Hawley-Smoot tariff
It was a 1930's import tax, the highest in history of the U.S. designed to keep out cheaper European goods.
Black Tuesday
October 29, 1929; the day the stock market crashed.
Hooverville
The shanty towns built by homeless people during the Great Depression.
Dow Jones Industrial Average
An average of all the stock prices of major industries.
Business cycle
The periodic growth and contraction of a nation's economy.
Dust Bowl
Region of the Great Plains that experienced a drought in 1930 lasting for a decade, leaving many farmers without work or substantial wages.
Twenty-first-Amendment
The amendment that repealed prohibition.
Dorothea Lange
United States photographer remembered for her portraits of rural workers during the Depression (1895-1965)
Eleanor Roosevelt
She was the wife of Franklin Roosevelt and a strong advocate of human rights. (1884-1962)
John Maynard-Keynes
British economist who argued that for a nation to recovery fully from a depression, the govt had to spend money to encourage investment and consumption.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Democratic candidate who won the 1932 election by a landslide. He refused to uphold any of Hoover's policies with the intent on enacting his own. He pledged a present a "New Deal" (its specific meaning ambiguous at the time to the American people) to the
Douglas MacArthur
The American General who used force to drive out the Bonus Army marchers who stayed in Washington. He would later gain fame for his leadership in WWII.
1932 presidential election
Served as a turning point in the way Americans viewed the responsibility of the federal government.
Great Crash
The collapse of the American stock market in 1929, causing the Great Depression.
Great Depression
The economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929, and continuing through the 1930s.
Penny Auction
Farm auctions during the Great Depression at which neighbors saved each others property from foreclosure by bidding low.
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Congress set up $2 billion., It made loans to major economic institutions such as banks, insurance companies and railroads.
Bonus Army
Group of WWI vets that marched to D.C. in 1932 to demand the immediate payment of their goverment war bonuses in cash.
Grapes of Wrath
John Steinbeck's novel about a struggling farm family during the Great Depression. It gave a face to the violence and exploitation that migrant farm workers faced in America.
Farm Security Administration
It lent money to sharecroppers and tenant farmers to help them buy their own farms. It also established camps for migrant workers.
New Deal
The name of President Roosevelt's economic programs for getting the United States out of the depression.
Will Rogers
United States humorist remembered for his homespun commentary on politics and American society. (1879-1935)
Calvin Coolidge
He was elected Vice President and succeeded as 30th President of the United States when Harding died in 1923. (1872-1933)
Henry Ford
United States manufacturer of automobiles who pioneered mass production. (1863-1947)
Babe Ruth
American Major League baseball player thought to be the greatest baseball player in history. His home run hitting prowess and charismatic personality made him a larger than life figure in the "Roaring Twenties".
20th Amendment
It changed the date presidents took office from March 4th to January 20th. Changed start of Congress to January 3rd. It put an end to the Lame Duck period.
Boulder Dam
Also called Hoover Dam. A dam on the Colorado River built during the Great Depression as part of a public-works program indented to stimulate buisness and provide jobs.
Hobo Symbols
Symbols written on sidewalks, fences, or buildings as a form of communication for the homeless. It let others know where to sleep, get a meal, or find work during the depression.
Herbert Hoover
He was the 31st U.S. President who was in office during the stock market crash of 1929, and took most of the blame. He believed the way to save the economy was by increasing public confadence in the economy.
Empire State Building
The tallest building in the world at the time, this skyscraper designed by John J. Raskob was a symbol of hope during the Depression and a promise of an eventual return to prosperity, with its 102 stories and gleaming lights.
Colateral
An item of value that a borrower agrees to forfeit to the lender if the they cannot repay the loan.
Monopoly
A board game created by Charles B. Darrow, during the Great Depression. The game was made as a way for people to get their minds off their troubles and pretend to be rich for a little while.