USA 1919–1941: From Post-War Aftermath to the New Deal

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering post-WWI consequences, 1920s economic and social trends, the Great Depression, the New Deal, and US foreign policy up to 1941.

14 Points

A statement announced by Woodrow Wilson in January $1918$ which he hoped would become the basis for a just post-war peace settlement.

Adjusted Compensation Act (1924)

Legislation passed to provide benefits to veterans who had earned far less than those who stayed home during World War I; it eventually caused economic issues in the early $1930\text{s}$.

Laissez-faire

An economic philosophy where the government's role is extremely limited and the economy is allowed to run itself, based on the belief that wealth would trickle down to ordinary workers.

Return to Normalcy

Warren Harding's $1920$ election campaign slogan calling for a return to traditional $19\text{th}$ century American ideals and limited executive power.

Fordney-McCumber Tariff (1922)

Legislation that raised American tariffs to their highest level in history to protect domestic industries and limit foreign competition.

The Red Scare

A period in $1919$ characterized by high social tension where communists and socialists were forced to leave the US as the country returned to conservative values.

Sheppard-Towner Maternity Aid Act

A program supported by Warren Harding that provided federal aid to states for maternity and infant health programs.

Budget Surplus

An excess of government income over spending, notably achieved by the Coolidge government with over $\text{\$ }600 \text{ million}$ in $1925$ and $1927$.

Business Consolidation

The trend by the end of the $1920\text{s}$ where a small number of corporations controlled major portions of industries, such as $20$ banks controlling $27 \text{ \%}$ of all deposits.

The Dust Bowl

A major drought in the $1930\text{s}$ that served as a long-term cause of the Great Depression by devastating agricultural productivity.

Black Thursday

October $24\text{, }1929\text{,}$ the day investors began to lose confidence in the stock market, leading to mass selling of stocks and the start of the Great Crash.

Hoovervilles

Shanty towns and slum areas built by homeless workers during the Great Depression who were unable to pay their mortgages.

Hoover Blankets

A term used during the Great Depression to describe the newspapers that homeless people used to cover themselves.

Brains Trust

The group of able, intellectual men and women FDR surrounded himself with to help formulate policies to tackle the Great Depression.

Keynesian Economics

The theory supported by FDR where the government starts the engine of the economy by spending money, also known as priming the pump.

Emergency Banking Relief Act (1933)

An immediate action by FDR to shut down banks to stop people from withdrawing money, followed by a bank holiday to restore confidence.

Fireside Chats

Radio broadcasts by FDR used to inform the US population about government actions; the first chat reached an audience of $60 \text{ million}$ people.

AAA (Agricultural Adjustment Act)

A $1933$ policy designed to increase farm prices by paying farmers to produce less; it was rejected by the Supreme Court in $1936$.

CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps)

A First New Deal program established in $1933$ that recruited unemployed men to work on environmental and conservation projects.

WPA (Works Progress Administration)

A Second New Deal program established in $1935$ that funded the construction of hospitals, schools, and airports to create employment.

Social Security Act (1935)

Legislation that established pension benefits for the elderly and provided unemployment pay and aid to disadvantaged groups.

Harlem Renaissance

An African American literary and artistic movement of the $1920\text{s}$ and $30\text{s}$ that rejected middle-class values and conventional forms, exemplified by Langston Hughes.

Nativism

An attitude of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Emergency Quota Act (1921)

An act that capped annual immigration to $3 \text{ \%}$ of a nationality's US population as of the $1910$ census, favoring Northern and Western Europeans.

Reed-Johnson Act (1924)

Also known as the Immigration Act of $1924\text{,}$ it established national origin quotas based on the $1890$ census and banned Asian immigration.

The Scopes (monkey) Trial

The $1925$ prosecution of teacher John D. Scopes for teaching the theory of evolution in Tennessee, in contravention of state law.

Speakeasy

An illegal drinking venue that flourished during the Prohibition era.

Al Capone

A famous prohibition-era gangster based in Chicago whose annual earnings were estimated at $\text{\$ }60 \text{ million}$.

Red Summer (1919)

A period characterized by approximately $25$ racially motivated riots across the US, including a five-day race war in Chicago.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Two Italian immigrant anarchists executed in $1927$ for robbery and murder; they are often cited as victims of Red Scare-era judicial bias.

Washington Naval Conference (1921-1922)

A disarmament conference that aimed to prevent a post-WWI arms race by establishing the $4\text{, }5\text{, and }9$ Power Acts.

Dawes Plan (1924)

An American-led economic plan that loaned Germany $\text{\$ }2.5 \text{ billion}$ to stabilize its economy and allow it to pay reparations to Britain and France.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1929)

An international agreement signed by $62$ nations pledging to renounce war as an instrument of national policy.

Stimson Doctrine (1931)

A US policy declaring that the government would not recognize any territorial acquisition or agreement brought about by aggression or force.

Good Neighbour Policy (1933)

A policy toward Latin America aiming to improve relations through non-intervention, mutual respect, and trade.

Lend-Lease Act (1941)

Legislation that allowed the US to provide war materials to allied nations, boosting the economy and ending Great Depression levels of unemployment.