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Herbert Hoover Takes Office
He tried to guide America on the right path and tell them that everything is ok and try to be optimistic. However, everyone pegged him as the bad guy because things started to turn for the worse when he came into office when really it was all starting before then. Hoover was a humanitarian who put great faith in the power of reason. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
Hoover's idea to help fix things. It authorized up to $2 billion for banks, life insurance, railroads, and large businesses. He thought that by doing this it would eventually make its way down to the average citizen. However it only seemed to be benefiting the corporations while the poor just sat and waited. -
The Bonus Army
A group of veterans from WWI who were still waiting for their bonus. They were sick of waiting so they formed together to invade the capital in order to get their money.There were about 1,000 veterans in total who gassed their way through thousands of people. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected
Roosevelt was elected to hopefully change the way things were going during the depression. He was the only president to ever serve 4 terms in a row. In his first election he beat out Hoover by a whopping 23 million votes to 16 million. Sadly, he suffered from a terrible disease called polio and had to live his life from a wheelchair. -
Hitler Takes Power
Hitler was basically like another Mussolini. After WWI he was a wandering soldier who eventually found the Nazi Party. Intrigued by their ideas he became the leader of this party and brought the idea of Nazism back to Germany. It was an extreme of nationalism and Hitler dreamed of one day getting all of the German-speaking people under one empire. Enforced "purification". -
The New Deal
This was a program made by Roosevelt to decrease the problems of the Great Depression. Its name came from a speech roosevelt had made stating that "a new deal for the American people". This deal's policies/goals included relief for the needy, economic recovery, and financial reform. -
The Dust Bowl
Included the states of Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and Colorado. These states were hit the hardest from the peltering winds. They came all the way from plains to the east coast cities. It was a huge sand storm that completely ruined farmland which led to many farmers becoming broke. -
Father Coughlin attacks FDR
A Roman Catholic priest who broadcast radio sermons with economical, political, and religious ideas. He was originally a supporter of The New deal so he easily turned against Roosevelt. Got a radio audience as big as 40-45 million people. -
Indian Reorganization Act
It moved official policy away from assimilation and toward Native American autonomy. This act also stopped supporting the Native Americans and changed the federal policy while helping the government get away from the Great Depression. -
Social Security
Part of the New Deal that said that the federal government accepted some of the responsibility for the citizens welfare. It helped many Americans receive assistance. Just like the act, it is made up of 3 groups. -
Social Security Act
This act is what created social security and was split into 3 major parts. These groups were insurance for seniors over 65 years old and their spouses, the unemployment compensation system, and aid to families who have disabled.It was not a pension system, but it still provided great benefits to lots of Americans. -
Neutrality Acts
A series of acts that tried to keep the United States out of future wars. The first 2 acts banned arms sales or loans to nations at war. The 3rd act extaended the ban on arms sales and loans to nations in civil wars due to them fighting with Spain. -
GM Sit-Down Strike
The workers were sick of not getting what they wanted from their employer so they decided to fight back. One day they came into work and just sat around doing nothing. They said they would start moving once they got what they wanted. -
Rape of Nanking
The rape of Nanking took place after the Japanese took over the city of Nanjing. It was basically a mass murder on the people there due to feuds. It led to hundreds of thousands of Chinese people dying and nearly 80,000 women were raped by the Japanese Army. Lasted for about six weeks. -
The Grapes of Wrath
A novel published by one of the country's most famous authors John Steinbeck. He was assisted by the Federal Writers' Project. This story told about the lives of Oklahomans who left the Dust Bowl and went all the way to California. Also included all of the hardships they faced.
