Economics of the Great Depression
What relationship does the Dow Jones Industrial Average have to the Great Depression?
The Dow Jones is part of the Stock Market.
Describe Hoovervilles and why they were called that.
Hoovervilles were shanty towns where people who lost everything lived and they were called that as a dig towards President Hoover.
What is the FDIC and what does it do for the people of America?
What was the major reason for opposition to many of the New Deal Programs created by FDR?
Opponents argued that these programs went beyond the authority the Federal Government has as outlined by the Constitution.
What are the three R's and who are they designed to help?
Relief - jobs to the people
Recovery - help to businesses
Reform - changes to prevent a future depression
What major factor led to the prices of manufactured goods and agricultural products dropping so much during the 1930s?
Overproduction of goods
What effects did bank runs have on our banking system?
Bank runs led to banks running out of money and eventually failing to meet the demand for cash which led to the banks being unable to issue loans which caused them to fail and people who were unable to get their money out before the bank ran out lost everything they had in their accounts.
What does the CCC do and how did it help the American people?
Civilian Conservation Corps provided environmental jobs to young men in time of need. It helped the American people by giving them jobs and by helping to protect the environment.
In the Supreme Court Case of Schechter Poultry vs. US, the Supreme Court ruled that the NRA allowed the President to regulate various businesses. Why was the NRA declared to be unconstitutional?
The NRA granted the President powers to regulate businesses which is a legislative power granted to Congress, not the President.
What is the Lame Duck session of a Presidential term?
The period of time between when the election takes place, and when the new president is inaugurated.
What impact did the Smoot-Hawley Tariff have on global economics during the late 1920s and early 1930s?
Caused prices on everything to go up and a decline in international trade leading to more businesses failing in the US.
How did President Hoover respond to the Great Depression?
What is the SEC and how does it help the American people?
The Securities and Exchange Committee regulates the stock market from fraud and insider trading. This makes the stock market a little safer for investors and helps to prevent future crashes.
In the Supreme Court Case of Butler vs. US the Agricultural Adjustment Act was challenged because Congress was taxing and regulating agricultural products.
Why was the AAA ultimately determined to be unconstitutional?
The AAA was unconstituional because the 10th amendment (federalism) reserved the right to tax and regulate agricultural products to the states, not the federal government.
What did the 20th Amendment do?
Shortened the Lame Duck period so that Presidential Inaugurations take place on January 20 following the election in November of the previous year.
How did "Buying on the Margins" contribute to the stock market crash of 1929?
Folks bought stocks on credit and couldn't afford to pay back the loans so they tried to sell their stocks which led to other investors trying to sell their stocks which led to demand dropping causing prices to drop leading to even worse losses.
What impact did Eleanor Roosevelt have on American society during the Great Depression?
Eleanor showed that women could take on more significant roles in the federal government.
What is the TVA and how did it help the American people?
The Tennessee Valley Authority provided jobs constructing hydroelectric dams throughout the Tennessee River Valley which brought thousands of jobs to the area and brought electricty to parts of America that had never had it before.
How did FDR try to solve his problem with the Supreme Court?
He wanted to add one new Justice for every sitting Justice over the age of 70.5, which would have meant expanding the court from 9 to 15.
How did the Federal Government change from the Roaring 20s through the New Deal?
The New Deal expanded the authority and power of the Federal Government to levels never seen before.
Give one environmental and one economic reason as to why farmers were doing so poorly during the Depression.
Environmental - The Dust Bowl
Economic - Loss of global markets following WWI combined with overproduction
How were Mexican Americans treated during the Great Depression?
They were seen as competition for what few jobs remained and Congress passed the Mexican Repatriation Act which forcibly deported approximately 2 million people, many of who were American citizens.
What is the difference between the WPA and the PWA?
WPA (Works Progress Administration) provided jobs to artists creating movies, murals, statues, and other works.
PWA (Public Words Administration) provided jobs building roads, dams, bridges, schools, post offices, government buildings, and other infrastructure projects across America.
What was the main problem with FDR's court packing scheme and why did it fail?
The main problem was relating to the separation of powers. This would have given the Executive Branch too much power over the Judicial Branch. It failed because the Legislative Branch refused to pass the bill that would have expanded the court.
What does the D stand for in FDR?
Delano