TASH - Americans 14

Price Support

government policy that establishes a minimum price (price floor) for goods, often agricultural commodities, by purchasing surplus supply to keep market prices above equilibrium

credit

the ability to borrow money or obtain goods immediately with the promise of future repayment

Alfred E. Smith

four-time Democratic Governor of New York and the first Roman Catholic major-party nominee for U.S. President, losing the 1928 election to Herbert Hoover.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

stock market index tracking 30 major U.S. companies, acting as a crucial economic indicator

Speculation

High risk, high reward short term investment in stock market or assets

Buying on Margin

1920s investment practice where investors purchased stocks by paying a small percentage (often 10-20%) of the value, borrowing the remaining 80-90% from brokers

Black Tuesday

Day of stock market crash, October 29, 1929

Great Depression

the most severe economic crisis in U.S. history, characterized by 25% unemployment, massive bank failures, and a 50% decrease in GNP

Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act

disastrous protectionist measure that raised U.S. import duties to record levels (often 40-50%) to protect American farmers and industries during the early Great Depression

Shantytown

makeshift, squalid settlements built by homeless Americans on the outskirts of cities, in public parks, or near trash dumps

Soup kitchen

charitable, often volunteer-run food centers that became widespread lifelines during the Great Depression (1930s)

Bread line

public, charity-run, or city-operated queues during the Great Depression where thousands of unemployed people waited for free food, such as bread and soup, often in cities like New York

Dust Bowl

a severe environmental and economic disaster in the Great Plains, caused by extreme drought and poor farming practices (over-cultivation/removal of prairie grasses).

Direct Relief

immediate government assistance to individuals during the Great Depression, notably through the 1933 Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), part of the New Deal

Herbert Hoover

Republican, Great Depression began during his term, believed voluntary cooperation and limited federal intervention, "rugged individualism"

Boulder Dam

Hoover Dam

Federal Home Loan Bank Act

measure aimed at combating the Great Depression by creating the Federal Home Loan Ban,to reduce foreclosure rates, stimulate the housing market, and make homeownership more affordable.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

An agency established in 1932 to provide federal loans to banks, insurance companies, and railroads to prevent financial collapse.

Bonus Army

A group of World War I veterans who marched on Washington in 1932 to demand early payment of their service bonuses, only to be dispersed by military force.