Great Depression in the Americas - IB HL History Summary

Flashcards covering key vocabulary, people, and events related to the Great Depression in the Americas.

Dust Bowl

A period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US and Canadian prairies during the 1930s; exacerbated the economic difficulties of the Great Depression.

Canadian New Deal

A series of economic programs and policies implemented in Canada in 1935 by Prime Minister R.B. Bennett in response to the Great Depression, aiming to provide relief, recovery, and reform, including unemployment insurance and minimum wage.

Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF)

A socialist political party in Canada founded in 1932 that advocated for social and economic reforms, gaining prominence during the Great Depression.

Social Credit Party

A political party in Canada that gained prominence during the Great Depression advocating for social credit theory; proposed distributing social dividends to stimulate the economy.

On-to-Ottawa Trek (1935)

A protest movement in Canada during the Great Depression where unemployed men traveled from relief camps in British Columbia to Ottawa to demand better living conditions and work.

Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)

An economic policy implemented by Brazil during the Great Depression that aimed to reduce dependence on imports by developing domestic industries.

Estado Novo

An authoritarian regime established in Brazil by Getúlio Vargas in 1937, characterized by corporatist policies, nationalism, and state control.

Fordney-McCumber Tariff

A law that raised American tariffs on many imported goods in 1922 to protect factories and farms; Congress displayed a pro-business attitude in passing the tariff and in promoting foreign trade through providing huge loans to Europe.

Black Thursday (Oct 24, 1929)

The first day of the stock market crash of 1929. Stock prices dropped sharply. The New York Stock Exchange took a huge hit.

Black Tuesday (Oct 29, 1929)

The day the stock market crashed in 1929, leading to the Great Depression.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

A government corporation in the United States that provided financial support to state and local governments and made loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations, and other businesses. It was established in 1932 by President Herbert Hoover.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

A U.S. legislation that raised import duties to protect American businesses and farmers, adding considerable strain to the international economic climate of the Great Depression.

Bonus Army March

A protest movement in 1932 when World War I veterans and their families gathered in Washington, D.C., to demand early payment of a cash bonus.

Hoovervilles

Shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression, named after President Herbert Hoover, who was widely blamed for the economic crisis.

Emergency Banking Act

Enacted during the Great Depression, this provided for the re-opening of the banks as soon as examiners had found them to be financially secure.

FERA

The Federal Emergency Relief Administration was a program established in the United States in 1933 to provide work for over 20 million people (unemployed). It provided them with enough to eat and a place to sleep.

AAA

The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A public work relief program in the United States for unemployed men during the Great Depression.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A federally owned corporation in the United States created in 1933 to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley, a region particularly affected by the Great Depression.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

A prime New Deal agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The goal was to eliminate 'wasteful competition' to stabilize prices and wages.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

A public works agency in the United States, created in 1933 as part of the New Deal whose goal was to reduce unemployment, increase purchasing power through the construction of highways and public buildings.

Wagner Act

A United States labor law which guarantees basic rights of private sector employees to organize into trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and take collective action such as strikes.

Social Security Act

A law enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 to create a system of transfer payments in which younger, working people support older, retired people.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

The largest and most ambitious American New Deal agency, employing millions of unemployed people to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads.