Unit 6 Key Terms and Phrases

1. Herbert Hoover- Herbert Clark Hoover was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the
United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of
the Great Depression in the United States.
2. Franklin Delano Roosevelt- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, often referred to by his initials FDR, was an
American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until
his death in 1945.
3. Dust bowl- The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and
agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a
combination of both natural factors and manmade factors.
4. New Deal- The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations
enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939.
5. Hoovervilles- A "Hooverville" was a shanty town built during the Great Depression by the homeless in the
United States. They were named after Herbert Hoover, who was President of the United States during the
onset of the Depression and was widely blamed for it. The term was coined by Charles Michelson.
6. Eleanor Roosevelt- Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She
was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D.
Roosevelt's four terms in office, making her the longest-serving first lady of the United States.
7. Banking Crisis- Many of the small banks had lent large portions of their assets for stock market speculation
and were virtually put out of business overnight when the market crashed. In all, 9,000 banks
failed--taking with them $7 billion in depositors' assets.
8. Court Packing Plan- The bill came to be known as Roosevelt's "court-packing plan", a phrase coined by
Edward Rumely. In November 1936, Roosevelt won a sweeping re-election victory. In the months
following, he proposed to reorganize the federal judiciary by adding a new justice each time a justice
reached age 70 and failed to retire.
9. Stock Market- A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of
stocks, which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include securities listed on a public
stock
10. Bull Market- Stock Brokers encouraged the practice of buying stocks "on margin" meaning buying stocks
with loaned money. The collapse of the Long Bull Market led to debt and ruin for millions of Americans
and contributed to the period known in US history known as the Great Depression.
11. Speculation-The start of the Great Depression is usually considered the Stock Market Crash of 1929. The
market crashed from "over speculation." This is when stocks become worth a lot more than the actual
value of the company. People were buying stocks on credit from the banks, but the rise in the market
wasn't based on reality.
12. Bank run- A bank run or run on the bank occurs when many clients withdraw their money from a bank,
because they believe the bank may cease to function in the near future.
13. Public Work- Public Works Administration (PWA), in U.S. history, New Deal government agency (1933–39)
designed to reduce unemployment and increase purchasing power through the construction of highways
and public buildings.
14. Foreclosure- With the onset of the Depression, the number of foreclosures rose still higher, from 134,900
in 1929 to 252,400 in 1933. 6 The foreclosure rate, shown in Figure 1, increased from 3.6 per 1,000 home
mortgages in 1926, the first year data are available, to a high of 13.3 per 1,000 mortgages in 1933.
15. Smoot Hawley Tariff- The Tariff Act of 1930, commonly known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff or
Hawley–Smoot Tariff, was a law that implemented protectionist trade policies in the United States.
Sponsored by Senator Reed Smoot and Representative Willis C. Hawley, it was signed by President Herbert
Hoover on June 17,
16. Bread Lines- Breadlines, in which poverty-stricken and hungry Americans queued for free food, were
representative of the increasing unemployment and consequent hunger caused by the Depression.
17. Federal Reserve system- The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States of
America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a
series of financial panics led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate
financial crises.
18. Pensions- Francis Townsend, a physician from Long Beach, Calif., began pushing his "Townsend Plan" to
cure the depression. His idea was to give everyone over 60 years of age a Federal pension of $200 a month
provided he spent it.
19. Social Security Act (SSA)- The Social Security Act of 1935 is a law enacted by the 74th United States
Congress and signed into law by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The law created the Social Security
program as well as insurance against unemployment. The law was part of Roosevelt's New Deal domestic
program.
20. Tennessee River Valley Authority- As a federal public power corporation, the TVA serves about 80,000
square miles in the southeastern United States. This area includes most of Tennessee and parts of six
other states – Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia.
21. Securities and Exchange Commission- The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is an independent
agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929.
The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market
22. Hoover Dam-Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the
border between the U.S. states of Nevada and Arizona. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during
the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
23. Repatriation- These were the “repatriation drives,” a series of informal raids that took place around the
United States during the Great Depression. Local governments and officials deported up to 1.8 million
people to Mexico, according to research conducted by Joseph Dunn, a former California state senator.
24. New Deal Legislation- The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great
Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that aimed to restore prosperity to Americans. When
Roosevelt took office in 1933, he acted swiftly to stabilize the economy and provide jobs and relief to
those who were suffering.
25. Great Depression (1929)- The Great Depression was period of worldwide economic depression between
1929 and 1939. The Depression became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The
economic contagion began around September 1929 and led to the Wall Street stock market crash of
October 24.
26. Federal Reserve System- The Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the United States of
America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a
series of financial panics led to the desire for central control of the monetary system in order to alleviate
financial crises.
27. Stock Market Speculation- Speculation is the act of buying or selling assets that have an increased chance
of significant losses. Speculation is common among investors who trade penny stocks and
over-the-counter (OTC) investments. Speculation should be limited to ensure that long-term financial goals
like retirement are not impacted.
28. Bread Line- Breadlines, in which poverty-stricken and hungry Americans queued for free food, were
representative of the increasing unemployment and consequent hunger caused by the Depression.
29. Dust Bowl- The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and
agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a
combination of both natural factors and manmade factors.
30. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(FDIC)- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is one of two
agencies that supply deposit insurance to depositors in American depository institutions, the other being
the National Credit Union Administration, which regulates and insures credit unions.