Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal 1929–1939

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering the causes of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal programs, and their impact on American society.

Great Depression

A deep economic crisis that began with the stock market crash of $1929$, characterized by bank failures, mass unemployment, and a contraction of the money supply.

Overproduction

The basic economic explanation for the Great Depression, where the auto and appliance industries grew faster than the demand for their products.

Hooverville

Camps of the homeless that appeared across America during the early $1930s$, named in mocking reference to President Herbert Hoover.

Black Thursday

October $24$, $1929$, the date when stock prices faltered and panicked speculators caused prices to plummet, leading to the Great Crash.

Bonus Army

A group of World War I veterans who marched on Washington in $1932$ seeking early payment of a military bonus; they were eventually forcibly dispersed by the army.

Fireside Chats

The radio broadcasts used by Franklin D. Roosevelt to keep the public informed and build confidence in the government's actions to save the banking system.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A New Deal agency that provided economic development and utility services to a seven-state region in the Southeast.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

A public works program focused on young men, who performed environmental projects such as reforestation, trail building, and erosion mitigation.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

The largest New Deal program, launched in $1935$, which provided jobs to more than $8\text{ million}$ Americans to build airports, schools, and hospitals.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

FDR's attempt to advance the economy through voluntary cooperation between government, business, and labor; it was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in $1935$.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

A program designed to raise farm income by setting production limits for leading crops to address the problem of overproduction.

Social Security Act

A $1935$ law that established a national welfare system to provide unemployment compensation, child welfare, and aid for the elderly and disabled.

Frances Perkins

The Secretary of Labor who is known as the "mother of Social Security."

Wagner Act

A $1935$ law that provided federal support for labor unionization and outlawed unfair labor practices.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

Founded by John L. Lewis, this organization extended collective bargaining and union membership to both skilled and unskilled workers in major industries.

Indian Reorganization Act

A $1934$ law aimed at improving the status of Native Americans, although they remained among the most impoverished citizens.

Court-packing scheme

FDR’s unsuccessful $1937$ proposal to appoint a new Supreme Court justice for every member over age $70$ to prevent the court from blocking New Deal programs.

Roosevelt recession

An economic downturn in the summer of $1937$ that occurred during FDR's second term, leading to increased Republican political influence.

Dust Bowl

The region in the Great Plains that suffered from severe drought, heat, and dust storms during the $1930s$, resulting in widespread crop failures.

Okies and Arkies

Mockeries used to describe the hundreds of thousands of migrants who fled the Dust Bowl for California in search of employment and land.