US History// Chapter 21 and 22 The Great Depression and The New Deal 1932-1941
stock market
(1929)the steep fall in the prices of stocks due to widespread financial panic. it was caused by stock brokers who called in the loans they had made to stock investors. this caused stock prices to fall, and many people lost their entire life savings as many financial institutions went bankrupt.
second new deal
(1935) promoted the general welfare, intervention to protect citizens' rights; elderly, poor, unemployed; public works projects, farmers, workers' rights
causes of dust bowl
1) drought 2) loose topsoil caused by farms plowing the land and removing trees, grasses, and other roots which held the earth in place 3) winds
fair labor standards act
1938, established a minimum wage, initially at 25 cents an hour, and a maximum workweek of 44 hours, outlawed child labor
why did American labor make greater progress during the 1930s than during the 1920s?
American labor made greater progress in the 1930s compared to the 1920s because we were in a time of crisis and had to. After the war in the 1920s, we did not need to change anything for our economy was booming. However, it was only during times of depression when our flaws were exposed and we realized that we needed to make reforms to how our business worked and how the government supported our laborers.
supreme court- court packing
FDR also unveiled a new plan that would dilute the power of the sitting Justices of the Supreme Court. He called for the addition of up to six new judges to the 9 member court. Justified this by saying the Constitution did not specify the number of judges and that many of the judges were elderly and overworked. Critics realized FDR would add New Deal supporters and called this court packing, accusing him of trying to increase his presidential power and upsetting the delicate balance between the 3 branches of federal government.
how did FDR's policies differ form hoover's?
FDR's policies differed from Hoover's because he believed that the federal government needed to play an active role in promoting recovery and providing relief to Americans whereas Hoover believed that depression relief should come from state and local governments and private agencies.
pragmatist
FDR; finds practical solutions to problems or issues; willing to try something and move on if its a failure
why do you think the depression led to the proposition of extreme proposals?
I think that the depression led to the development of extreme proposals because desperate times call for desperate measures. Without the implementation of these policies, the economy would only have gotten better gradually not immediately.
deficit spending
Keynes; spending money you do not have; idea that once you regain footing we will have enough to pay it back; money taken from other "pots" or borrowed from other nations (remember europe was struggling at this point also)
do you think FDR's court-packing plan was justified? explain your answer.
Personally, I do not believe that FDR's court-packing plan was justified. I feel like he only wanted to add the new judges because, since he can appoint them, to support his programs and have more cases end in his favor. Roosevelt was losing cases and the court was rejecting his New Deal plans so he was going to get around this issue by making more voices on his side. I believe that this is corruption and therefore, unconstitutional. He had no need, nor right to do this and was abusing his political power.
what major issues did the second new deal address?
The second New Deal addressed the problems of the elderly, the poor, and the unemployed; created new public-works projects; helped farmers; and enacted measures to protect worker's rights.
american federation of labor/ congress of industrial organizations (afl-cio) feud
The upsurge in Union activity came at the same time as a bitter feud within the major labor federation, the American Federation of Labor (AFL). The AFL represented skilled workers- such as plumbers, carpenters, and electricians- who joined trade or craft unions. Few workers in the major industries belonged to the AFL, and the union made an effort to organize them. Fed up the AFL's reluctance to organize, John L. Lewis, the president of the United Mine Workers, and a number of other labor leaders, established the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The workers targeted by the CIO-organizing campaigns tended to be lower paid and ethnically more diverse than those workers represented by the AFL.
bonus army
WWI veterans who were promised bonus for service in 1945, were struggling during depression so they marched in washington to get bonus early; hoover ordered macarthur, the military head, to fix the issue but he did it wrong; he used excessive, unauthorized, viokent force without permission but hoover go the blame; burnt their hooverville and used tear gas killing 1 baby and an adult
welfare state
a government that assumes responsibility for providing for the welfare of children, the poor, elderly, sick, disabled, and unemployed (us rose to this with help of new deal programs); established the principle that the federal government was responsible for the welfare of all americans; didn't reach FDR's goal that no one would be left out because many programs excluded minority's
great depression
a period lasting from 1929- 1942 (WWII) in which the economy faltered and unemplyment soared
fascism
a political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and no tolerance of opposition
communism
a political system in which the government owns all property and dominates all aspects of life in a country.
socialism
a system in which society, usually in the form of the government, owns and controls the means of production.
reform
adjustments and guidelines
global economic depression
american goods could not be sold overseas due to high tariffs so we inserted a tariff on their goods to try and stimulate american economy; europe had problems of reparation payments, war debt; international trade imbalance created shaky economic structure which collapsed in the 1930s
relationship of the american people to their government
american people began to depend on government and see it as higher than state and local governments; they saw it was working and effective and turned to them to get out of economic hardships
capitalism
an economic system based on private property and free enterprise.
new deal coalition
brought together southern whites, northern blue collar workers (especially those with immigrant roots), poor midwest farmers, and african americans; bonded together in support of the democratic party coming together from different parties even; gabe the democratic party a sizable majority in both houses of congress; unified the nation; set aside differences
tennessee valley authority
built a series of dams on the Tennessee River (those living in the rivers valley were poorest in the nation) to control floods and to generate electric power. Also replanted forests, built fertilizer plants, created jobs, and attracted industry with the promise of cheap power; relief, recovery
public works administration (pwa)
built bridges, dams, power plants, and government buildings; relief, recovery
fr. charles coughlin
catholic priest with radio program that turned political; slammed new deal against church's will; lost show but freedom of speech restricted; could because church emplyed him and did not meet church expectations; owners did not want people to think he spoke on behalf of the church
over extension of credit// easy credit
cause of the depression; banks gave out loans easily, some took out loans for stock market with no guarentee of getting money; no colateral= nothing to repossess; banks fail due to lack of circulation of money- couldn't function; banks do not have all of our money they invested some to be able to loan: banks didn't get money for loans and they can't pay it back run on banks: people went to withdraw money but bank had nothing to give them, people lost everything
overproduction
cause of the depression; commerical= high supply, low demand; companies still in wartime production; companies lowered prices of goods which caused them to sell but the companies did not make a profit; agriculturally= farmers buy more many and expensive equipment during the war; war ends and we stop feeding abroad; farmers do not cut back on production because they must pay back the debt they amounted due to buying new land and equipment-- the land lost value but farmers still had to pay back the debt for when the value was high (the amount they paid for it); surplus caused lower prices but they can not pay bank back so they turn to double production and lower prices; bank reposses land and farming gear so they move to cities for work
decline in contruction
cause of the depression; indicator of economic health of country (bellwether); takes a lot of trades to build a house not just one person so a decline means not many people in all the different trades have jobs building houses; not many people have the money to build houses
mechanization
cause of the depression; new machines were invented which took the jobs of men causing many people to loose their job to these machines; lots of people lost factory jobs and looked for the same job but there were none available
uneven distribution of income
cause of the depression; rich earned more money in interest from bank, invested in stock market causing gap between rich and poor to grow; cost of living increased and salary wasn't enough to match, had to take money out of savings and stop spending in turn feeding the economy; large companies had to fire employees to make ends meer, without income the fired employees can't stimulate the economy because they had no money (80% of americans had no savings, had no income); wealthy not spending enough to make up the difference; wealthy sometimes manipulated stock market out of greed
hoovervilles
collection of cardboard box houses given hoover prefix to signify awfullness
dust bowl
combination of loose topsoil, drought, and high winds reuslting in disaster on the great plains where winds kicked up towering dust stors
huey long
critic of new deal; governer of lousiana; "robinhood" - take from rich and give to poor "soak the rich"; when companies do well they must be taxed for all their profit and that given to the poor; companies would close under stress of him and employees would lose their jobs; every americans should have a house, car, and radio; had his own militia, going to run for president but was assassinated incorrect: we have free enterprise: making america more socialist; we deserve what we work for; can't penalize rich; unfair *government would run out of money and business and would be in full control were the people would become dependent on them
dr. francis townsend
critic of new deal; wanted government to pay those over 60 $200 a month because the elderly couldn't work (groundwork of social security); thought new deal wasn't enough
native american new deal
developed by john collier; program that gave indians eeconomic assistance and greater control over their own affairs; got funding from new deal agencies for the construction of new schools and hospitals and to create an indian civilian conservation corps; encouraged the practice of indian religions, native languages, and traditional customs; restored tribal control over native american land
dictators vs. democratic society
dictators control every aspect of the country while democratic the people vote for representatives
recovery
economic
john maynard keynes
economist who came up with philosophy of deficit spending; economic strategy to be used sometimes
works progress administration (wpa)
employed millions of people on government projects ranging from highway contruction to arts programs
social security act
established pension system and unemployment insurance; provided payments to workers injured on the job, the poor, and people with disabilities; relief, recovery, reform
role of the federal government in the economy
federal governments accepted responsibility for spurring economic growth; for the first time they acted as an employer of the unemployed and a sponsor of work projects; rejected laissez-fairs; formed programs that had important and enduring impact on us economy (wagner act boosted union membership, minimum wage increases improved the purchasing power of minority's and those at bottom rung of economic ladder)
marian anderson
first african american to preform at the new york metropolitan opera
frances perkins
first women in president's cabinet; secretary of labor
FDR's effect on the presidency
gave executive branch more power due to creation of new federal agencies; commanded large bureaucracies with little suprevision form congress; mastered radio and influenced in media as an outstanding communicator; when he ran for 3rd term breaking unwritten washington precedent the 22nd amendment (ratified after his death in 1945) said presidents can only run for 2 terms (was president for 4 terms)
emergency banking bill
gave president broad powers like closing the bank for a 4 day holiday; reform, relief, and recovery
relief
government giving out something; both direct and work direct=giving something directly work= providing a job
alfred e. smith
governor of new york; ran against FDR but was catholic and people were not ready for that; didn't want pope to influence usa
lassez-faire
hoover and his secretary andrew mellon believed the economy was just going through a cycle of highs and lows that we will work ourselves out of
volunteerism
hoover's strategy to end depression; companies keep producing and not fire employees but companies had no money to do so
federal emergency relief act (fera)
implemented by harry hopkins; appropriated $500 million to support state and local treasuries that had run dry for public works projects and those in need; relief, recovery
federal deposit insurance corporation (fdic)
insured bank deposits up to $5000, reform
unemployment rises
machines took the jobs of some people but others lost their jobs because their employers could simply could not afford to pay their paychecks
migration
many families migrated to california or other cities to seek relief from the effects of the dust bowl leaving everything they owned behind
mary mcleod bethune
member of the black cabinet; founder of bethune cookman college; powerful champion of racial equality; noted that african americans gained unprecedented access to the white house and positions within the government during FDR's presidency
repatriation
mexicans who came in WWI as well as other minorities sent home so americans could have the jobs they took
executive office cabinet
one of FDR's advisory groups; appointed and approved cabinet
brain trust
one of FDR's advisory groups; informal adviors like the kitchen cabinet
black cabinet
one of FDR's advisory groups; worked to preserve rights of blacks, all black members
banks collapse
people went to withdraw money but bank had nothing to give them, people lost everything
rugged individulaism
pick yourself up, on your own to make it work, if not turn to family; people expected to solve own problems not look to government to do so
herbert hoover
president during the great depression (did not cause depression); republican; self made milionaire who did not understand common man's fear; did not believe government aid would end depression, only people's hard work would; volunterism and rugged individulaism
food, drug, and cosmetic act (known today as fda- food and drug administration)
prohibited the mislabeling of food, drugs, and cosmetics and ensured the safety and purity of these products
reconstruction finance corporation/ hoover dam
projects instituted by the government to build public buildings and employee people
federal housing administration (fha)
provided government housing for those in need; relief
civilian conservation corps (ccc)
provided jobs for more than 2 million young men replanting forests, building trails, digging irrigation ditches, and fighting fires. As time went on these programs became more inclusive extending work and training to Mexican Americans and other minority youths, as well as to white; FDR favorite new deal program; relief, recovery
home owner's loan corporation (holc)
provided loans for home owners to pay off mortgages and keep living in their homes; relief, recovery
rural farmers (rural electrification administration/ rea)
provided loans to electric companies to build powerlines bringing electricity to rural areas; farmers also got subsidies and the benefits of water projects in addition to electricity; relief, recovery
fireside chats
radio programs by FDR were he shared information on the state of the nation and how we would combat depression; included 3 main points: 1. states problem 2. how the government will handle it 3. how people can support
wagner act
recognized the right of employees to join labor unions and gave workers the right to collective bargaining- employees had to negotiate with unions about hours, wages, and other working conditions
1936 presidential election
roosevelt vs. landon; roosevelt won every state except maine and vermont (maine and vermont only states to reject FDR in all 4 of his campaigns)
andrew mellon
secretary of treasury who couldnt' relate to struggles of the common man; lassez-faire
why did people oppose the new deal?
some thought that the government was giving people to much and doing to much (republicans) while others believed it was not enough (democrats)
agricultural adjustment act (aaa)
sought to end overproduction and raise crop prices by providing financial aid for farmers paying them to not plant part of their land and kill extra animals; releif, recovery
speculation
spark of the depression; people worried about stock market and were unable to get money out during decline; felt it was unsafe and were unsure of american economy
october 29, 1929
stock market crashed, the spark of the depression
black tuesday
the day the stock market crashed
john l. lewis
the president of the united mine workers; established cio
civil rights reforms during the new deal?
they hurt the african americans- no civil rights deals were made; federal payments to farmers to produce fewer crops led white landowners to evict unneeded black sharecroppers from their farms; often did not receive equal wages; social security and the fair labor standards act exempted domestic workers and farm laborers, two occupations in which african americans were employed in great numbers
securities and exchange commission (sec)
to regulate stock market and make it safer for investments; restored faith in investors and the american people; reform
eleanor roosevelt
wife and "eyes, ears, and legs", travels to support common man and becomes one with them, pushed for women's rights and the rights of minorities
