APUSH Chp 30 & 31: Causes & Life in The Great Depression

Long Boom Econ

Name given to the great econ of the 20’s\

Did anybody really notice that we were headed towards this?

no

Final touch was

GB tariffs

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, when the stock market crashed, marking the start of the Great Depression.

Hawley-Swoot Tariff

A tariff enacted in 1930 that raised import duties on foreign goods to an all-time high, intended to protect American industries but ultimately contributed to worsening the Great Depression.

Hoovervilles

Shantytowns built by the homeless during the Great Depression, named after President Hoover.

The standard of ___ used by world countries lead to econ being so low around the world.  

gold

What group of people were alreday used to suffering bc of their surplus?

Farmers

Hoover blankets

old newspapers used as blankets by the homeless during the Great Depression.

Hoover Dam

A concrete arch-gravity dam located on the Colorado River, built during the Great Depression as part of a massive public works project to provide jobs and hydroelectric power.

Did Hoover administration help in providing relief?

The Hoover administration provided limited relief efforts during the Great Depression, primarily through indirect methods such as loans to banks and businesses instead of direct aid to individuals, which many believed was insufficient.

Hoover was what?

Rugged individualism/Individual

Hoover & many other repubs believed in what philosophy for business?

Trickle-down

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) was a government agency established during the Great Depression to provide financial support to banks, railroads, and other businesses in order to stimulate the economy.

Norris–La Guardia Anti-Injunction Act

A 1932 law that limited the power of federal courts to issue injunctions against strikes, picketing, and boycotts, thus protecting the rights of labor unions.

Bonus Army Riot (Bonus Expeditionary Forces)

A protest march in 1932 by World War I veterans who demanded immediate payment of a bonus promised to them by the government. The demonstration ended violently when the US Army forcibly evicted the veterans from their encampment in Washington, D.C.  Douglas McArthur called in & calmed issue with tear gas.  Hoover = villain. 

Stimson Doctrine

A policy articulated in 1932 by Secretary of State Henry Stimson, stating that the United States would not recognize territorial changes achieved by force, specifically in response to Japan's invasion of Manchuria.

Japan invades what city?

Does the UN take action? Why?

Manchuria

No bc daddy us wan’t there to help 

Hoover uses what policy to help in Haiti & Latin America?

Good Neighbor Policy

Brain Trust

A group of advisors to President Franklin D. Roosevelt who helped to formulate policies during the Great Depression, particularly in the early years of his administration.

Hundred Days

The first hundred days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency during which he implemented a series of significant and rapid reforms and legislation to combat the Great Depression.

3 R’s

Relief, Reform, Recovery

Dust Bowl

• Eastern Co - Wester MI

• Drought + heavy winds = Dust storms

• Citizens wore protective masks

• Goodbye to farms

McNary-Hagen Bill

Bill proposed in the 1920s designed to support American farmers through price supports and government purchases of surplus crops.

First animated film?

Snow white & 7 dwarfs

Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic downturn that lasted from 1929 to the late 1930s, characterized by high unemployment, falling prices, and widespread poverty.

Dow Jones Index      

A stock market index that measures the stock performance of 30 large companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States, often used as an indicator of market health.

income distribution  

The way total wealth is shared among the population, typically indicating economic inequality in a society.

buying on margin 

The practice of purchasing stocks with borrowed funds, typically by paying a small percentage of the stock's price as a down payment while borrowing the rest, which can increase both potential gains and losses.

Gross National Product

The total value of all goods and services produced by a nation's economy over a specified period, often used as an economic measure of a country's overall economic performance.

Herbert Hoover

The 31st president of the United States, whose tenure was marked by the onset of the Great Depression. He was criticized for his handling of the economic crisis and believed in limited government intervention in the economy.

debt moratorium  

A temporary suspension of debt repayments, often implemented during economic crises to provide relief to debtors and stabilize the economy.

Farm Board

A government agency created in 1929 to stabilize agricultural prices by controlling the supply of farm products and assisting farmers during economic hardships.

FDR

The 32nd president of the United States, who led the country through the Great Depression.

Heavy spending for relief.  Money > humanity was expanadable 

Twentieth Amendment ("lame-duck")

An amendment to the United States Constitution that moved the presidential inauguration date from March 4 to January 20, reducing the "lame-duck" period for elected officials who are not re-elected.

first New Deal   

A series of programs and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1933 to 1934 aimed at providing relief for the unemployed, stimulating economic recovery, and reforming the financial system.

Frances Perkins

The first woman to serve in a president's cabinet, as Secretary of Labor under FDR.

bank holiday

A mandated closing of banks for a specified period during which the financial system is stabilized, implemented by FDR in 1933 to restore public confidence in the banking system.

21st Amendment

The constitutional amendment that repealed the 18th Amendment, ending Prohibition in the United States, and was ratified in 1933.

Fireside chats

Radio broadcasts made by FDR to communicate directly with the American public, addressing issues and providing reassurance during the Great Depression. Would help reopen banks & build trust in his works

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

A U.S. government agency established in 1933 to provide deposit insurance to depositors in banks, protecting them from bank failures.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

A New Deal agency created in 1933 to oversee a large-scale public works construction program aimed at providing jobs and improving infrastructure during the Great Depression.

Ran by Harold Ickes, it was intended for long-range recovery & spent $4 bil on 34k projects.

Harold Ickes

An American politician who served as the Secretary of the Interior under FDR, overseeing the Public Works Administration and advocating for environmental conservation during the Great Depression.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A New Deal program created in 1933 that employed young men in conservation and development projects, such as reforestation and flood control, to combat unemployment during the Great Depression.  Natural resources were conserved.  

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

• Provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, and economic development

• Determined how much the production & distribution of electricity cost, so there could be a way to have fairness in $$ charge from companies

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

• Biggest thing scheme

• Most complex effort by NDers to combine immediate relief + long-range recovery & reform

• Assist industry & unemployed

• Industries would comply to fair regulations.  No cheating

• Big wage with minimum hrs

• Works right to bargain/ form unions 

• Safeguarding child labor

Schechter v. U.S. 

National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional uncon

Congress can’t delegate legislative pwrs to exclusive

Control of interstate commerce couldn’t properly apply to local businesses 

Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)

A U.S. government agency established in 1934 to regulate the securities markets, protect investors, and maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, aimed at preventing abuses that led to the stock market crash of 1929.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)

A government agency created in 1934 to build industry to be helped by small loans to householders, both for increase in their dwellings & completing new ones.  

2nd New Deal

A series of programs and reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression, aimed at promoting economic recovery and social welfare, including labor rights and support for farmers.

Works Progress Administration

A key New Deal agency that provided jobs for millions of unemployed Americans through various public works projects, including infrastructure, arts, and education, from 1935 to 1943.

Harry Hopkins

Friend of FDR.  Ran FERA.  Ny social worker.  

Wagner/National Labor Relations Act

Created a pwrful new National Labor Relations Board to protect the rights of workers to engage in self-organization & to bargain collectively through representatives of their choice.

Social Security Act (1935)

A law enacted in 1935 that established a system of old-age benefits for workers, unemployment insurance, aid to families with dependent children and the disabled, and those retired, marking a significant development in the American social welfare system.

Father Charles Coughlin

A controversial Catholic priest and radio broadcaster who became a prominent figure during the Great Depression, advocating for monetary reform and anit-New Deal policies.  Anti-sematic.  

Francis Townsend

A physician and social reformer known for his proposal during the Great Depression for a pension plan that would provide financial assistance to the elderly with $200 a month, influencing the development of Social Security.

Huey Long

• Senator of La

• Promoted “Share our Wealth” program

• Had “Every Man a King” + family resources

• Hopes of becoming a fascist dictator ended when he got killed

Congress of Industrial Organizations 

A federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions during the Great Depression, aimed at improving working conditions and wages.

John L. Lewis

A prominent labor leader and president of the United Mine Workers, John L. Lewis played a significant role in the labor movement during the Great Depression, advocating for workers' rights and organizing unions.

sit-down strike

A form of protest where workers stop working and occupy the workplace to demand better conditions, often used in the labor movement during the Great Depression.

Fair Labor Standards Act (1938)

Legislation that established minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor protections, aimed at improving labor standards in the United States.

John Maynard Keynes

A British economist whose ideas fundamentally changed the theory and practice of macroeconomics, advocating for government intervention to manage economic cycles and end the Great Depression.

Okies 

A term used to describe migrant workers from Oklahoma and surrounding states who relocated to California during the Great Depression in search of better living conditions and jobs.

John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath

A novel by John Steinbeck that tells the story of a family's struggles as they migrate from Oklahoma to California during the Great Depression, highlighting the hardships faced by migrant workers and the quest for dignity.

Marian Anderson

An African American contralto singer who gained fame during the Great Depression, known for her performance at the Lincoln Memorial in 1939 after being denied a concert at Constitution Hall.

Mary McLeod Bethune

An educator and civil rights leader who founded the National Council of Negro Women. She played a significant role in advocating for African American education and women's rights during the Great Depression.

Fair Employment Practices Committee

A federal agency established in 1941 to address discrimination in defense industries and promote fair employment practices, particularly for African Americans during World War II.

A. Philip Randolph

A key civil rights leader and labor organizer who founded the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, advocating for fair wages and working conditions for African Americans during the Great Depression.

Indian Reorganization (Wheeler-Howard) Act (1934)

• “Indian New Deal”

• Reverse the policies of Dawes Act

• Roster Indian autonomy

• Stop loss of land & reserve culture

• Revive their identity

New Democratic coalition  

A political alliance formed in the 1930s that included diverse groups such as farmers, labor unions, urban immigrants, and African Americans, significantly impacting the Democratic Party's platform during the Great Depression.

Effects of the Stock Market:

• Wages & salaries were slashed.  

• Unemployment soared & many people were hungry

• Stockbrokers lost their paper money 

• Banks & businesses failed

Why did officials at Fed Reserve keep interest rate high?

They were fearful of stocking the economy with too much money, which could lead to inflation and market instability. Soon made GD worse by squeezing out the money supply & crushed hopes for early recovery.  

After WW1, much of Euro pwr & US went back to what?

Gold standard

What happened in Europe that truly caused a chain reaction of all these failures? 

Vienna banking failure. War debts also weakened economies and led to defaults.

Main causes of GD

War damage

Econ miscalculation

Straight jacket of gold standard

Short-sighted policies 

How were industry workers impacted?

Many industry workers faced job losses, wage cuts, and harsh working conditions due to decreased demand and economic contraction during the Great Depression.

Hoover truly wanted the _____ to solve the problems of the GD without the help of the ______.

people, fed gov.

Hoover’s harsh realization during GD:

Relief from local gov agencies broke down. Hoover had to break from his individuals & accept the proportion that the welfare of the people is a nationwide issue is a direct concern of the national gov.  

Did hoover have strength to lead country through Great Depression?

No.  Compromise between hands-off philosophy & “soul-destroying” direct role.  Hoover promised the railroads, banks, & rural credit corporations’ cooperative effort to stabilize the economy but struggled to implement effective measures.

Critics made fun of Hoover for what?

Providing more help to foreign nations rather than american ppl.

Hoover implemented what philosophy into econ?

“Trickle-down” philosophy.  This economic approach suggested that benefits for the wealthy would eventually trickle down to the lower classes, promoting overall economic growth.

Did Hoover get some work done?

Yes, despite criticism.

Japan invades which Chinese city?

Manchuria

Did blockade from US stop Japan from further escalation?

No

Were US stronger with China or Japan?

Japan

What did US prioritize in their care for in China?

econ holding with little moral for everything else.

Did the LON have everything to stop Japan from moving forward?

What stopped once WW2 began?

Yes.

Collective security

In terms of Imperialism, what effects did the GD have on it?

US couldn’t invest money abroad

Less of an aggressive attitude for imperialism

Felt being preyed upon by other countries

Negotiation with Haiti

Agreed to a pact-agreement & would later lad to American troop withdrawal in 1934. 

Good Neighbor Policy

A diplomatic approach promoting friendly relations and mutual respect between the United States and Latin American countries, emphasizing non-intervention and cooperation.

What did Roosevelt have that made him less capable of movement and forced him to be in a wheelchair?

Infinite paralysis 

Elanor Roosevelt

Came from bad childhood

Helped shape FDR’s political career

Worked in NY Settlement House, Women’s Trade Union League, & League of Women Voters

Hated by repubs but loved by dems 

Fought for the poor & less fortunate and segregation

Did media often mention Roosvelt’s health?

No

What were 2 things Roosevelt promised in the upcoming election?

A New Deal and economic recovery. Balanced budget & heavy deficits; 

What did Hoover and FDR differentiate from in the election?

Hoover’s unenergetic tone vs FDR’s strong passion/optimism 

What happened to the Repub party as a result of this election?

Lost dominance & wouldn’t be elected for some time

Shift in ideals, previously from Lincoln → Teddy R

It is important to note that many ethnic groups suffered during this time, especially,

African Americans and Hispanics, facing discrimination and economic hardships.

Did Hoover get much work done approach the election.  Why?

No bc he needed the cooperation of Roosevelt in order to pass large-range policies. 

100-day policies were similar to what type of policies?

Progressive policies from the past. Progressive ideals implemented into new legislation

Was 100 days sucessful?

It did help indeed