C34 - The Great Depression and the New Deal 1933-1939

Question 1

Public Works Administration

Answer 1

Formed through New Deal laws. Responsible for public projects. Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River was one example - largest structure built by humans since the Great Wall of China.

Question 2

The “three R’s”

Answer 2

Relief, recovery and reform - the 3 Rs of Roosevelt’s New Deal. The 1st 2 Rs were short-term goals. Reform=the long-term goal.

Question 3

Securities and Exchange Commission

Answer 3

Formed in 1934 by Congress. Became the watchdog agency over publicly-traded companies. Company owners were legally required to give honest financial info. about their companies so that investors would know about stocks that they bought. This was a way to protect consumers/stock purchasers/investors.

Question 4

Committee for Industrial Organizations

Answer 4

Labor Union group that ended up organizing the auto industry.

Question 5

Roosevelt Coalition

Answer 5

FDR’s political model and a new idea: Forming a coalition of support between the Democratic party, minorities, labor unions and citiy/local government leaders to get more support during elections.

This model worked to keep Democrats in power for decades.

Question 6

National Recovery Act

Answer 6

New deal law: Created minimum wage laws, rules that shortened the work day (to make room for more people to have jobs @ fewer hours).

Question 7

Frances Perkins

Answer 7

FDR’s Secretary of Labor. She was the 1st female cabinet member.

Question 8

Works Progress Administration

Answer 8

Congress formed in 1935 to employ people at government-funded public works projects like road building, bridge building, etc.

Question 9

Harry Hopkins

Answer 9

FDR made him leader of the Federal Emergency Relief Admin. that gave states $ to distribute to people.

Question 10

Brain Trust

Answer 10

Group of college professors and intellectuals who wrote most of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speeches, and later wrote most of the New Deal laws.

Question 11

Liberty League

Answer 11

Group formed in 1934 as a political conservative opposition group…opposing FDR and New Deal laws…worried that New Deal laws would lead to socialism.

Herbert Hoover was a backer of the Liberty League.

Question 12

Glass-Steagall act

Answer 12

1933: Banking reform, which created the FDIC (federal deposit insurance corporation) This insured people’s bank deposits so that if a bank failed, depositors would not lose all of their $.

Question 13

Harold Ickes

Answer 13

Leader of the Public Works Administration.

Question 14

Agricultural Adjustment Act

Answer 14

New Deal law that had the federal government paying farmers to produce less, with the goal of inflating or increasing prices. The $ to pay the farmers came from a tax placed on processors (like millers who milled flour). These processors then passed that increase on to consumers.

In 1936, the Supreme Court killed this law by saying it was unconstitutional.

Question 15

boondoggling

Answer 15

Referred to the act of working very slowly or not at all. FDR’s programs gave public jobs to some people just to get them employed…even if there was not much work to do. “make work” jobs.

Question 16

Hundred Days

Answer 16

1933: Starting in March, 1933 - the first hundred days of the new Presidency under FDR and the new Democrat-majority Congress.

FDR demanded and Congress passed without much discussion many New Deal laws.

Question 17

Twentieth and Twenty-first amendments

Answer 17

20th Amendment made the President’s term begin in January instead of March. Shortened the “lame duck” time between an election and the day a President is inaugurated.

21st Amendment - reversed Prohibition and made alcohol legal again.

Question 18

Tennessee Valley Authority

Answer 18

New Deal law that formed this government agency, which was responsible for projects that would conserve water (through dam building), create cheap power (by harnessing power from the water - hydroelectric) and employ many desperately poor unemployed people.

Cities were allowed to grow in the areas where power was available and people were working.

This project was confined to TN and did not go nationwide, because there were many critics of the idea of government having this kind of wide-ranging power.

Question 19

Huey Long

Answer 19

Senator who used the misery and widespread feelings of discontent to make huge unrealistic promises to citizens…just to get support. Said he would take from the rich and give to the poor and make “Every Man a King”. He was killed in 1935.

Question 20

Father Coughlin

Answer 20

Catholic priest who spoke out loudly against FDR’s New Deal. He became anti-Semetic and so over the top, that the Catholic Church silenced him.

Question 21

Dust Bowl

Answer 21

Late 1933. A prolonged drought and high winds caused topsoil and dust to blow around. People wore face masks as they watched all of the topsoil from their farms blow away.

Question 22

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Answer 22

Became President in 1933. Distant cousin of Theodore Roosevelt.

Handsome and well-liked - one of the best public speakers (orators) of the time. He was charming both on the public stage and in private…which helped him to get his ideas accepted.

Wife= Eleanor Roosevelt - very helpful in getting him elected, first as Governor of NY and then as President. She was very well-liked and influential. Their own relationship rocky at times due to his infidelity.

His speeches and plans were often very vague. Much of the writing of the actual laws was left to the Brain Trust - a team that was in favor of very progressive reforms.

Said “The Only Thing we have to fear is fear itself”.

Promised a “New Deal” for the American people.

His charming personality combined with the nation’s desperation due to the Great Depression to give him a big win for the White House.

He did not always lead with a plan in mind…governed “off the cuff”.

Question 23

Social Security Act

Answer 23

1935. This law was the greatest victory of the New Dealers. Gave a federal check to old-age Americans and some with disabilities. It also gave unemployment benefits to those out of work.

This was paid for by a new payroll tax.

Republicans very strongly against this move…saying that it encouraged people to not work so they could get free benefits/$.

Question 24

New Deal

Answer 24

Laws passed by Congress during the first 100 days of FDRs presidency. Included laws dealing with unemployment insurance, old age insurance, minimum wage laws, conservation/natural resources, restrictions on Child labor.

Some examples of New Deal laws: Creating the FDIC, monetary policies which took the US off of the Gold Standard (goal was inflation). Also the CCC was created.

Question 25

National Labor Relations Board

Answer 25

1935 law passed by Congress. Formed a pro-labor agency. Re-asserted the right of Labor Unions to organize and bargain collectively.

Question 26

Francis Townsend

Answer 26

Retired Dr. who talked about a plan to give every senior citizen a monthly check.

Question 27

Federal Housing Authority

Answer 27

Formed by FDR in 1934. The FHA was very popular. It gave loans to people who wanted to improve/build homes.

Question 28

George W. Norris

Answer 28

NE Senator who pushed for the TVA. There was a Dam named after him.

Question 29

John L. Lewis

Answer 29

Leader of the Labor Union CIO

Question 30

parity

Answer 30

Idea dealing with fair pay to Farmers for their crops.

Question 31

Eleanor Roosevelt

Answer 31

First lady - wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt. A very active first lady. Well loved.

Question 32

Court-packing scheme

Answer 32

1937: FDR announced a plan to ask Congress to pass a law that would allow him to appoint extra Supreme Court Justices. He came up with the idea because he knew he had pushed through many of his New Deal reforms, but some had been struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

He wanted to push even more of his reforms and planned to “pack” the Supreme Court with justices that would be loyal to him.

This caused great public outcry. Many thought FDR wanted to become dictator.

Question 33

Wagner Act

Answer 33

AKA: NLRB act.

Question 34

Alfred M. Landon

Answer 34

1936 Republican Presidential candidate running against Democrat FDR.

Question 35

Schechter case

Answer 35

1935 Supreme Court case. Held that Congress should not delegate its law-making power to the President. Also said that Federal govt. could not control a local business.

Question 36

Civilian Conservation Corps

Answer 36

CCC: 1933 as part of New Deal laws. Created this program to employ around 3 million men to do natural resources work like forest fire fighting, flood control, etc.

Question 37

John Steinbeck

Answer 37

Author. Winner of Nobel Peace Prize for Literature. He had spent time employed under one of the New Deal programs.

1939: wrote Grapes of Wrath…stories about people driven from their homes (migrants) due to the Dust Bowl.

Question 38

G.M. sit-down strike

Answer 38

1936. Auto workers used this technique to strike against GM (sitting in prevented the company from bringing in replacement workers).

Finally GM did recognize this new labor union.

Question 39

John Maynard Keynes

Answer 39

British economist who believed in planned “deficit” (debt) spending in order to stimulate the economy.

“Keynesian-ism” became the new economic thinking for several decades then.

Question 40

Justice Roberts

Answer 40

Formerly conservative Justice who began ruling on the side of more liberal justices.

Question 41

Roosevelt Recession

Answer 41

Another deep economic downturn in 1937. Caused partly by FDRs policies. Social Security and other taxes were a big drag on the economy.