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
