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Federal Reserve Act
To establish economic stability in the United States by introducing the Central Bank to oversee monetary policy. -
The Immigration Acts of the 1920s
Imposed quotas on immigrants from Europe but not from Mexico or the rest of the Americas. Mexicans freely entered the US so long as they passed a medical and literacy test and paid a small tax. -
Presidential Election of 1928
Herbert Hoover had conducted a study of American society. He had hoped to use this information to promote national economic development ad to relieve poverty. -
New York Stock Market Crash
Investors lost savings; companies could not sell stocks to raise money; manufacturers closed factories. -
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The Great Depression
Manufacturers were producing more goods than consumers could buy. People were speculating in the stock market and real estate, driving up prices. -
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Hoovervilles
About 100,000 American businesses failed. By 1932, at the end of Hoover's term, unemployment had reached 13 million people - nearly 25% of the nation's workforce. -
The Dust Bowl
A spell of dry weather in the 1930s turned the soil into dust. Many farmers migrated to California. -
"Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
A young lyricist named E.Y. Harburg wrote the song that became the anthem of The Great Depression. -
Identification of the Great Depression with Herbert Hoover
The leader who had once been one of the most respected men in the nation had become one of the most despised. Hoovers name became identified with the Great Depression. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Gave emergency loans to banks and businesses, believing that cheap loans would spur business. He cut taxes, increased federal spending on public projects, and directed a federal agency to buy surplus farm crops. -
Presidential Election 1932
Franklin D. Roosevelt, was nominated as the Democratic candidate in the Presidential election of 1932. He promised Americans a New Deal, to put them back to work. -
Norris- LaGuardia Act
Prohibited the use of injunctions against peaceful strikes. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
She rallied women with her book, Its Up to the Women. She called in them to pull their families through crisis. -
Frances Perkins
She became the first female member of the US Cabinet when she was appointed Secretary of Labor in 1933. -
Federal Emergency Relief Act
Funded state and local governments to provide emergency relief, and enabled millions of people to be hired on "make-work" projects. -
Civilian Conservation Corps
Gave jobs to young men, such as planting trees and cleaning up forests. -
Public Works Administration
Created federal jobs by building public projects such as schools, roads, courts, post offices, and bridges. -
National Recovery Administration
asked businesses to voluntarily follow codes which set standard prices. -
Gold Standard and Fiat Money
Use of the gold standard came to an end in 1933 when President Roosevelt issued an Executive order outlawing the ownership of gold, except for jewelry. -
National Industrial Recovery Act
guaranteed workers the right to form unions. Employers could not refuse to hire union members. It was declared unconstitutional in 1935 and replaced by the Wagner Act -
Work Progress Administration
(WPA) created jobs by hiring artists, writers, and musicians to paint mural, produce plays, and create other artworks. -
Wagner Act
greatly stimulated the unionization of American workers by protecting the right of unions to bargain collectively with their employers. -
"The Harvest Gypsies"
Steinbeck published The Harvest Gypsies", a series of articles first printed in the San Francisco News, based on his own research on migrant workers living in California during the Great Depression -
Roosevelt's Court-Packing Scheme
Roosevelt feared that the Court might declare other New Deal legislation unconstitutional. He believed that the Justices - most of whom were over 70 years old, were out of touch with the needs of the nation. -
Schechter Pultry v. US
the Supreme Court ruled that even during a national crisis, Congress could not give the President more powers than those granted in the Constitution. -
Agricultural Adjustment Acts
In the first "AAA" the government paid farmers to plant less in the hope of increasing crop prices. -
David Kennedy, Freedom from Fear
The central theme throughout is the search for security, amid economic collapse in the 1930s and in face of totalitarian aggression in World War II.