WW2, New Deal, and Great Depression

Al Capone

Chicago gangster who controlled alcohol trade during Prohibition; convicted of tax evasion.

Clarence Darrow

Famous defense attorney in Scopes "Monkey" Trial; defended teaching evolution in schools.

Andrew Mellon

Treasury Secretary under Harding, Coolidge, Hoover; favored tax cuts and trickle-down economics.

Henry Ford

Founder of Ford Motor Company; used assembly line to mass-produce affordable cars.

Charles Lindbergh

First solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic (1927); symbol of modern heroism.

Marcus Garvey

Black nationalist; founded the UNIA; promoted "Back to Africa" movement.

Warren G. Harding

Republican president (1921–1923); promised “Return to Normalcy”; scandals like Teapot Dome.

Calvin Coolidge

Pro-business president (1923–1929); supported laissez-faire and limited government.

Herbert Hoover

President during start of Great Depression; believed in rugged individualism and voluntary aid.

Albert Fall

Secretary of the Interior; central figure in Teapot Dome Scandal.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

President (1933–1945); created New Deal programs to combat the Great Depression.

Migrant Mother

Iconic photo by Dorothea Lange; symbolized Great Depression hardship.

Eleanor Roosevelt

First Lady and social reformer; advocate for civil rights and women’s issues.

Father Charles Coughlin

Radio priest who criticized the New Deal from the right.

Senator Huey Long

Louisiana politician; promoted “Share Our Wealth” program to redistribute income.

Francis Townsend

Advocated old-age pension plan; influenced creation of Social Security.

John Maynard Keynes

British economist; promoted deficit spending to stimulate economic recovery.

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister during WWII; ally of FDR and opponent of Hitler.

Douglas MacArthur

U.S. general in Pacific theater; led Allied occupation of Japan.

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme Allied Commander in Europe; led D-Day invasion.

Albert Einstein

Theoretical physicist; helped influence development of atomic research.

Harry S. Truman

Became president after FDR; authorized atomic bomb; led start of Cold War.

Red Scare

Fear of communism and radicalism after WWI; led to mass arrests and deportations.

Scopes Trial (1925)

Court case over teaching evolution in schools; science vs. religion debate.

Harlem Renaissance

Cultural movement celebrating African American art, music, and literature.

Teapot Dome Scandal

Political scandal involving oil leases and bribery under Harding.

Black Thursday/Black Tuesday

Stock market crash of 1929; marked start of Great Depression.

Shantytowns/Breadlines/Riding the Rails

Examples of widespread poverty and homelessness during the Depression.

Dawes Plan (1924)

Loan program to help Germany pay WWI reparations and stabilize economy.

Election of 1932/1936

FDR’s victories signaled public support for New Deal recovery policies.

Dust Bowl

Severe drought and soil erosion in the Great Plains; displaced farmers (“Okies”).

Pearl Harbor

Japanese attack on U.S. naval base (1941); led to U.S. entry into WWII.

London Economic Conference (1933)

Failed effort to coordinate global recovery from Depression.

Second Great Migration

Mass movement of African Americans to northern cities during WWII.

Manhattan Project

Secret program that developed the atomic bomb.

Tehran/Yalta/Potsdam Conferences

Allied meetings that planned postwar Europe and defeat of Axis Powers.

Grapes of Wrath (1939)

Novel by John Steinbeck about Dust Bowl migrants’ hardships.

Of Mice and Men

Steinbeck novella exploring friendship and struggle during the Depression.

Emergency Quota Act (1921)

Limited immigration, favoring northern Europeans.

Immigration Act (1924)

Further restricted immigrants; established quotas by nationality.

Volstead Act

Enforced Prohibition (18th Amendment).

Fordney-McCumber Tariff

Raised tariffs to protect American industry in 1920s.

Five Power Naval Treaty (1922)

Limited naval armaments to prevent an arms race.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

International agreement renouncing war as a policy tool.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

High tariff that worsened the Great Depression.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

Hoover’s program to lend federal money to banks and businesses.

Indian Citizenship Act (1924)

Gave U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans.

Agricultural Marketing Act

Created farm cooperatives to stabilize crop prices.

Emergency Banking Act

Closed and reorganized banks to restore public confidence.

Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act (1933)

Created FDIC; separated commercial and investment banking.

Wagner Act (1935)

Protected workers’ right to unionize; established the NLRB.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Regulated the stock market and prevented fraud.

PWA, CWA, WPA

New Deal work programs that created jobs building infrastructure.

NRA (National Recovery Administration)

Set fair wages and hours; symbolized “Blue Eagle.”

AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Administration)

Paid farmers to reduce production; aimed to raise crop prices.

TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority)

Federal project providing electricity and flood control in South.

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)

Employed young men in conservation and reforestation projects.

SSA (Social Security Act)

Created pensions for elderly, unemployed, and disabled.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Set minimum wage, 40-hour week, and child labor limits.

20th Amendment

Changed presidential inauguration to January 20.

21st Amendment

Repealed Prohibition.

Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act

Lowered tariffs to promote trade.

Neutrality Acts (1935–1937)

Prevented arms sales to nations at war; aimed to keep U.S. neutral.

Neutrality Act (1939) Allowed “Cash and Carry” arms sales to Allies.

Selective Training and Service Act (1940)

First peacetime draft in U.S. history.

Lend-Lease Act (1941)

Allowed U.S. to send war supplies to Allies before entry.

Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act

Restricted strikes in war industries.

Executive Order 9066

Authorized Japanese American internment during WWII.

Executive Order 8022

Prohibited racial discrimination in war industries.

Prohibition

Ban on alcohol sales and production; led to speakeasies and organized crime.

Fundamentalism v. Modernism

Religious conflict between traditional beliefs and scientific ideas.

Scientific Management

Efficiency system popularized by Frederick Taylor; influenced mass production.

Return to Normalcy

Harding’s call to end wartime reform and focus on business.

Rugged Individualism

Hoover’s belief that self-reliance, not government aid, would solve the Depression.

Trickle Down

Economic idea that benefits to the wealthy eventually help lower classes.

Fireside Chats

FDR’s radio addresses to reassure and explain policies to Americans.

Relief/Recovery/Reform

The three goals of FDR’s New Deal programs.

Alphabet Soup

Nickname for FDR’s many New Deal agencies (CCC, WPA, AAA, etc.).

Court Packing

FDR’s failed plan to add more justices to the Supreme Court.

Keynesian Economic Theory

Idea that government spending can stimulate economic growth.

Hundred Days

FDR’s first months in office; passed major New Deal legislation.

Good Neighbor Policy

FDR’s policy of nonintervention in Latin America.

Appeasement

Policy of giving in to aggressors to avoid war; used at Munich Conference.

Four Freedoms

FDR’s ideals: freedom of speech, worship, from want, and from fear.

Atlantic Charter (1941)

FDR and Churchill’s statement of Allied war aims and postwar peace.

ABC-1 Agreement

Plan for U.S. and Britain to prioritize defeating Germany first.

Bracero Program (1942)

Allowed Mexican laborers to work in U.S. farms during WWII.

Double V Campaign

African American movement for victory abroad and at home against racism.

Isolationists

Advocated noninvolvement in foreign affairs.

Nativists

Opposed immigration and supported preservation of American culture.

Gangs

Organized crime groups that profited from Prohibition.

The Lost Generation

Writers disillusioned by WWI and 1920s materialism.

Anti-Evolution League

Promoted teaching creationism and banning evolution in schools.

Flappers

Young women challenging social norms through fashion and behavior.

Bonus Army

WWI veterans who marched to demand early bonus payments.

NAACP

Civil rights organization fighting racial injustice through legal means.

ACLU

Defended individual rights and free speech in court.

UNIA

Universal Negro Improvement Association; promoted black pride and self-sufficiency.

Hobos

Unemployed men traveling by train seeking work during the Depression.

Scottsboro Nine

Black youths falsely accused of rape; landmark civil rights case.