APUSH Great Depression & New Deal

1928 election

Dem: Al Smith (Catholic) Repub: Hoover. The election was evidence of an emerging political realignment.

Herbert Hoover

president of the U.S from 1923-1933 leader of the US in the beginning of the great depression. He didn't want the gov involved in the peoples lives and thought that the people should express their individual rights.

Black Thursday

October 24, 1929; stock market crashes and almost 13 million shares are sold that day alone

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929; stock prices so low they were worthless; massive trading to try to artificially drive up prices; banks closed because people kept taking their money out

Andrew Mellon

Secretary of Treasury under President Harding, Coolidge and Hoover, who instituted a Republican policy of reduced government spending, lower taxes to the wealthy and higher tariffs; believed in trickle down theory.

Federal Reserve

The central bank of the U.S. Controls the the supply of money and attempts to control interest rates.

Hawley-Smoof Tariff (1930)

Brought tariff to the highest level in its history; in retaliation, foreign countries set tariffs on American gods, creating a decline in exports and further deepening the economic depression; another expression of isolationism

Margaret Sanger

she organized a birth-control movement which openly championed the use of contraceptives in the 1920's.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)

(1932) Chartered by Congress and Hoover to loan money to railroads and financial institutions; meant to keep basic institutions in business; accused of assisting the wealthy

"rugged individualism"

The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. Popularly said by Hertbert Hoover.

Farm Holiday Association

A group started in 1932 by Milo Reno. They endorsed the withholding of farm products to the market, in essence creating a strike.

"Bonus Army"

group of WWI vets. that marched to D.C. in 1932 to demand the immediate payment of their goverment war bonuses in cash

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Democratic candidate who won the 1932 election by a landslide & eventually was elected to four terms. He pledged a present a "New Deal" to the American public, and his policies redefined the relationship of the federal government to the economy.

1932 election

Hoover v. FDR: FDR won because he promised a fairer distribution of wealth and served as a turning point in the way Americans viewed the responsibility of the federal government

Fireside chats

informal talks given by FDR over the radio; sat by White House fireplace; gained the confidence of the people

Bank Holiday

All the banks were ordered to close for 4 days until new laws could be passed. An emergency banking law was rushed through Congress. The Law set up new ways for the federal government to funnel money to troubled banks It also required the Treasury Department to inspect banks before they could re-open.

Frances Perkins

Roosevelt's secretary of labor (1993-1945); the first woman to serve as a federal Cabinet officer, she had a great influence on many New Deal programs, most significantly the Social Security Act.

Brain Trust

Group of expert policy advisers who worked with FDR in the 1930s to end the great depression; more influential than the Cabinet

The Hundred Days

March 9-June 16, 1933; Congress enacted more than a dozen Progressive-inspired measures expanding federal involvement in national economic life; ambitious beginning of relief and recovery programs; symbolized both dynamism and confusion of the New Deal

20th Amendment

Changed date president takes office from March 4th to January 20th. Changed start of Congress to January 3rd. End of Lame Duck Congress

21st Amendment

Amendment which ended the Prohibition of alcohol in the US, repealing the 18th amendment

Schechter v US

1) Supreme Court struck down National Recovery Administration after violation of poultry code 2) legistlation could not push powers to the executive branch, which had been happening through the New Deal; 3) fear that Court might strike down entire New Deal

Francis Townsend

American physician and social reformer whose plan for a government-sponsored old-age pension was a precursor of the Social Security Act of 1935.

Father Charles Coughlin

Headed the National Union for Social Justice. Began as a religious radio broadcaster, but turned to politics and finance and attracted an audiance of millions from many faiths. Criticized the New Deal. Promoted inflationary currency, anti-sematism.

Huey Long (the Kingfish)

As senator in 1932 of Washington preached his "SHARE OUR WEALTH" programs. It was a 100% tax on all annual incomes over $1 million and appropriation of all fortunes in excess of $5 million. With this money Long proposed to give every American family a comfortable income, etc

The Second New Deal

This was another period of massive legislation to improve the American economy. However, this one was aimed at ordinary people, and it provided more social welfare.

Harry Hopkins

A New York social worker who headed the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and Civil Works Administration. He helped grant over $3 billion to the states wages for work projects, and granted thousands of jobs for jobless Americans.

Election of 1936

1) Roosevelt (D) vs. Alfred E. Landon 2) Roosevelt won by a landslide, carrying every state except Maine and Vermont

Alf Landon

Ran against FDR in the 1936 election. He was weak on the radio and weaker in personal compaigning, and while he criticized FDR's spending, he also favored enough of FDR's New Deal to be ridiculed by the Democrats as an unsure idiot.

Court-packing Plan

Because the Supreme Court was striking down New Deal legislation, Roosevelt decided to curb the power of the Court by proposing a bill to allow the president to name a new federal judge for each who did not retire by age 70 and 1/2. At the time, 6 justices were over the age limit. Would have increased the number of justices from 9 to 15, giving FDR a majority of his own appointees on the court. Not passed by Congress.

Roosevelt Recession

1937 economic downturn caused by sound fiscal policy due to cut spending and higher taxes

Scottsboro Boys

Nine young black men between the ages of 13 to 19 were accused of of raping two white women. All of the young men were charged and convicted of rape by white juries, despite the weak and contradictory testimonies of the witnesses

Harlem riots of 1935

Harlem's first race riot, sparked off by rumors of the beating of a teenage shoplifter; several were killed, hundreds injured, and millions of dollars of damage incurred

Black Cabinet

Group of African Americans FDR appointed to key gov't positions; served as unofficial advisors to the president.; led by Mary McLeod Bethune, William Hastie, and Robert Weaver, they pushed for economic and political opportunities for African Americans in the 1930s and 1940s.

A. Philip Randolph

America's leading black labor leader who called for a march on Washington D.C. to protest factories' refusals to hire African Americans, which eventually led to President Roosevelt issuing an order to end all discrimination in the defense industries.

Mary McLeod Bethune

a member of the Black Cabinet and was appointed director of the Division of Negro Affairs in the NYA; educator who worked to improve race relations and educational opportunities for Black Americans

Marian Anderson

One of the greatest concert singers of her time. First African-American to perform at the Whitehouse. The DAR refused her use of Constitution Hall for a concert, so Eleanor Roosevelt set her up to perform at the Lincoln Memorial.

Dust Bowl

Region of the Great Plains that experienced a drought in 1930 lasting for a decade, leaving many farmers without work or substantial wages.

Okies

the farmers, who in the Great Depression, were forced to move, many moved to Oklahoma

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck's novel which portrayed the migration of "Okies" to California

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Broke from AFL; As their popularity grew they came known for the revolutionary idea of the "sit down strike", there efforts lead to the passage of the Fair Labor Standard Act and the organization continued to thrive under the New Deal.

John Lewis and United Mine Workers (UMW)

He was a miner known for creating the United Mine Workers. He helped found the CIO and was responsible for the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Eleanor Roosevelt

FDR's Wife and New Deal supporter. Was a great supporter of civil rights and opposed the Jim Crow laws. She also worked for birth control and better conditions for working women

Indian Reorganization Act (1934)

Restored tribal ownership of lands, recognized tribal constitutions and government, and provided loans for economic development.

Federal Arts Project

Project designed to provide jobs for unemployed artists to design posters, offer art courses, and paint murals on public buildings. (way for struggling artists to have a job and for the community to benefit as well)

Federal Music Project

oversaw the production of concerts, creating work for the unemployed musicians

Federal Writers' Project

Employed writers to produce guidebooks for tourists, collect oral histories of former slaves, and support emerging novelists

Federal Theatre Project

subsidized theatre projects and provided jobs for actors

Aaron Copland

US composer known for distinctly American sound (jazz, hymns, cowboy songs, folk tunes); clear tonality; Appalachian Spring

Zora Neale Hurston

African American writer and folklore scholar who played a key role in the Harlem Renaissance

Richard Wright

United States writer whose work is concerned with the oppression of African Americans (1908-1960)