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Black Tuesday
October 29, 1929; date of the worst stock-market crash in American history and beginning of the Great Depression.
Buying on Margin
The purchasing of stocks by paying only a small percentage of the price and borrowing the rest; example of the poor banking practices that led to the Great Depression
Hoovervilles
Shantytown built by unemployed and destitute people during the Depression of the early 1930s
Herbert Hoover
U.S. president during stock market crash, who rejected the Progressive emphasis on activist government to pursue a program of minimal business regulation, low taxes, and high tariffs; encouraged businesses to regulate themselves, his belief in "rugged individualism" kept him from giving people direct relief during the Great Depression.
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
Protective import tax authorized by Congress in 1930 that further diminished trade with Europe at the start of the Great Depression
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Agency established in 1932 to provide emergency relief to large businesses, insurance companies, and banks; Critics of Hoover called it the "millionaire's dole"
Supply Side/Trickle Down Economics
An economic philosophy provides greater government investment into banks and businesses hoping it will "trickle-down" to the working class in the forms of job opportunities
Bonus March
1932, 1000 unemployed WWI veterans marched on Washington demanding immediate payment of their bonuses which were to be given to them in 1945
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd US President - He began New Deal programs to help the nation out of the Great Depression, and was the nation's leader during most of WWII
Eleanor Roosevelt
FDR's Wife and political advisor; a great champion of civil rights and women's rights; became the "eyes and ears" of the president outside the White House
New Deal
A series of reforms enacted by Franklin Roosevelt's administration with the goal of ending the Great Depression
Brain Trust
Group of expert economics advisers from Columbia University who worked with FDR in the 1930s to end the Great Depression
100 Days
FDR's first 3 months in office in which significant policy changes were instituted; used as a measure of presidential action to this day
21st Amendment
Amendment which ended the Prohibition of alcohol in the US, repealing the 18th amendment
Fireside Chats
The informal radio conversations Roosevelt had with the American people to keep spirits up and communicate government actions to end the Great Depression
Emergency Banking Relief Act
1933 act that issued a 4-day "bank holiday" during which time the banks would be reorganized or reopened; first major initiative of the New Dea
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Agency created in 1933 to insure individuals' bank accounts, protecting people against losses due to bank failures
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
New Deal program that hired young unemployed men to work on natural conservation projects in the west
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
A federal corporation established in 1933 to construct dams and power plants in the Appalachian region to generate electricity as well as to prevent floods
National Recovery Administration (NRA)
New Deal agency that promoted economic recovery by encouraging businesses to voluntarily regulate production, prices, and wages; symbolized by the blue eagle; declared unconstitutional
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
Law enacted in 1933 to raise crop prices by paying farmers to leave land unplanted, thus lowering supply; declared unconstitutional
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Agency that oversees U.S. financial markets and regulates stock transactions
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Popular New Deal agency that created millions of jobs in construction, the arts and education; very expensive!
National Labor Relations Act
1935 law, also known as the Wagner Act, that guarantees workers the right of collective bargaining, sets down rules to protect unions, and created the National Labor Relations Board to regulate labor-management relations.
Social Security Act
Landmark legislation that guaranteed retirement payments beginning at age 65; set up federal-state system of unemployment insurance and care for dependent children and the disabled
Dr. Francis Townsend
Physician and social reformer whose plan for a government-sponsored old-age pension was a precursor of the Social Security Act of 1935.
Huey Long
Louisiana Senator and New Deal critic who pushed a "Share Our Wealth" program and make "Every Man a King'' at the expense of the wealthy; assassinated
Court Packing Plan
President FDR's failed 1937 attempt to increase the number of US Supreme Court Justices from 9 to 15 in order to save his 2nd New Deal programs from constitutional challenges
Congress of Industrial Organization
Union that organized workers in industrial sectors between 1935-1955 when it joined with the AFL.
Fair Labor Standards Acts
1938 act which provided for a minimum wage and overtime pay
Recession of 1937
A second period of economic decline during the Great Depression that resulted when the government attempted to create a balanced budget
Keynesian Economics
Economic theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.
Dust Bowl
Region of the Great Plains that experienced a drought in 1930 lasting for a decade, leaving many farmers without work or substantial wages.
The Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck's novel about a struggling farm family during the Great Depression. Gave a face to the violence and exploitation that migrant farm workers faced in America
Indian Reorganization Act
1934 - Restored tribal ownership of lands, recognized tribal constitutions and government, and provided loans for economic development.
Good Neighbor Policy
President Franklin Roosevelt's policy intended to strengthen friendly relations with Latin America
Munich Pact
The British and French allow Hitler to annex the Sudetenland (a German-speaking area of Czechoslovakia) through this policy of appeasement; opened door to increased German aggression
Quarantine Speech
The speech was an act of condemnation of Japan's invasion of China in 1937 and called for Japan to be quarantined. FDR backed off the aggressive stance after criticism, but it showed that he was moving the country slowly out of isolationism.
Cash and Carry Policy
Policy adopted by the United States in 1939 to preserve neutrality while aiding the Allies; could buy goods from the United States if they paid in full and transported them.
Selective Service Act
Act passed by Congress in 1917 authorizing a draft of men for military service
Arsenal of Democracy
Term describing America's early role in World War II supplying the Allied war effort.
Lend-Lease Act
1941 law that authorized the president to aid any nation whose defense he believed was vital to American security
Atlantic Charter
British and American statement of goals for fighting World War II
Pearl Harbor
United States military base in Hawaii that was bombed by Japan on Dec. 7, 1941, bringing the United States into World War II
War Production Board
Government agency supporting the production of war materials and the distribution of raw materials
Double V Campaign
The World War II-era effort of black Americans to gain a victory over racism at home as well as victory abroad
Executive Order 8802
WWII measure that assured an end to racial discrimination in the hiring for any job funded by the government
Zoot Suit Riots
A series of attacks on Mexican youth by soldiers staying in Los Angeles
Executive Order 9066
FDR's order to place 110,000 Japanese Americans in internment camps following the attack on Pearl Harbor
Korematsu v. United States
1944 Supreme Court case that upheld the relocation of Japanese Americans; It was not until 1988 that Congress formally apologized and agreed to pay $20,000 to each survivor.
Rosie the Riveter
WWII propaganda character that encouraged women to take factory jobs.
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
Operation Overlord - the greatest amphibious invasion in history to that point - opened a second front designed to liberate Europe
V-E Day (May 8, 1945)
Victory in Europe Day- marking the surrender of Germany
Holocaust
A methodical plan orchestrated by Hitler to ensure German supremacy. It called for the elimination of Jews, non-conformists, homosexuals, non-Aryans, and the mentally and physically disabled.
Battle of Midway
June 1942 naval victory over the Japanese fleet in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers; prevented Japan's further eastward expansion
Island Hopping
A military strategy used in the Pacific during World War II that involved selectively attacking specific enemy-held islands and bypassing others
Kamikaze
A fighter plane used for suicide missions by Japanese pilots in World War II
Manhattan Project
Code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II
Hiroshima
The first city in Japan to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945
Nagasaki
The second city in Japan to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 9, 1945
V-J Day (Aug. 15, 1945)
Victory in Japan -- marked the surrender of Japan that would officially be signed a half month later
Yalta Conference (February 1945)
Wartime conference in which the Big Three discussed post-war plans including the establishment of the United Nations; the partitioning of Germany; free-elections in Eastern Europe; Soviets agreed to help the USA in the war against Japan
Potsdam Conference (July 1945)
Final wartime conference in which the Allies agreed to demand unconditional surrender from the Japanese and to hold war crimes trials for Nazi leaders after the war
Harry Truman
The 33rd U.S. president, who succeeded Franklin Roosevelt upon his death in April 1945; led the country through the end of World War II, is best known for making the controversial decision to use two atomic bombs against Japan in August 1945.
United Nations
An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.
Black Cabinet
Group of African Americans FDR appointed to key government positions; served as unofficial advisors to the president.
Stimson Doctrine
U.S. policy calling for the non-recognition of international territorial changes that were executed by force.
Navajo Code Talkers
Native Americans from the Navajo tribe who used their own language to make a code for the U.S. military that the Japanese could not decipher
