Great Depression/new deal review

The Roaring 20s

A decade of cultural, social, and economic change after WWI; marked by consumerism, jazz, and shifting social norms.

Cultural changes in the 1920s

Jazz Age, new entertainment, booming consumerism, rebellion against traditional values.

Social issues in the 1920s

Racial tensions, rise of the Ku Klux Klan, conflicts over immigration and modern values.

Prohibition

18th Amendment banned the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol.

Harlem Renaissance

A flourishing period of African American artistic, literary, and musical expression centered in Harlem, NY.

Examples of Harlem Renaissance figures

Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington.

Why the 1920s economy boomed

Laissez‑faire policies, low taxes, buying on credit, and new consumer products.

Buying on credit

Installment plans allowed consumers to purchase goods and pay over time.

Why the economy collapsed

Stock market crash, excessive consumer debt, and widespread bank failures.

Stock Market Crash of 1929

Sudden collapse of stock prices leading to massive financial losses.

Banking crisis

Banks failed and could not return depositors' money.

Hoovervilles

Shantytowns built by homeless Americans during the Great Depression.

Unemployment during the Great Depression

Unemployment skyrocketed as businesses closed and jobs disappeared.

Hoover's approach to the Depression

Trickle‑down economics; limited government intervention; aid to businesses first.

FDR's approach to the Depression

Priming the pump; government spending to stimulate the economy from the bottom up.

Priming the pump

Government gives money and jobs directly to people to restart economic activity.

The Three R's

Relief (immediate help), Recovery (economic improvement), Reform (prevent future crises).

How FDR helped the "forgotten man"

Fireside chats, New Deal job programs, Social Security, and financial reforms.

Fireside Chats

Radio broadcasts where FDR explained policies and reassured the public.

Court Packing Plan

FDR's proposal to add up to 6 new Supreme Court justices.

Why Court Packing was controversial

Threatened checks and balances by giving the president too much power over the judiciary.