U.S. History - Chapter 16

Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The only thing to fear, is fear itself"

Nine Old Men

FDR's nickname for the Supreme Court

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck's classic novel about Dust Bowl migrants who move to California during the Great Depression

bank holiday

New Deal proclamation that temporarily closed every U.S. bank to stop massive withdrawals; closed all banks to prevent more withdrawal; inspected banks to see if they were okay to open

Federal Project Number One

New Deal program that encouraged pride in American culture by employing artists and writers

New Deal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt's programs for helping the U.S. economy during the Great Depression

rugged individualism

Private charities should help the poor survive. The government really has no legitimate role in aiding the poor. In fact, government welfare causes people to lose the incentive to work and then destroys the moral fiber of the country.

Economy Act

The government must balance the budget. Almost all business leaders believe that this is a healthy way to run both government and business. Thus their confidence will be restored in the economy and they will expand production and the economy will get moving again.

Revenue Act of 1935/ Federal Emergency Relief Administration

The government must give much more welfare relief to the millions of people who are suffering from the Depression. It is the obligation of government to protect its poorer citizens from such suffering. The money to pay for the welfare should come from heavier taxes on rich people. If the poor have more money they will buy more products and business will be able to expand. In this way the country will get out of the Depression.

National Recovery Administration

The government should bring businesses together and set up a planning agency run by the government to help them get going again. Within the agency the businesses would set up their own guidelines and regulations. For example, they could charge higher prices and cooperate rather than compete. Of course, the government would watch over the agency, but the business leaders would run the agency. They know how to get business going again.

fascism

The government should expand the military and start a huge arms build up. This will create jobs for many millions of workers. People will feel they are contributing to the strength of the nation and businesses and government will cooperate to get the country out the Depression. People should be made to think of what is good for our nation, not just for themselves.

Emergency Banking Act

The government should help business out in order to restore public confidence in the economy. We should tax the rich business leaders less and give subsidies (aid) to businesses. The businesses will use this help to expand production. Then they will hire more workers and the economy will get moving again. There should be a minimum of welfare for the poor as this drains off money from the businesses.

National Recovery Administration

The government should plan our economy. With central planning by the government, the economy could grow without having periodic business depressions. Such public goals as economic equality should, if necessary, be forced on business leaders.

Huey Long

The nation should adopt a "share the wealth" program. The government should confiscate all the wealth of people who have more than $50,000 and share it with the poor who are suffering.

communism

The workers must take over all the industries in the country. The government controlled by the common people should abolish private ownership of businesses and bring about real equality. As a result of this takeover, workers will no longer be exploited by the powerful business leaders, but will be truly free. Only in this way can the country get out of the depression and avoid future depressions.

Keynesian Approach

To get out of the depression, the government should engage in deficit spending - that is it should spend much more money than it takes in through taxes. By pumping more money into the economy, the government would stimulate more spending by both consumers and businesses. This would get the economy moving again.

Fair Labor Standards Act

Wages and Hours Law; established minimum wage of 40 cents per hour and maximum workweek of 40 hours for businesses in interstate commerce

Laborer's Magna Carta

Wagner-Connery Act's nickname

National Labor Relations Act

Wagner-Connery Act; recognized rights of labor to organize and bargain collectively; law that guaranteed labor's right to organize unions and to bargain for better wages and working conditions

Revenue Act of 1935

Wealth Tax Act; increased taxes on the wealthy

artists, authors, actors, and musicians

Who did Federal Project Number One create work for?

Huey Long

a colorful but corrupt U.S. senator from Louisiana; wanted to take from the rich and give to the poor (like Robin Hood); proposed a new kind of relief program, which he called Share-Our-Wealth in 1934

Tennessee Valley Authority

constructed dams and power plants to improve social and economic welfare in the region; New Deal program established in 1933; built dams and power stations to provide hydroelectric power and flood control to the Tennessee River valley; renovated existing dams and gave jobs, flood control, and hydroelectric power to impoverished region

Public Works Administration

constructed roads, public buildings, and other projects designed to increase employment and business activity; built public works to create jobs

Banking Act of 1933

created FDIC and authorized branch banking

5 examples of the New Deal's Effectiveness

didn't end the Depression; provided jobs/improved people's sense of self-worth; helped modernize the South; broke down class barriers; brought electricity to rural areas; boasted family income so children could stay in school

Civil Works Administration

employed jobless people to work on federal, state, and local projects

Works Progress Administration

employed people to do artistic, public-works, and research projects; New Deal agency created in 1934 to put American men and women to work

Civilian Conservation Corps

employed young men on public-works projects; New Deal agency established in 1933; employed young men on conservation projects; gave men (18-25) jobs fixing roads, trees, and conserving soil

National Industrial Recovery Act

established NRA and PWA; later declared unconstitutional federal law designed to encourage economic growth by suspending antitrust laws and eliminating unfair competition between employers; declared unconstitutional in 1935

Harry Hopkins

former relief supervisor in New York; headed the Federal Emergency Relief Administration; led the Works Progress Administration

Emergency Banking Act

gave the administration the right to regulate banks

Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938

increased government regulation of crop production and increased payments to farmers

Federal Housing Administration

insured bank loans for building and repairing houses

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

insured individual bank deposits up to $5,000; New Deal agency created in 1933 to insure bank savings deposits

Congress of Industrial Organization

labor group formed in 1938 that organized all workers in a particular industry into one union

Home Owners Loan Corporation

loaned money to home owners to refinance mortgages

John Maynard Keynes

many New Deal recovery programs were based on his theories; a noted British economist; argued that for a nation to recover fully from a depression, the government had to spend money to encourage investment and consumption

sit-down strike

method used by striking workers of preventing owners from replacing them by refusing to leave the factories

Dust Bowl

name given to parts of the Great Plains in the 1930s after a severe drought struck the region

Francis E. Townsend

opposed the New Deal; wanted the government to grant a pension of $200 a month to every American over 60 years old

Agricultural Adjustment Administration

paid farmers to reduce crops; funded by a tax on food processors; later declared unconstitutional; federal agency created by the Agricultural Adjustment Act in 1933 to reduce farmers' output and increase crop prices; paid farmers to leave land unplanted to lower supply and increase prices

Economy Act

proposed to balance the budget through savings measures

5 New Deal goals for the Tennessee Valley Region

provide FLOOD CONTROL and combat soil erosion; provide ELECTRICITY and improve the standard of living; COMBAT MALARIA; COMBAT ILLITERACY; provide RECREATIONAL FACILITIES

Federal Emergency Relief Administration

provided grants to states for relief efforts; gave $500 million of direct relief

National Youth Administration

provided job training and work for people ages 16-25; provided part-time jobs for needy students

Social Security Act

provided unemployment benefits, pensions for the elderly, and survivor's insurance; law that provides retirement pensions, unemployment insurance, and payments to people with disabilities and to widows and children of male workers who have died

Share-Our-Wealth

radical relief program proposed by Senator Huey Long in the 1930s; sought to empower the government to seize wealth from the rich through taxes and to provide a guaranteed minimum income and home to every American family

Charles E. Coughlin

radio priest from Michigan; urged the government to nationalize all banks and return to the silver standard

fireside chats

radio talks about issues of public concern, explaining things in simple terms (ex: FDR Radio Program)

Revenue Act of 1938

reduced taxes on large corporations and increased taxes on smaller businesses

National Recovery Administration

regulated industry through fair-trade codes for businesses; set prices and standards to relieve wage cuts, falling prices, and layoffs

Securities and Exchange Commission

regulated the securities market; federal agency that regulates companies that sell stocks and bonds; created guidelines on the stock market so it wouldn't crash again

brain trust

unofficial advisors to the president

Frances Perkins

veteran reformer; secretary of labor

John Steinbeck

wrote The Grapes of Wrath, which produced a gripping picture of the depression years