Untitled Flashcards Set

Key Figures

• Herbert Hoover – U.S. president (1929–1933) blamed for the Great Depression due to his ineffective economic policies.

• Franklin D. Roosevelt – U.S. president (1933–1945) who implemented the New Deal to combat the Great Depression.

• Eleanor Roosevelt – First Lady and advocate for civil rights, social welfare, and women’s rights.

• John L. Lewis – Labor leader who founded the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).

• Frances Perkins – First female cabinet member, Secretary of Labor, and key figure in New Deal policies.

• Father Coughlin – A controversial Catholic priest and radio host who opposed FDR’s policies.

• Huey Long – Louisiana senator who proposed the "Share Our Wealth" program but was assassinated in 1935.

• Francis Townsend – A doctor who proposed a pension plan for the elderly, influencing Social Security.

• Harold Ickes – Secretary of the Interior and head of the Public Works Administration (PWA).

• Cordell Hull – FDR’s Secretary of State, key in shaping foreign policy and the Good Neighbor Policy.

• Charles Lindbergh – Aviator and vocal isolationist before WWII.

Economic & Political Events

• Black Tuesday – October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crashed, marking the start of the Great Depression.

• Reconstruction Finance Corporation – A Hoover-era agency that provided financial aid to banks and businesses.

• Bonus Army – WWI veterans who marched on Washington in 1932 demanding early payment of their bonuses.

• Hundred Days – The first 100 days of FDR’s presidency, during which he passed numerous New Deal laws.

• Dust Bowl – Severe drought and dust storms in the 1930s that devastated U.S. agriculture.

New Deal Programs & Policies

• New Deal – FDR’s series of programs and policies aimed at economic recovery.

• Brain Trust – Group of advisors who helped FDR develop the New Deal.

• The “Three Rs” – Relief, Recovery, and Reform; the goals of the New Deal.

• Court Packing Scheme – FDR’s unsuccessful plan to add more justices to the Supreme Court to pass New Deal laws.

• Glass-Steagall Act – Law that separated commercial and investment banking and created the FDIC.

• Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – Protects bank deposits to prevent bank failures.

• Federal Emergency Relief Administration – Provided direct relief to unemployed Americans.

• Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) – Provided jobs for young men in environmental conservation projects.

• Works Progress Administration (WPA) – Large-scale public works program creating jobs in infrastructure and the arts.

• National Recovery Act (NRA) – Attempted to regulate industry and wages; later ruled unconstitutional.

• Schechter Poultry Case – Supreme Court case that struck down the NRA.

• Public Works Administration (PWA) – Large-scale public works projects to stimulate the economy.

• Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) – Paid farmers to reduce production to raise crop prices.

• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – Regulates the stock market to prevent fraud.

• Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) – Provided electricity and economic development in the Tennessee Valley.

• Social Security Act – Established unemployment insurance, disability insurance, and old-age pensions.

• National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) – Strengthened labor unions and workers' rights.

• Fair Labor Standards Act – Established minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor laws.

Foreign Policy & Other Movements

• Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) – A labor union that focused on organizing industrial workers.

• Roosevelt Coalition – A diverse political group that supported FDR and the New Deal.

• Twentieth Amendment – Changed the presidential inauguration date from March to January.

• Twenty-first Amendment – Repealed Prohibition.

• Isolationism – The policy of avoiding foreign conflicts, popular in the U.S. before WWII.

• Good Neighbor Policy – FDR’s policy of improving relations with Latin America.

• Nye Committee – Investigated the role of arms manufacturers in pushing the U.S. into WWI.

• Neutrality Acts – Laws passed in the 1930s to prevent the U.S. from getting involved in foreign wars.

• Spanish Civil War – A conflict in Spain (1936–1939) where fascists led by Franco overthrew the Republican government.