Causes of the Depression
What does it mean to "buy on margin"?
Buying stocks with only a small down payment, borrowing the rest.
What nickname was given to shantytowns built by homeless people during the Depression?
Hoovervilles.
Which president believed in "rugged individualism" and limited government intervention?
Herbert Hoover.
What were the three “R’s” of the New Deal?
Relief, Recovery, Reform.
What was FDR’s controversial plan to gain more influence over the Supreme Court?
The Court-packing plan (adding more justices).
Which day is known as Black Tuesday, when the stock market crashed?
October 29, 1929.
What natural disaster hit the Great Plains during the 1930s, forcing many families to migrate west?
The Dust Bowl.
Which large public works project was started during Hoover’s presidency?
The Hoover Dam.
What did the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) do?
Gave young men jobs planting trees, building parks, and conservation work.
Who was the Catholic priest who criticized FDR and wanted the government to take over banks?
Father Charles Coughlin.
Explain how overproduction of consumer goods contributed to the Depression.
Factories made more goods than people could afford, leading to falling prices and layoffs.
Migrants from Oklahoma heading to California during the Dust Bowl were nicknamed what?
Okies.
What did FDR call his plan to end the Depression?
The New Deal.
What program provided old-age pensions and unemployment insurance?
The Social Security Act.
What did Huey Long promise to every American family in his “Share Our Wealth” program?
$5,000 per family by heavily taxing the rich.
What was one effect of U.S. tariffs on international trade during the 1930s?
Foreign nations retaliated with tariffs, shrinking world trade.
Name one way churches or charities tried to help people during the Depression.
Soup kitchens and breadlines.
What famous line did FDR say in his inaugural address to reassure the nation?
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
Which New Deal program built dams to provide electricity in the Tennessee Valley?
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Why did the Liberty League accuse FDR of being a “traitor to his class”?
They thought he gave too much power to government and turned against wealthy elites.
Identify and explain at least two "shaky banking methods" that worsened the Depression.
Banks made risky loans, invested depositors’ money in unsound investments, and lacked regulation.
How did authors like John Steinbeck and photographers like Dorothea Lange document the hardships of the Dust Bowl?
Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath; Lange took powerful photographs of migrant families.
Explain one major philosophical difference between Hoover’s and FDR’s approach to government in the economy.
Hoover supported limited government (laissez-faire); FDR believed government should actively help the economy and people.
Explain why the Supreme Court declared the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) and National Recovery Administration (NRA) unconstitutional.
They gave the president powers not granted in the Constitution (violated separation of powers).
In Schechter v. U.S., why did the Supreme Court rule against FDR’s New Deal programs?
It ruled Congress couldn’t give legislative powers to the president, making some programs unconstitutional.