Period 7A Vocab List

Black Tuesday

The day the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929, signaling the beginning of the Great Depression.

Buying on Margin

Purchasing stock with borrowed money, contributing to the speculative bubble that led to the market crash.

Dust Bowl

A region in the central U.S. that suffered severe dust storms and drought during the 1930s, displacing thousands of farmers.

Okies

Displaced farmers, particularly from Oklahoma, who migrated westward during the Dust Bowl in search of work.

Herbert Hoover

31st President of the United States who was criticized for his handling of the Great Depression.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

A high tariff law that worsened the global economic depression by stifling international trade.

Hoovervilles

Shantytowns built by unemployed people during the Depression, mocking President Hoover’s failure to provide relief.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

A government agency created to provide loans to banks, railroads, and businesses during the Depression.

Bonus Army

A group of WWI veterans who marched on Washington in 1932 to demand early payment of a promised bonus.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

32nd President of the U.S. who led the country through the Great Depression and most of WWII.

New Deal

A series of programs and reforms introduced by FDR to address the economic crisis of the Great Depression.

Fireside Chats

Radio broadcasts by FDR to communicate directly with the American people and build support for his policies.

Emergency Banking Act

A 1933 law that allowed the government to inspect the financial health of all banks and reopen only those deemed sound.

21st Amendment

Repealed Prohibition by nullifying the 18th Amendment in 1933.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

New Deal legislation that paid farmers to reduce crop production to raise prices.

National Recovery Act (NRA)

A New Deal agency that aimed to stimulate industry by setting fair wages and hours.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A federal project that built dams and provided electricity to rural areas in the South.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Insures bank deposits to restore trust in the banking system.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Regulates the stock market and prevents abuses such as insider trading.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A public work relief program for young men that provided jobs in conservation and development of natural resources.

Dr. Francis E. Townsend

Proposed giving elderly citizens monthly payments to stimulate the economy and support seniors.

Huey Long

A Louisiana senator who criticized the New Deal and proposed a "Share Our Wealth" program to redistribute income.

100 Days

The first months of FDR’s presidency during which many New Deal programs were enacted.

National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act)

Protected workers' rights to unionize and bargain collectively.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

A labor organization that organized industrial workers, including unskilled labor.

Social Security Act

Created a system of unemployment insurance, old-age pensions, and welfare benefits.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA)

Employed millions of people to carry out public works projects, including construction and the arts.

Court Packing Bill

FDR’s failed proposal to add more justices to the Supreme Court to secure favorable rulings for New Deal programs.

Recession of 1937

An economic downturn during the Depression caused by reduced government spending.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Established minimum wage, maximum hours, and prohibited child labor.

Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady and influential political figure who advocated for civil rights, labor rights, and women’s rights.

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934

Reversed assimilation policies and aimed to restore tribal self-government and land.

Brain Trust

A group of advisers to FDR who helped develop New Deal policies.

The Washington Conference

A 1921 meeting of major powers to prevent a naval arms race and ensure peace in the Pacific.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

A 1928 agreement that outlawed war as a tool of national policy.

Dawes Plan

A plan to help Germany pay reparations after WWI by restructuring its debt and providing loans.

Stimson Doctrine

U.S. policy of non-recognition of territorial gains made by force, especially in response to Japanese actions in Manchuria.

The Good Neighbor Policy

FDR’s foreign policy towards Latin America, emphasizing cooperation and non-intervention.

Neutrality Acts

Laws passed in the 1930s to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars by restricting arms sales and loans to belligerents.

Quarantine Speech

A 1937 speech by FDR suggesting peaceful nations should isolate aggressive ones to stop the spread of war.

Munich Pact

An agreement permitting Nazi Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia in an effort to avoid war.

Lend-Lease Act

Allowed the U.S. to supply Allied nations with war material before entering WWII.

Atlantic Charter

A joint declaration by FDR and Churchill in 1941 outlining the goals for the post-war world.

Pearl Harbor

A surprise Japanese attack on a U.S. naval base in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, bringing the U.S. into WWII.

Island Hopping

A military strategy used by the U.S. in the Pacific during WWII to capture specific islands and move closer to Japan.

Battle of Midway

A 1942 naval battle and turning point in the Pacific theater in favor of the Allies.

Holocaust

The genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany during WWII.

War Production Board (WPB)

A government agency that coordinated the production of war materials and supplies during WWII.

Double V Campaign

A movement by African Americans during WWII demanding victory against fascism abroad and racism at home.

Zoot Suit Riots

A series of conflicts in 1943 in Los Angeles between American servicemen and Mexican American youths.

Rosie The Riveter

A cultural icon representing women who worked in factories and shipyards during WWII.

Baby Boom

A marked increase in U.S. birth rates following WWII, lasting roughly from 1946 to 1964.

Executive Order 9066

Authorized the forced relocation of Japanese Americans into internment camps during WWII.

Korematsu v. U.S.

A Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of Japanese internment during WWII.

D-Day

The Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944, a key turning point in the European theater.

V-E Day (May 8, 1945)

Victory in Europe Day, marking the end of WWII in Europe.

Kamikaze

Japanese suicide pilots who crashed their planes into enemy targets during WWII.

The Manhattan Project

A secret U.S. research project to develop the atomic bomb during WWII.

Harry S. Truman

33rd President of the United States who authorized the use of atomic bombs and led the U.S. at the end of WWII.

Atomic Bomb

A powerful nuclear weapon used by the U.S. on Japan in 1945 to hasten the end of WWII.

Hiroshima

The first city targeted by an atomic bomb on August 6, 1945.

Nagasaki

The second city targeted by an atomic bomb on August 9, 1945.

V-J Day (August 15, 1945)

Victory over Japan Day, marking the end of WWII after Japan’s surrender.