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Chapter 24 - The Great Depression
Terms having to do with the Depression and the New Deal that followed it
32
History
11th Grade
01/28/2014

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Term
"rugged individualism"
Definition
Belief held by Hoover that people should be able to stand tall, be strong, and pick themselves back up (it is up to the individual to support him or herself)
Term
Herbert Hoover
Definition
Republican president, in office at the beginning of the Depression
Believes in limited government intervention, especially in the economy, which makes it seem like he is doing nothing > leads to widespread dislike
Before being president, had worked as head of American Relief Commission during WWI
Loses dramatically to FDR in 1932
Term
John Maynard Keynes
Definition
Economist who has huge influence on FDR
Suggests that an economic crisis be treated like a war, where the government spends money to fix the problem without worrying too much about the deficit created (fix the problem first)
Term
Dust Bowl
Definition
Region in the Plains (includes CO, TX, KA, OK, and NM) in which the dust storms of the 1930s began
Static electricity causes dirt dried by drought to rise into the air, creating black clouds which spread across the country
Combination of drought and overworking the land means that all the topsoil is blown away > ruins farms, drives people from homes
Term
Okies
Definition
People, generally from Oklahoma, who fled the Dust Bowl and usually went to CA
Wanted to find work (lots of farm work in CA) but are generally unsuccessful > Californians are unfriendly, crops/schedules are unfamiliar
Term
John Steinbeck
Definition
Author of "The Grapes of Wrath," a book about Okies (not entirely accurate, but captures the feeling of desperation and shows it to the rest of the country)
Term
Scottsboro Boys
Definition
A group of black teenagers who were accused of rape
Trial deals with the issue of racism and the right to a fair trial
Term
Agricultural Market Act (1929)
Definition
Establishes the Federal Farm Board (meant to help farmers keep their farms through loans, but many have already been foreclosed on)
Term
Hawley-Smoot Tariff (1930)
Definition
High tariff on foreign goods which weakens economic relations with Europe (makes our economy weaker, one cause of Depression)
Term
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Definition
Body of government based on the WWI War Finance Corporation, makes government credit available to banks, RRs, and insurance companies (meant to stimulate economy > assume problem is w/ supply, not demand)
Mainly helps businesses and the upper class (failure)
Term
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Definition
Elected president in 1932, having been a lawyer and governor of NY
Willing to experiment in government and aggressive from the start in fight the Depression (people hope he's better than Hoover)
Term
Eleanor Roosevelt
Definition
First lady and a politician in her own right
Campaigns for liberal causes like women's labor rights, anti-lynching, compulsory health insurance, child labor laws, anti-racial discrim)
Term
Emergency Banking Relief Act (1933)
Definition
Act of Congress (spearheaded by FDR) that allows only Federal Reserve-approved banks to operate
Term
20th Amendment
Definition
Moves end of terms for president, VP, and Congressmen from March to January and makes provisions for a situation where there is no president-elect
Term
Fireside Chats
Definition
Radio broadcasts by FDR during the New Deal that kept the American people up to date
Made them feel like they had a personal relationship with the president (very beneficial)
Term
21st Amendment
Definition
Repeals Prohibition
Term
American Liberty League
Definition
Group of Conservatives who consider the New Deal to be socialism
Main members of wealthy/businessmen, like Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh (also Nazi sympathizers)
Term
Father Charles Coughlin
Definition
Catholic priest from IL with large radio following
Says that capitalism itself is dying and advocates a new idea called "social justice" (which he never really defines)
Creates National Union of Social Justice
Blames banks (wants them to be gov't-controlled) and the Jews
Term
Dr. Francis Townsend
Definition
Doctor and "advocate for the elderly" who proposed a rotating old-age pension which influenced the establishment of Social Security (The Townsend Plan)
Term
John L. Lewis/Congress of Industrial Organizations
Definition
In 1935 at the AFL convention, some militant labor organizations propose organization by industry rather than by craft (include non-skilled workers, blacks, women)
AFL will not accept it, so one, led by John Lewis, break apart in 1938 and forms the Congress of Industrial Org, using Wagner Act as key opportunity
Term
Republican Steel Plant Massacre [Chicago]
Definition
Also known as the Memorial Day Massacre, sit down strike at a steel plant becomes violent, workers are killed when police open fire on union supporters in 1937
Term
Indian Reorganization Act [Wheeler-Howard Act] (1934)
Definition
Law created by John Collier that reverses allotment provisions of Dawes Act, which had weakened tribal structure
Permits return of surplus land to tribal ownership, helps fund purchase of more land and economic development
Once a tribe ratifies the IRA, they forma tribal council > gov't pawn
Term
Federal Writers Project
Definition
Employs writers writing state and city guidebooks (combine tourist info with local traditions) > "Life in America"
In general, helps writers survive/improve through collab
Term
Federal Art Project
Definition
Asks artists to teach in schools, churches, settlement houses
Creates Index of American Design (collection of folk art)
Commissions murals on public buildings
Term
Federal Music Project
Definition
Employs 15,000 musicians to play low cost public concerts
Composers' Forum Lab is created to support new works by American composers like Copland and William Schuman
Term
Federal Theater Project
Definition
Has goal of expanding audience of theater to middle/lower classes > cheap tickets, variety of shows (including "Living Newspaper" series based on current events, classic plays, and new works by American playwrights)
Term
Alf Landon
Definition
Republican who runs against FDR in the 1936 presidential election (defeated in a landslide)
Previously governor of KA
Term
New Deal Coalition
Definition
Political organizations that came together in favor of the New Deal and voted Democrat on into the 1960s (generally, supporters of liberal gov't)
Term
Mary McLeod Bethune
Definition
Member of "Black Cabinet" who founds Behune-Cookman College and leads the Office of Minority Affairs in the National Youth Admin (helps reduce illiteracy among blacks)
Term
"Black Cabinet"
Definition
Group of African Americans appointed to 2nd level advisory positions in FDR's administration
One, Robert Weaver, later becomes first black cabinet member (1966)
Term
Executive Order No. 8802
Definition
Order signed by FDR in 1933 that bans racial discrimination in the WPA
Term
Francis Perkins
Definition
First woman on presidential cabinet (secretary of labor), in part responsible for Social Security and the Fair Labor Standards Act (labor reforms previously advocated by women)
Opens positions for other women in gov't
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