APUSH class test study guide

The Great Depression

A severe worldwide economic downturn that lasted from 1929 until the late 1930s.

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

A government agency that provided financial support to banks, insurance companies, and other institutions to stimulate economic activity.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff

The Tariff Act of 1930 that raised import duties on many goods, leading to a decline in international trade.

The Dust Bowl

A period of severe dust storms during the 1930s that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies.

The New Deal

A series of programs and policies designed to promote economic recovery and social reform in the US during the Great Depression.

Glass-Steagall Act

A law that separated commercial banking from investment banking to mitigate risks to depositors.

Emergency Banking Act

Legislation that allowed for the reopening of solvent banks during the Great Depression.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

A U.S. government agency that aimed to stimulate business recovery through fair practices and established codes of conduct.

First Hundred Days

The early period of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, during which he enacted significant legislation to combat the Great Depression.

National Industrial Recovery Act (NiRA)

A law that authorized the President to regulate industry and generate fair competition.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A federal corporation that provided navigation, flood control, electricity generation, and economic development in the Tennessee Valley.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

A law that aimed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses through farming restrictions.

Federal Housing Authority / Administration (FHA)

A government agency that insures loans for building and repairing homes.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

A federation of unions that organized workers in industrial sectors to promote labor rights.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

A New Deal agency that funded large-scale public works projects to provide jobs and stimulate the economy.

Share Our Wealth Movement

A movement led by Huey Long advocating for wealth redistribution during the Great Depression.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

A New Deal agency that provided jobs for unemployed workers through public projects.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A public work relief program that provided jobs for young men in environmental conservation projects.

Wagner Act

A law that established the right of workers to organize and bargain collectively.

“Court packing”

A political strategy used by Franklin D. Roosevelt to expand the Supreme Court to achieve favorable rulings.

Social Security Act

A law that established a system of old-age benefits and unemployment insurance.

Scottsboro case

A landmark legal case involving the wrongful conviction of nine African American teens accused of raping two white women.

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

A committee of the US House of Representatives that investigated allegations of communist activity.

Indian New Deal

A series of reforms that aimed to improve the rights and welfare of Native Americans.

Popular Front

A political alliance formed in the 1930s that included various leftist groups advocating for social and economic reforms.