Causes of the Depression
This hid the problem that most Americans could not afford what they were buying
Credit
Makeshift shantytowns set up by homeless people
Hoovervilles
Programs and laws pushed during the Great Depression to promote economic recovery and social reform
The New Deal
Insured bank deposits up to $5,000 (now $250,000)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Dam on the Colorado River built during Great Depression
Hoover Dam
The collapse of the stock market on October 29, 1929
Black Tuesday
Historic drought and dust storms in the Great Plains that destroyed farmlands
The Dust Bowl
Republican president who resisted using federal resources to provide direct relief to individuals
Herbert Hoover
Regulated stock market and made it safer for investments
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
This law established a pension system for retirees
Social Security Act
What percentage of the Americans made less that $2,000 a year during the late 1920s?
60%
How businesses responded to limited investments and consumer purchasing
Laying off employees, cutting hours or reducing wages.
Democratic president who believed that the federal government needed to play an active role in promoting recovery and providing relief to Americans
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
Environmental conservation projects that provided jobs for 2 million+ young men
The 3r's of the New Deal
Relief, recovery, reform
The wage gape between the rich and the poor led to...
Under consumption
This institution lost American money after the stock market crash
Banks
Theory that money poured into the top of economic pyramid will trickle down to the base
Trickle-down economics
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
Built or improved highways, dredged rivers and harbors, and promoted soil and water conservation
Photographer Doretha Lange took pictures of struggling Americans during the Great Depression which showed...
The difficulties and emotions Americans faced
The reasons farmers went into debt during the late 1920s
Increasing production, buying expensive equipment and more land.
In order to make American goods more competitive (by being cheaper), President Hoover raised taxes on imported goods (to make them more expensive).
Hawley Smoot Tariff Act
Hoover's policy aimed at asking businesses to keep people employed and increase their wages during the Great Depression
Voluntary Cooperation
Public Works Administration (PWA)
Improved nation’s infrastructure and created millions of jobs
Two effects of the New Deal
Expanded power of the president; Expanded size of the government; More active government in Americans' lives; Gave relief to millions of desperate Americans; Strengthened financial institutions; Create the welfare state; African Americans changed political allegiance from Republicans to Democrats