q1 - zurawski

US History Study Guide

Stock broker

a person who links buyers and sellers of stock

Civilian Conservation Corps

New Deal program that hired unemployed men to work on natural conservation projects

Agricultural Adjustment Act

Created by Congress in 1933 as part of the New Deal to help farmers meet mortgages, the government was paying the farmers to waste 1/3 of there products.

Bear market

A steady drop in the stock market over a period of time

Securities and Exchange Commission

monitors the stock market and enforces laws regulating the sale of stocks and bonds

Federal Emergency Relief Association

(FERA) this fed. association granted billions of dollars to the state governments to pay relief and wages for those employed in public works projects to help the unemployed

Overproduction

A condition in which production of goods exceeds the demand for them

Dust Bowl

A drought in the 1930s that turned the Great Planes very dry.

New Deal

A series of reforms enacted by the Franklin Roosevelt administration between 1933 and 1942 with the goal of ending the Great Depression.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

(FDIC) government corporation created by the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank

What was President Coolidge's philosophy on government? Should government interfere with business and industry?

Coolidge believed the government and business should remain separate in order for there to be prosperity

How did Henry Ford's system for making cars increase efficiency?

Ford used an assembly line which made it quicker, easier, and provided more jobs

Why did the people of the US view Sacco and Vanzetti with suspicion? What did this attitude say about the opinion of immigrants across the nation?

Sacco and Vanzetti were immigrants with only each other as alibis, the conviction was reflective of feelings around the country about immigrants

What was the purpose of the National Origins Act?

to control and reduce immigration

What does it mean to buy stocks "on margin"? How could this have a negative effect on the economy?

people would buy stock, but only pay for part of it and borrow money from the stockbrokers to pay the rest. then when they sold the stock for a higher price, they would pay the broker off and keep the rest of the profit.

What role did supply and demand play in causing the Great Depression?

New technology = greater supply but new technology ≠ greater income

Fewer purchases = layoffs

Why were banks especially hard hit by the stock market crash? What result did this have on the general population? What effect did the failure of the banks have on the economy?

Banks were hit hard because many invested in stocks, loaned to investors, suffered from bank runs. This crushed the economy because not only were the people losing money but so were businesses and the banks themselves who had invested in the stock market

Why did President Hoover oppose direct federal relief to the unemployed?

he believed that only state and city governments should dole out relief

What was the Bonus Army?

WWI veterans who marched in DC to demand early payment of the bonus money promised them for their military service.

Which New Deal program provided retirement benefits for the elderly?

social security act

What was significant about FDR's first 100 days?

FDRs first three months in office, saw the passage of bills aimed at repairing the banking system and restoring American's faith in the economy, starting government works projects to employ those out of work, offering subsidies for farmers, and devising a plan to aid in the recovery of the nation's industrial sector.

Presidents of the 1920s

Harding - publicly charming and endearing offering a "returh to normalcy" but privately very corrupt giving jobs to friends (ohio gang) - scandals: teapot dome & daughtery affair

Coolidge - relaxed and easygoing, designed policies to maintain prosperity by reducing federal budget, federal debt, and taxes - believed in supplyside economics

Hoover - Hated for the Great Depression and failure to fix it

Which reform allowed citizens to propose legislation directly?

The Initiative

Which of the following best explains how the Progressive Era challenged traditional laissez-faire economic policies in the United States?

It challenged laissez-faire economic policies by taking a more active role in the economy through regulation of businesses and protecting the consumers and workers.

What was the main goal of the muckrakers during the Progressive Era?

The muckraker's main goal was to target issues including corruption in politics and large corporations, bad practices in the food industry, and social injustices through journalism.

What was the significance of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle?

It was significant because it exposed the unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry and led to federal legislation such as the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act which passed in 1906.

Which president is most associated with trust-busting and conservation efforts?

Theodore Roosevelt and he did this through the establishment of national parks and using the Sherman Antitrust Act to bust trusts and monopolies.

What was Theodore Roosevelt’s Square Deal focused on?

The Square Deal focused on three main goals which were consumer protection, natural resource conservation, and control of corporations and would bring fairness for workers, consumers, and businesses.

The Scopes Trial highlighted a conflict between which two segments of society?

It was about the teaching of evolution in school and highlighted the conflict between science and religion. Fundamentalism led to the belief that america needed saving and that god (not science) was responsible for all thing which rejected evolution, this reflected the characteristics of the different cultural values

The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement centered around who and what?

It was centered around African American artists, writers, and musicians and the celebration of Black culture and identity.

What was the main effect of Prohibition during the 1920s?

It led to the growth of organized crime and illegal alcohol trade and the rise of gangsters like Al Capone as well as civil disobedience and a disregard for the laws of prohibition and rampant corruption with little enforcement of prohibition laws.

The Red Scare of the 1920s was primarily a reaction to what events?

It was a reaction to the fear of communism after labor unrest in the US during that time as well as a reaction to the Russian Revolution.

How did the emergence of the "New Woman" in the 1920s reflect broader social changes in the United States?

It reflected broader changes as women had just gained voting rights and started to get more independence as well as participation in the workforce and showed the challenges to traditional gender norms at the time.

The term “flapper” referred to who?

Young women during the 1920’s in the Progressive Era who embraced modern fashion, and their new found independence and social freedoms who wanted to break free from expected behavior and traditional behavior.

Which of the following best explains why the apparent prosperity of the 1920s masked underlying economic vulnerabilities in the United States?

It masked vulnerabilities such as consumer debt increasing and overproduction which was one of the main causes of the Great Depression.

What were the major causes of the Great Depression?

The result of the 1928 election, the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, overproduction, buying on margin, shaky banking, installment buying, crash of stock market, and speculation in the stock market

Which sector was already struggling before the Depression began?

The agriculture sector was struggling before the depression as farmers faced heavy debt from WW1 and low crop prices due to new technology allowing overproduction and therefore lower prices.

The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was triggered by what events?

Heavy stock speculation and buying on margin and then a sudden loss of confidence which led to mass sell offs.

Which of the following federal policies most directly contributed to the severity of the Great Depression by reducing international trade?

The Hawley-Smoot Tariff - raised taxes on foreign goods, foreign countries then raised taxes on American goods, killed international trade

Which of the following best explains how Federal Reserve policies in the late 1920s and early 1930s exacerbated the economic downturn?

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates and restricted money supply causing credit to be limited and worsen the process of deflation.

What role did banks play in deepening the Depression?

The role they played in deepening the Great Depression was that they loaned to many people who invested in the stock market and invested people deposits in the stock market instead of giving out loans. This along with their being no insurance for deposits at the time caused bank runs which led to people's savings being wiped out, banks failing, and reduction of available credit.

Stock Market

a system for buying and selling stocks in corporations

Bull Market

a long period of rising stock prices

Speculation

act of buying stocks at great risk with the anticipation that the prices will rise

Bank holiday

closed all banks until gov. examiners could investigate their financial condition; only sound/solvent banks were allowed to reopen

bank run

when many depositers withdraw their money at one time usually because of a fear that the bank is about to collapse

Margin

buying a stock by paying only a fraction of the stock price and borrowing the rest

Margin Call

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

Public Works

projects such as highways, parks, and libraries built with public funds for public use

Relief

aid in the form of money or supplies for those in need

Foreclose

to take possession of a property because of defaults on payments

Polio

abbreviated term for poliomyelitis, an acute infectious disease affecting the skeletal muscles, often resulting in permanent disability and deformity

Installment Plans

monthly plan made to pay off the cost of an item when buying it on credit

Speculators

a person who risks money in hopes of a financial profit

Hoboes

a homeless and usually penniless wanderer

Bailiffs

minor officers of the courts