Question | Answer |
price support | support of certain price levels at or above market values by the government |
credit | an arrangement in which a buyer pays later for a purchase, often on an installment plan with interest charges |
speculation | an involvement in risky business transactions in an effort to make a quick or large profit |
buying on margin | the purchasing of stocks by paying only a small percentage of the price and borrowing the rest |
Black Tuesday | a name given to October 29,1929 when stock prices fell sharply |
Great Depression | a period, lasting from 1929 to 1941, in which the US economy was in severe decline and millions of Americans were unemployed |
Dow Jones Industrial Average | a measure based on the prices of the stocks of 30 large companies, widely used as a barometer of the stock market's health |
Dust Bowl | the region, extending from Texas to North Dakota, that was made worthless for farming by drought & dust storms during the 1930's |
shantytown | a neighborhood in which people live in shacks |
soup kitchens | a place where free food is served to the needy |
bread line | a line of people waiting for free food |
direct relief | the giving of money or food by the government directly to needy people |
Herbert Hoover | 31st US President, Republican, in office during the start of the Great Depression |
Boulder Dam | a project designed to jump-start the economy & add jobs, located on the Colorado River & initiated by Herbert Hoover |
Reconstruction Finance Corporation | an agency established in 1932 to provide emergency financing to banks, oife insurance companies, railroads, and other large businesses |
Bonus Army | a group of unemployed WWI vets & their families who marched on Washington DC in 1932 to demand the immediate payment of a bonus they had been promised for military service |
Franklin Delano Roosevelt | 32nd US President,Democrat, supported direct relief, "New Deal" |
New Deal | FDR's program to alleviate the problems of the Great Depression, focusing on relief for the needy, economic recovery, & financial reform |
Civilian Conservation Corps | an agency, established as part of the New Deal, that put young unemployed men to work building roads, developing parks, planting trees, & helping in erosion control and flood control projects |
Huey Long | Originally supported New Deal, but later opposed Roosevelt. Formed Share Our Wealth program. Was assassinated. |
Eleanor Roosevelt | First Lady. Social reformer, advocate for rights of the poor, women, & minorities |
Works Progress Administration | an agency established as part of the New Deal that provided the unemployed with jobs in construction, garment making, teaching, the arts, & other fields |
National Youth Administration | an agency that provided young Americans with aid & employment during the Great Depression |
deficit spending | a government's spending of more money than it receives in revenue |
National Labor Relations Board | an agency created in 1935 to prevent unfair labor practices and to mediate disputes between workers and management |
parity | a government supported level for the prices of agricultural products, intended to keep farmers' income steady |
Securities and Exchange Commission | (1934)an agency that monitors the stock market and enforces laws regulating the sale of stocks and bonds |
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation(FDIC) | (1933) agency created to insure individuals' bank accounts, protecting people against losses due to bank failures |
Tennessee Valley Authority(TVA) | (1933) a federal corporation established to construct dams and power plants in the Tennessee Valley region |
Federal Home Loan Act | law that lowered home mortgage rates and allowed farmers to refinance their loans and avoid foreclosure |
Glass-Steagall Banking Act | law that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp(FDIC) to protect individuals' bank accounts |
Federal Securities Act | a law that required corporations to provide complete accurate information on all stock offerings |
Agriculture Adjustment Act | law enacted to raise crop prices by paying farmers to leave a certain amout of their land unplanted, thus lowering production |
National Industrial Recovery Act | law enacted to establish codes of fair practice for industries and to promote industrial growth |
Wagner Act | (aka National Labor Relations Act)-enacted to protect workers' rights after the Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional |
Social Security Act | enacted to provide aid to retirees, the unemployed, people with disabilities, and dependent mothers and children |