Unit 8 - Great Depression and New Deal (1929-1941)
Emergency Banking Relief Act
(FDR) 1933 - Passed during the FIRST HUNDRED DAYS CONGRESS... gave the President power over the banking system and set up a system by which banks would be reorganized or reopened if they were stable. Within one month, the government would make 100 banks go back in business to get money circulating in the economy.
Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)
(FDR) 1933 and 1938 , Helped farmers meet mortgages. Unconstitutional because the government was paying the farmers to waste 1/3 of there products. Created by Congress in 1933 as part of the New Deal this agency attempted to restrict agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies to take land out of production.
Tennesse Valley Authority
(TVA) One of the most controversial New Deal programs focused on badly depressed Tennesse River Valley;operated by the federal gov't it renovated existing damns and constructed new ones, created thousands of jobs, and provided flood control, cheap hydroelectic power, and other benefits to an impovershed region; critisized by big business as being unfair and represented "creeping socialism". Still in existence today.
Herbert Hoover
1928; Republican; approach to economy known as voluntarism (avoid destroying individuality/self-reliance by government coercion of business); of course, in 1929 the stock market crashed; tried to fix it through creating the Emergency Relief and Construction Act and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (didn't really work - as it gave assistance to business and industry.
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
1930 - U.S. legislation passed by the Hoover administration that raised import duties by as much as 50%, adding considerable strain to the worldwide economic climate of the Great Depression; passed as a protective measure for domestic industries. Other countries retaliated with similarly high protective tariffs, and overseas banks began to collapse. Was an attempt to protect American industries from foreign competition.
soup kitchen
1930's - Became well known in the Great Depression when organizations such as the Salvation Army or the churches (Even Al Copogne) would provide soup and bread for the unemployed. At that time, employment insurance did not exist.
Norris-LaGuardia Anti-Injunction Act
1932 - act that forcing companies to recognize unions and outlawed yellow-dog contracts (pledges by workers not to join a labor union) and further restricted the use of court injunctions in labor disputes against strikes, picketing, and boycotts -
Bank Holiday
1933 - FDR issues an executive order closing of banks for four days during the Great Depression to stop bank runs and the foreclosure of banks. RELIEF MEASURE
Executive Order 6102
1933 -signed by FDR "forbidding (criminalizing) the Hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, gold certificates"; reasoning that hard times caused "hoarding" of gold, stalled economic growth, made the depression worse; prior to this the Federal Reserve was required to have 40% of all paper currency backed by gold; in this way the Federal Reserve could print more paper curency to fund New Deal programs.
National Recovery Administration (NRA)
1933-Reduced competition in industries, set maximum hours, and minimum wages. Its symbol was the blue eagle. Was declared UNCONSTITUTIONAL by the Supreme Court.
Indian Reorganization Act
1934 - The IRA Reversed the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887; Attempted to restore the tribal basis of Native American *Tribal life & culture was to be recognized as "normal". Restored tribal ownership of lands which were sold off due to the Dawes Act, recognized tribal constitutions and government for self-governing, and provided loans for economic development.
Franklin D Roosevelt
32nd US President - He began New Deal programs to help the nation out of the Great Depression, and he was the nation's leader during most of WWII
National Industrial Recovery Act
A New Deal legislation that focused on the employment of the unemployed and the regulation of unfair business ethics. The NIRA pumped cash into the economy to stimulate the job market and created codes that businesses were to follow to maintain the ideal of fair competition and created the NRA.
National Recovery Act
A New Deal legislation that focused on the employment of the unemployed and the regulation of unfair business ethics. The NIRA pumped cash into the economy to stimulate the job market and created codes that businesses were to follow to maintain the ideal of fair competition and created the NRA.
Dorothea Lange
A famous photographer who wanted to be one at a young age, and, when the Depression started, landed a job to photograph the Dust Bowl, which have been recognized as showing the desperation and bravery during this time. She didn't stop documenting the suffering of people until her 1965 death, but her 1930s pictures are the most well-known.
Fireside Chats
During the depression years of the 1930's, President Roosevelt used the radio to communicate with the American people, using plain language to explain complex issues and programs. These had a reassuring and steadying effect on the public and boosted confidence.
New Deal
President Franklin Roosevelt's precursor of the modern welfare state (1933-1939); programs to combat economic depression enacted a number of social insurance measures and used government spending to stimulate the economy; increased power of the state and the state's intervention in U.S. social and economic life. RELIEF, RECOVERY, AND REFORM
Wagner Act
REFORM program 1935, also National Labor Relations Act; granted rights to unions; allowed collective bargaining established National Labor Relations Board; protected the rights of most workers in the private sector to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in support of their demands.
Social Security Act
REFORM program begun in 1935, guaranteed retirement payments for enrolled workers beginning at age 65; set up federal-state system of unemployment insurance and care for dependent mothers and children, the handicapped, and public health, created a federal insurance program based upon the automatic collection of taxes from employees and employers throughout people's working careers; payments then used to make monthly payments to retired persons over age of 65. Workers who lost their jobs, people who were blind or disabled, and dependent children and their mothers also received benefits.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
federally sponsored corporation that insures accounts in national banks and other qualified institutions. Created as a REFORM program to restore peoples confidence in depositing money in banks (a response to Bank Failures and rstore their ability to loan money)
Agricultural Adjustment Acts
Recovery: (AAA); May 12, 1933; restricted crop production to reduce crop surplus; goal was to reduce surplus to raise value of crops; farmers paid subsidies by federal government; Helped farmers meet mortgages. Unconstitutional because the government was paying the farmers to waste 1/3 of there products. Created by Congress in 1933 as part of the New Deal this agency attempted to restrict agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies to take land out of production., declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in US vs Butler on January 6, 1936
Civilian Conservation Corps
Relief: (CCC) March 31, 1933; reduced poverty/unemployment, helped young men and families; young men go to rural camps for 6 months to do construction work; $1/day; intended to help youth escape cities; concerned with soil erosion, state/national parks, telephone/power lines; 40 hr weeks
Hoovervilles
Shanty towns that the unemployed built in the cities during the early years of the Depression; the name given to them shows that thte people blamed Hoover directly for the Depression.
Works Progress Administration
..., May 6, 1935- Recovery program began under Franklin Roosevelt but was headed by Harry L. Hopkins. Provided jobs and income to the unemplyed but couldn't work more than 30 hours a week. It built many public buildings and roads, and as well operated a large arts project.
18th Amendment
1919- Progressive amendment that made the production and sale of alcohol illegal in an attempt to improve morality and family life. Largely passed in an effort to conserve resources for WWI.
Brain Trust
A group of close advisors of FDR, prized for their expertise in particular fields; professors from Columbia and Harvard.
tariff
A special tax added to imported goods to raise the price, thereby protecting American businesses and workers from foreign competition.
subsidies
A sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive. This was a key part of the AAA which encouraged farmers not to plant certain crops in exchange for cash payment - reduced supply which increased the price. Funds came from gov't tax on industry to be redistributed to a weak area of the economy.
21st Amendment
Amendment which ended the Prohibition of alcohol in the US, repealing the 18th amendment
John Steinbeck
American novelist who wrote "The Grapes of Wrath". (1939) A story of Dust bowl victims who travel to California to look for a better life.
Court Packing Plan
Because the Supreme Court was striking down New Deal legislation, Roosevelt decided to curb the power of the conservative Court by proposing a bill to allow the president to name a new federal judge for each who did not retire by age 70. At the time, 6 justices were over the age limit. Would have increased the number of justices from 9 to 15, giving FDR a majority of his own appointees on the court and increasing support for New Deal legislation. The court-packing bill was not passed by Congress.
Butler v. U.S.
Case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the processing taxes instituted under the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act were unconstitutional. Justice Owen Roberts argued that the tax was "but a means to an unconstitutional end" that violated the 10th Amendment. (states rights). Federal gov't could not tax processors of food to subsidize farmers.
Creeping Socialism
Conservatives believed that many of the New Deal programs were begining to resemble socialist programs. Concern especially was over the Tennessee Valley Authority which produced electricity at cost and was seen as competition for private utilities that was too great. This, it was feared, would lead to other areas of the production or the economy being run by the gov't and "creep" the U.S. closer to a socialist system.
Gross Domestic Product
Dollar amount of goods and services produced within a country's border within one year; if GDP does not do well, neither does the country.
Laissez-fair
Economic philosophy developed by Adam Smith and heavily a part of U.S. economic and political practice that promoted an economic theory that government should not interfere with private economic activity; "let the people do as they please"; Especially endorsed by Republicans of the late 19th and early 20th century against Populist and Progressive Movement forces. Will take a severe hit with the New Deal in 1933.
Eleanor Roosevelt
FDR's Wife and New Deal supporter. Was a great supporter of civil rights and opposed the Jim Crow laws. She also worked for birth control and better conditions for working women
Federal Writers Project
FWP - New Deal project to fund written work / support writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration. Employed writers to produce guidebooks for tourists, collect oral histories of former slaves, and support emerging novelists.
Bankruptcy
Federal court process to help individuals/business eliminate debts. A legal process that relieves debtors of the responsibility of paying their debts or protects them while they try to repay
margin-buying
Getting loan to buy more stock to increase earnings. Popular in the 1920's and a reflection of one of the causes of the Depression - a no rules stock market - causing inflated stock prices.
Black Cabinet
Group of African Americans FDR appointed to key government positions; served as unofficial advisors to the president. One key Florida advisor was Mary McCleud-Bethune, founder of Bethine-Cookmann College and head of the National Youth Administration.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
In 1932, Herbert Hoover attempted to relieve economic stress by giving more than $1 billion of government loans to railroads, banks insurance companies and other large businesses to keep them from going bankrupt. I would be expanded significantly under FDR.
Executive Order 6102
In 1933 FDR issued an executive order "forbidding the Hoarding of gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates within the continental United States", taking gold coins out of circulation and signalling the beginning of increased printing of paper money to inflate the economy.
Emergency Congress
In FDR's inaugural speech, he announced he would call Congress into a special Emergency Session to pass emergency measures to deal with the Depression. This session and the first 100 days of his administration would see some of the most sweeping changes in history and increase government involvement in the economy. The Emergency Banking Act & "bank holiday" were some of the first actions.
fireside chats
Informal talks given by FDR over the radio; sat by White House fireplace; gained the confidence of the people.
Hundred Days
Name given to a period between March 9 and June 16, 1933 in which FDR called for an emergency session of Congress resulting in passing of 15 major acts to resolve the economic crisis, setting a pace for new legislation that has never been equaled.
Black Tuesday
October 29, 1929... Stock market crash -the official starting date of the Great Depression... (NOT THE CAUSE)
Mary McCleod Bethune
Part of the "Black Cabinet" and highest ranking African-American in the Roosevelt Administration who was also the founder of a Florida College. As director of the Office of Foreign Affairs of the Nation Youth Administration, she used her power to improve the lives of blacks during this time. She fought to have blacks get the same treatment from the New Deal as whites did.
Dust Bowl
Parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas that were hit hard by dry topsoil and high winds that created blinding dust storms; this area of the Great Plains became called that because winds blew away crops and farms, and blew dust from Oklahoma to the East Coast and ships at sea.
Second New Deal
Passed during FDR's 2nd Term in office; 1935-38; in response to critics of the 1st New Deal (particularly Huey Long and the more radical critics); contained more relief programs and greater protection for labor unions (this was radical for the 1920s anti-union atmosphere); the most extensive of the reform programs that emerged was social security. (Social Security etc)
20th Amendment
Passed in 1933 - Amendment changed date president takes office from March 4th to January 20th. Changed start of Congress to January 3rd. shortened Lame Duck period between presidents to allow for quick transition of presidents during national emergencies.
Great Depression
Starting with collapse of the US stock market in 1929, period of worldwide economic stagnation and depression. Heavy borrowing by European nations from USA during WW1 contributed to instability in European economies. Sharp declines in income and production as buying and selling slowed down. Widespread unemployment, countries raised tariffs to protect their industries. America stopped investing in Europe. Lead to loss of confidence that economies were self adjusting, HH was blamed for it
Schechter Poultry v. U.S.
Supreme court case that shut down the NRA (National Recovery Administration); Justices unanimously held that Congress could not "delegate legislative powers" to the executive; declared congressional control of interstate commerce could not properly apply to local fowl business
American Indian Citizenship Act
The 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to persons born in the U.S., but only if "subject to the jurisdiction thereof"; this latter clause excludes certain indigenous (native American) peoples. This 1924 law granted immediate U.S. citizenship to all Native American Indians born in the United States.
Keynesian Economics
The British economist John Maynard Keynes believed that the government could pull the economy out of a depression by increasing government spending, thus creating jobs and increasing consumer buying power. Utilized by FDR in his fight against the depression
Rugged Individualism
The belief that all individuals, or nearly all individuals, can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. Popularly said by Hertbert Hoover during the 1920's.
Relief, Recovery and Reform
The three goals of FDR's New Deal. Each of the New Deal programs could be categorized one of these categories.
First 100 Days
This is the term applied to President Roosevelt's first three months in taking office. During this time, FDR had managed to get Congress to pass an unprecedented amount of new (relief) legislation that revolutionized the role of federal gov't.; passage of bills aimed at repairing the banking system and restoring American's faith in the economy, gov't works projects to employ those out of work, offering subsidies for farmers, and devising a plan to aid in the recovery of the nation's industrial sector.
Banking Holiday
When individuals and companies lose confidence in the banking system and withdraw their deposits in what is called a 'run on banks. Crisis swept the nation at the very end of Hoover's administration. 5000 banks failed between 1929-1933 as payments from loans did not come in and "bank runs" with withdrawls of funds by people closed them down. In response FDR called for a "_________________ ____________"
sit-down strike
Work stoppage in which workers shut down all machines and refuse to leave a factory until their demands are met. Used by the United Auto Workers against General Motor (GM) in 1936.
Bonus Army
World War I vets march to Washington demanding their "pay", 1932 - Facing the financial crisis of the Depression, WW I veterans tried to pressure Congress to pay them their retirement bonuses early. Congress considered a bill authorizing immediate assurance of $2.4 billion, but it was not approved. Angry veterans marched on Washington, D.C., and Hoover called in the army to get the veterans out of there. Caused a strong negative public response to Hoover which hurt him significantly in the 1932 Election.
