CH.8 The Great Depression VIP
Bonus Army
a $1000 bonus for WW1 was promised in 1924 to be paid around 1945; 1000s of veterans traveled to Washington DC to demand payment of the bonus in 1932; the army was called out to disperse them and they did not get the bonus
dust bowl
a drought hit the great plains from north Dakota to texas (1932); with very little rainfall the grass dies and the wind blew the topsoil (dust) away
Stock Market
a place where people buy and sell shares of a company or business
Bull Market
a time of rising stock prices
John Steinbeck
author; wrote the Grapes of Wrath; book described the migration of Dust Bowl farmers to California
public works
buildings projects paid for by the government; ports, airports, highways, etc
Margin
buying stock by only paying a small portion of what the stocks cost (credit or loan)
speculation
buying very risky stock in hopes that price would rise quickly just sell when it was high enough
soap opera
day time radio show that were sponsored by soap companies; allowed people to escape reality for an hour
Alfred E. Smith
first roman catholic to be nominated to run for president; key issue of 1928 election was his religion affiliation
hobo
homeless people that rode railroad cars across the country looking for work
Grant Wood
led the regionalist school of art; most famous painting is American Gothic
William Faulkner
made the writing style called steam of consciousness popular (the reader knows what the character thinks and feels before they speak
installment
pay a small down payment and the pay the rest in small payments every month
Foreclosure
repossessing a farm after the payments on a loan were not made
Shantytown
shacks on unused land or parks that were made from scrap lumber, metal and junk
Hoovervilles
shantytown named after president hoover, because the public believed hoover was calloused and did nothing to help end the depression
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
since many banks had closed, the gov began loaning out money to businesses; within 6 months loaned out $238 million
margin call
when stockbrokers demand that the price of the stock is to be paid in full
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
(1930) raised the average tariff rates to the highest in US history
Walt Disney
1937 produced the first feature length movie, snow white and the seven dwarfs
Black Tuesday
October 29, 1929; largest loss in the stock market for a single day ($10-15 million)