but it damaged American sals abroad

suspend

to temporarily stop an operation; 1352 - banks stopped nationwide

bailiff

minor officer of the courts, ejected the nonpaying tenants, piling their belongings in the street

shantytown

throughout the country, newly homeless people put up shacks on unused or public lands, forming communities

Hooverville

nickname given to the shantytown in the US during the Depression

hobo

a homeless and usually penniless wanderer

Dust Bowl

name given to the area of the Southern Great Plains; it got severely damaged by droughts and dust storms during the 1930s

colleague

a person who works in the same or similar profession

soap opera

a serial drama on television or radio using melodramatic situations

technique

a method of achieving a desired task

Walt Disney

moviemaker who produced the first feature-length animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” in 1937

Grant Wood

led the regionalist school, which emphasized traditional American values

John Steinbeck

novelist who added flesh and blood to journalists’ reports of poverty and misfortune

William Faulkner

author who shows what his characters are thinking and feeling before they speak