APUSH Period 7: Great Depression & WWII (1929-1941)

The 100 Days

The first three months of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency in 1933 saw an unprecedented wave of legislation aimed at economic recovery. Congress passed numerous laws, including banking reforms, relief programs, and public works initiatives, to stabilize the economy and restore confidence in the government.

Hoover’s Ideology with Regard to the Depression

Herbert Hoover believed in rugged individualism, emphasizing self-reliance and limited government intervention in economic affairs. He argued that direct relief would weaken the character of Americans and instead encouraged voluntary business cooperation and local charity efforts to address economic hardships.

Hoover’s Policies

Hoover initially relied on private businesses and charities to provide relief but later implemented limited government measures like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) to aid struggling banks and industries. However, his reluctance to provide direct federal relief and his response to the Bonus Army protest worsened his public image.

Similarities and Differences Between the New Deal and the Progressive Era

Both movements sought government intervention to address economic and social issues, advocating for workers' rights, financial regulations, and social welfare programs. However, the New Deal focused more on immediate relief and economic recovery, while the Progressive Era emphasized long-term social reforms and curbing corporate power.

Causes of the Great Depression

Key factors included overproduction in agriculture and industry, excessive stock market speculation, weak banking regulations, and declining consumer spending. The 1929 stock market crash triggered a financial panic, but underlying economic weaknesses had already made the economy vulnerable to collapse.

Native American Policy (The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934)

As part of the New Deal, it reversed previous assimilation policies by promoting tribal self-government and cultural preservation. It ended the allotment system and allowed tribes to manage their own lands and resources more autonomously.

Economic Causes of the Stock Market Crash

Unregulated stock speculation, excessive use of margin loans, and overinflated stock prices led to an unsustainable financial bubble. When investors lost confidence and rushed to sell, the market collapsed, triggering widespread panic and bank failures.

African Americans and the New Deal

While the New Deal provided jobs and aid to African Americans, many programs reinforced racial discrimination, particularly in the South. Roosevelt’s administration appointed Black leaders to government positions, but segregation and unequal treatment persisted in federal relief efforts.

Ideologies Associated with the New Deal

The New Deal was influenced by Keynesian economics, which advocated for government spending to stimulate demand. It also drew from progressive ideals, emphasizing regulation of big business, social welfare, and labor rights to address economic inequality.

Hoover’s Reputation with the People

Hoover became widely unpopular due to his perceived inaction and ineffective response to the crisis. "Hoovervilles," makeshift shantytowns, symbolized public frustration with his policies, and his handling of the Bonus Army protest further damaged his reputation.

New Deal Banking Policies

Banking reforms aimed to restore confidence in the financial system, including the Emergency Banking Act, which stabilized failing banks, and the Glass-Steagall Act, which separated commercial and investment banking. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created to protect depositors' savings.

FDR Policies Regarding Banking

Roosevelt declared a national "bank holiday" to prevent further bank runs and restore trust in the financial system. The Banking Act of 1933 introduced federal insurance for bank deposits, and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established to regulate the stock market.

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

Built and operated dams and power plants on the Tennessee River to provide electricity and flood control. It also promoted flood control, soil conservation, and reforestation.

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)

Provided government jobs in reforestation, flood control, and other conservation projects to young men between ages eighteen and twenty-five.

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

Created jobs in public works, arts, and infrastructure. Was run by Harry Hopkins, spent $11 billion on federal works projects, and provided employment for 8.5 million people.

AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act)

Aided farmers by reducing staple crop production to raise prices. It restricted production and paid subsidies to growers but was declared unconstitutional in 1936.

NLRA (National Labor Relations Act, aka Wagner Act)

Protected workers’ rights to unionize and bargain collectively.

Social Security Act

Established pensions for retirees and aid for the unemployed and disabled that were funded by wage and payroll taxes.

NRA (National Recovery Administration)

Encouraged/enacted industry-wide codes to control production, prices, fair wages, and industrial recovery.

NIRA (National Industrial Recovery Act)

Promoted economic recovery through fair business practices.

FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)

Insured bank deposits to prevent financial panic.

SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)

Regulated the stock market to prevent fraud.

PWA (Public Works Administration)

Funded major infrastructure projects to create jobs.

Critics of the New Deal and Their Criticisms/Suggestions

Some conservatives argued that the New Deal expanded government power too much and discouraged free enterprise. Figures like Huey Long promoted a "Share Our Wealth" program, while Father Coughlin called for monetary reforms. The Supreme Court struck down some programs as unconstitutional, leading to FDR’s court-packing attempt.

Accomplishments of the New Deal

It provided immediate relief for millions, reformed the financial system, and implemented lasting social programs like Social Security. Though it did not fully end the Depression, it reshaped the role of government in economic and social affairs.

U.S. Inflation Policies During the New Deal Era

Roosevelt took the U.S. off the gold standard to allow controlled inflation, making money more available for economic recovery. The government also increased spending through deficit financing to stimulate demand and employment.

Court Packing

Frustrated with the Supreme Court striking down key New Deal programs, Roosevelt proposed adding more justices to the Court in 1937. The plan was widely criticized as an overreach of executive power and ultimately failed, though the Court later became more favorable to New Deal policies.

New Deal and Organized Labor

The Wagner Act strengthened labor rights by legalizing unions and protecting collective bargaining. The Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) emerged to organize industrial workers, leading to increased union membership and major labor victories.

Differences Between Hoover and FDR Political and Economic Ideologies

Hoover favored limited government intervention and self-reliance, believing private charity and businesses should address the crisis. Roosevelt embraced an active federal role in economic recovery, using government programs to provide relief, regulation, and public works employment.

People Who Supported the Democratic Party

FDR’s coalition included urban workers, African Americans, farmers, and progressives who benefited from New Deal policies. His support base also expanded to labor unions and Southern Democrats, creating a powerful political realignment.

Depression Era Literature

Writers depicted the struggles of ordinary Americans, often criticizing economic inequality and government policies. John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath portrayed the hardships of Dust Bowl migrants, while Richard Wright’s Native Son addressed racial injustice and poverty.

1930s Economic Policies vs. 1920s Economic Policies

The 1920s emphasized laissez-faire capitalism, minimal government regulation, and tax cuts for businesses, contributing to economic speculation. The 1930s, under the New Deal, saw increased government intervention, public works programs, and financial regulations to stabilize the economy.

Bonus Army

A gathering of 20,000 Great War veterans in Washington, DC in June 1932, to demand immediate payment of their “adjusted compensation” bonuses voted by Congress in 1924. Congress rejected their demands, and President Hoover ordered U.S. troops to drive them from the capital.

Wagner Act

Officially the National Labor Relations Act and sometimes called Labor’s Magna Carta, it gave workers the right to organize and bargain collectively. It also created the National Labor Relations Board to supervise union elections and stop unfair labor practices by employers.

Stock Market Speculation

Investors engaged in risky stock purchases based on the expectation that prices would continue to rise indefinitely. Many bought stocks on margin, borrowing money to invest, which led to financial ruin when stock prices collapsed.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)

A high tariff on imported goods meant to protect American industries but worsened the global economic crisis. It led to a decline in international trade and retaliatory tariffs from other nations.

Agricultural Marketing Act (1929)

A government effort to stabilize farm prices by purchasing surplus crops. However, farmers continued overproducing, which prevented prices from rising and failed to solve the agricultural crisis.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

A federal agency created to provide financial aid to banks, railroads, and businesses in hopes of stabilizing the economy. However, it failed to provide direct relief to individuals.

Glass-Steagall Banking Act (1932)

A law allowing the federal government to loan money to banks to prevent deflation and financial collapse. It later influenced banking reforms under FDR.

Federal Home Loan Bank Act (1932)

Legislation aimed at preventing home foreclosures by providing low-interest loans to homeowners. However, it was underfunded and helped only a limited number of people.

Women During the Great Depression

Women were often seen as “invisible victims” because they worked for lower wages and were displaced from jobs by men who were deemed to need employment more. Many faced financial hardship due to abandonment.

Election of 1932

A pivotal election during the Great Depression where Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated incumbent Herbert Hoover in a landslide, signaling a mandate for government intervention in the economy.

Brain Trust

A group of unofficial advisors that FDR relied on to help craft New Deal policies, similar to Andrew Jackson’s “Kitchen Cabinet.”

Emergency Banking Relief Act

A law that temporarily closed all banks (“bank holiday”) to restore confidence in the banking system and provided government support to stabilize financial institutions.

Fireside Chats

Radio broadcasts by FDR aimed at reassuring the American public about government actions during the Great Depression and later, WWII.

American Liberty League

A conservative group that opposed the New Deal, believing it was too socialist and expanded government power too much.

Dust Bowl

An ecological disaster in the 1930s caused by drought and poor farming practices, leading to severe dust storms and mass migration of farmers, particularly "Okies," to California.

Election of 1936

In the 1936 United States presidential election, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt secured a landslide victory over Republican Governor Alf Landon of Kansas. Roosevelt won 60.8% of the popular vote and carried every state except Maine and Vermont, resulting in 523 electoral votes to Landon's 8. This decisive win reinforced the New Deal Coalition's dominance during the Great Depression.

Roosevelt Recession (1937-1938)

A sharp economic downturn caused by FDR’s decision to cut government spending, leading to renewed unemployment and economic instability.

Good Neighbor Policy

Foreign policy under FDR that focused on improving relations with Latin American countries by withdrawing U.S. troops and promoting trade cooperation during the 1930s.

Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act (1934)

Law that allowed the U.S. to negotiate lower tariffs with other countries to promote international trade; set the foundation for post-WWII free trade.

Totalitarian Dictatorships

Authoritarian regimes in the 1920s-1930s, including Stalin (USSR), Mussolini (Italy), Hitler (Germany), and Franco (Spain), that controlled all aspects of society and used violence and propaganda to maintain power.

Rome-Berlin Axis and Axis Powers

Rome-Berlin Axis: Alliance between Italy and Germany, formalizing their cooperation and shared goals of expansion and militarism.

Axis Powers: Alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during WWII, seeking territorial expansion and world domination.This coalition fought against the Allies, solidifying their military and political alliance during the war.

Japanese Imperialism

Japan’s aggressive expansion for resources and "living space" in Asia, including the invasion of Manchuria (1931) and China (1937), driven by belief in their racial superiority.

Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

Conflict where Fascist leader Francisco Franco, aided by Hitler and Mussolini, overthrew Spain's democratic government. The U.S. remained neutral due to the Neutrality Acts.

Neutrality Acts

U.S. laws aimed at keeping the country out of foreign wars by banning arms sales, loans, and aid to warring nations. In 1939, however, the U.S. altered its stance with the Cash and Carry policy, allowing nations to buy war supplies if they paid in cash and transported them. In relation to American history, such legislation was passed in 1794 to preclude American entanglement in the Napoleonic; similar laws were passed just before and after World War I, especially during the 1930s.

Appeasement Policy

Strategy of giving in to Hitler’s demands (like allowing control of Austria and the Sudetenland) to avoid war, culminating in the Munich Pact of 1938.

Allied Powers

In the context of United States history, a term that refers to the nations that opposed the Axis Powers, chiefly Nazi Germany, Italy, and Japan, during World War II. They included Britain, France (except during the Nazi occupation, 1940–1944), the Soviet Union (1941–1945), the United States (1941–1945), and China.

blitzkrieg

A German tactic in World War II, translated as “lightning war,” involving the coordinated attack of air and armored firepower.

D-Day/Normandy Invasion

The largest amphibious assault in history, where Allied forces stormed Nazi-occupied France. June 6, 1944, the day Allied troops crossed the English Channel, landed on the coast of Normandy, and opened a second front in Western Europe during World War II. The “D” stands for “disembarkation”—to leave a ship and go ashore.

Executive Order 9066 / Japanese Internment

Signed by FDR in 1942, this order authorized the forced relocation of over 110,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps (detainment centers, mostly located in western states). Driven by wartime fear and racism, this act is now recognized as a grave injustice, later addressed by official government apologies and reparations.

Lend-Lease Act

A military aid measure proposed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 and adopted by Congress, empowering the president to sell, lend, lease, or transfer $7 billion of war material to any country whose defense he declared as vital to that of the United States.

Manhattan Project

The code name for the extensive U.S. military project, established in 1942, to produce fissionable uranium and plutonium and to design and build an atomic bomb. Costing nearly $2 billion, the effort culminated in the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Potsdam Conference

The final Allied meeting where Truman, Churchill/Attlee, and Stalin discussed Japan’s surrender and post-war Europe (April 1945). Was held in occupied Germany where Allied leaders divided Germany and Berlin into four occupation zones, agreed to try Nazi leaders as war criminals, and planned the exacting of reparations from Germany. Truman hinted at the atomic bomb, and the Allies agreed on trying Nazi leaders for war crimes, signaling the transition to post-war geopolitics.

United Nations (UN)

An international organization, founded in 1945, that sought to promote discussion and negotiation and thereby avoid war; it was joined by nearly all nations.

Yalta Conference

A wartime conference (February 1945) held in the Russian Crimea, where the Allies—Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill (Britain), and Josef Stalin (Soviet Union)—agreed to final plans for the defeat and joint occupation of Germany; it also provided for free elections in Poland, but such elections were never held.

Munich Pact (1938)

Agreement between Britain, France, and Germany allowing Hitler to annex the Sudetenland in exchange for a promise to stop further expansion; symbolized failed appeasement.

Nonaggression Pact (1939)

Agreement between Hitler and Stalin where both nations pledged not to attack each other and secretly agreed to divide Poland; shocked the world.

Selective Training and Service Act (1940)

First peacetime draft in U.S. history, requiring men aged 21-35 to register for military service in preparation for potential involvement in WWII.

Election of 1940

FDR won an unprecedented third term, defeating Republican Wendell Willkie, as Americans chose experience during global crisis. This election was notably conducted against the backdrop of World War II, with Roosevelt's leadership during the Great Depression and the looming global conflict influencing voters' decisions.

Lend-Lease Act (1941)

Allowed the U.S. to lend or lease military supplies to Allied nations like Britain and the Soviet Union, marking a major move away from neutrality.

Japanese Oil Embargo (1941)

U.S. banned oil sales to Japan in response to its aggression in Asia, leading to Japan planning military action against U.S. interests.

Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)

A surprise attack by Japan on the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii, killing over 2,000 Americans and prompting U.S. entry into WWII. This attack marked a pivotal moment in U.S. history, galvanizing public support for entering the war and leading to a declaration of war against Japan the following day. FDR’s “Day of Infamy” speech to Congress called for a declaration of war against Japan following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Arsenal of Democracy”

FDR’s term describing the U.S. role in supplying Allied nations with weapons and materials to fight totalitarianism before officially joining the war.

War Production Board

Created by the U.S. government to oversee the conversion of peacetime industries into war production during WWII. It allocated raw materials, set production priorities, and ensured factories made tanks, planes, ships, and munitions instead of consumer goods. This central planning helped eliminate unemployment and fueled the Allied war effort.

Smith-Connally War Labor Disputes Act

This act allowed the federal government to seize and operate industries critical to the war effort if workers threatened strikes. Passed after a coal miners' strike, it limited organized labor's power during wartime but also showed how vital labor was to national defense.

Rosie the Riveter

A cultural icon representing women who worked in factories and shipyards during WWII, many of whom produced munitions and war supplies. "Rosie" symbolized female strength, patriotism, and independence, laying the groundwork for future women’s rights movements.

Double V Movement

A campaign launched by African Americans advocating for victory over fascism abroad and racism at home. The movement highlighted the irony of fighting for freedom overseas while African Americans faced segregation and discrimination, planting early seeds for the Civil Rights Movement.

Zoot Suit Riots

Violent clashes between U.S. Navy servicemen and Mexican American youths in Los Angeles, identified by their distinctive "zoot suits." These riots reflected racial tensions heightened by wartime migration, job competition, and discrimination, particularly in California.

Fair Employment Practices Commission (FEPC)

Established by FDR in 1941 to prevent racial discrimination in war industries and government jobs. Pressured by African American leaders and the threat of a protest march on Washington, it was a major step toward workplace equality and federal involvement in civil rights.

Navajo Code Talkers

Native American Marines who created and used an unbreakable code based on the Navajo language during WWII. Their contributions were vital to U.S. success in the Pacific, as the Japanese were unable to decipher the code, protecting crucial military communications.

Korematsu v. United States (1944)

A landmark Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of Japanese American internment during WWII. The decision remains controversial, often cited as a warning against sacrificing civil liberties during times of national crisis.

Battle of Midway (1942)

A pivotal naval battle where the U.S. Navy decisively defeated the Japanese fleet, sinking four aircraft carriers. This victory halted Japanese expansion in the Pacific and shifted the momentum of the war toward the Allies.

Island Hopping Strategy

A U.S. military strategy used in the Pacific Theatre where key islands were captured to serve as bases for advancing toward Japan. This tactic bypassed heavily fortified islands, cutting off Japanese supply lines and paving the way for eventual victory.

Battle of the Bulge (1944-45)

Germany’s last major offensive in Western Europe, launching a surprise attack in the Ardennes Forest. Though the Germans initially gained ground, the Allies repelled the attack, leading to Nazi Germany’s rapid collapse in the following months.

Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. government research project during WWII that developed the atomic bomb. Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, the project produced the weapons that were later dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the war but ushering in the nuclear age.

GI Bill of Rights/Servicemen’s Readjustment Act (1944)

It provided returning WWII veterans with benefits like free college tuition, job training, and low-interest home loans. It fueled post-war economic growth, created a larger middle class, and reshaped American society.

Rationing and War Bonds

To support the war effort, the U.S. government rationed goods like gasoline, rubber, and food while promoting the sale of war bonds to finance military operations. This home-front effort ensured military needs were met and unified civilians behind the war cause.

The Holocaust

The systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of others (including Roma, disabled individuals, and political dissidents) by Nazi Germany. This atrocity revealed the horrors of totalitarianism and led to global efforts to prevent future genocides.

The Home Front and Economic Impact of WWII

WWII ended the Great Depression by creating jobs in factories and on farms, leading to rising incomes and a growing middle class. Wage controls and increased taxes funded the war, while the GI Bill and new technologies shaped the post-war economic boom.

Women’s Impact and the Future Gender Movement of WWII

Women’s unprecedented wartime participation in the workforce laid the foundation for later social change. Though most returned to domestic roles after the war, the experience of empowerment and economic independence inspired future movements like the Women’s Liberation Movement.