Great depression study guide

Inflation

A general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money.

Creditor nation

A country that lends more money to other nations than it borrows from them.

Henry Ford

American industrialist who founded the Ford Motor Company and pioneer of assembly line mass production.

Mass production

The rapid, large-scale manufacture of identical products using standardized methods.

Model T

An affordable automobile produced by Henry Ford's company from 1908 to 1927 that made car ownership widespread.

Scientific management

An approach to managing work processes that seeks to improve economic efficiency and labor productivity.

Assembly lines

A manufacturing process in which parts are added sequentially as the semi-finished assembly moves from workstation to workstation.

Consumer Revolution

A period of flood of new, affordable goods becoming available to the public following World War I.

Installment buying

Purchasing an item by paying a small down payment and paying off the rest in regular periodic installments.

Bull market

A financial market characterized by rising stock prices and investor optimism.

Buying on margin

Purchasing stocks by paying a small percentage of the price and borrowing the rest from a broker.

Business cycle

Periodic economic growth and contraction measured by changes in real GDP and other factors.

GNP

Gross National Product; the total value of all goods and services produced by a nation's citizens in a year.

Herbert Hoover

The 31st U.S. President who served during the onset of the Great Depression starting in 1929.

Speculation

The practice of engaging in risky financial transactions in an attempt to profit from short-term fluctuations in market value.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929, when stock prices collapsed completely, marking the start of the Great Depression.

Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic depression that took place mostly during the 1930s.

Hawley Smoot tariff

A high protective tariff enacted in 1930 that raised duties on imported goods, exacerbating global trade collapse.

Breadline

A line of people waiting to receive free food provided by charitable organizations or government agencies.

Hooverville

A shantytown built by unemployed and homeless people during the Great Depression, named after President Hoover.

Tenant Farmer

A farmer who works land owned by another person and pays rent either in cash or with a share of the crops.

Dust bowl

A period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American prairies during the 1930s.

Okies

A term used to describe Dust Bowl migrants from Oklahoma and surrounding states who moved west, especially to California.

Repatriation

The process of returning a person voluntarily or forcibly to their country of origin (notably Mexican-Americans in the 1930s).

Localism

President Hoover's policy that local governments and charities, rather than the federal government, should provide relief to citizens.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

A government agency established in 1932 to provide financial support to banks, railways, and other businesses.

Trickle down economics

An economic theory holding that financial benefits given to big businesses and the wealthy will indirectly help lower-income individuals.

Hoover Dam

A massive dam on the Colorado River built during the Great Depression as a major public works project.

Franklin Roosevelt

The 32nd U.S. President who served four terms and implemented the New Deal programs to fight the Great Depression.

Fireside chats

A series of informal radio addresses given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to communicate directly with the American public.

New Deal

A series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s.

Emergency Banking Act

A 1933 law that allowed the federal government to inspect the health of all banks before allowing them to reopen.

The Glass-Steagall Act

A 1933 law that separated commercial banking from investment banking and established the FDIC.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp

A government agency created in 1933 to insure bank deposits and prevent bank runs.

Securities & Exchange Commission

An independent federal agency created in 1934 to regulate the stock market and protect investors.

Banking Act of 1935

Legislation that reorganized the Federal Reserve Board and gave it greater control over interest rates and money supply.

National Industrial Recovery Act

A 1933 law intended to stimulate economic recovery by authorizing fair competition codes and public works projects.

Agricultural Adjustment Act

A 1933 law designed to boost agricultural prices by paying farmers subsidies to reduce production.

Rural Electrification Administration

A New Deal agency established in 1935 to bring electricity to isolated rural areas.

Civilian Conservation Corp

A relief program that provided jobs for young, unmarried men in environmental conservation and infrastructure projects.

Tennessee Valley Authority

A federal agency created in 1933 to build dams, control flooding, and bring electricity to the Tennessee Valley region.

Federal Emergency Relief Administration

A federal agency created in 1933 that granted funds directly to state and local agencies for relief projects.

Public Works Administration

A New Deal agency that funded large-scale public works projects like dams, bridges, schools, and hospitals.

Federal Housing Administration

A federal agency created in 1934 to insure bank loans for building and repairing homes.

Wagner Act

A 1935 law (National Labor Relations Act) that guaranteed workers the right to join unions and engage in collective bargaining.

Social Security Act

A 1935 law providing financial support for the elderly, disabled, unemployed, and dependent children.

Work Progress Administration

The largest New Deal agency, employing millions of people to carry out public works and arts projects.