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Hoovervilles
A shantytown built by unemployed and destitute people during the Depression of the early 1930's. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, formally United States Tariff Act of 1930, also called Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, U.S. legislation that raised import duties to protect American businesses and farmers, adding considerable strain to the international economic climate of the Great Depression. -
100,000 Banks have failed
It was a different story eighty years ago when millions of Americans lost their savings when the banks failed. From October, 2929 till the end of 1932, over 10,000 U.S. banks disappeared. Rutherford County’s largest and oldest bank, First National Bank of Murfreesboro, was among the casualties. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was in office for an unprecedented four terms, led the United States through two of its greatest crises, the Great Depression and World War II. The extravagance of the Roaring Twenties came to an abrupt end in 1929 with the crash of the stock market. (1033-1945) -
Agriculture Adjustment Administration (AAA)
In summary, in the early 1930s, to confront the twin problems of low prices and over-production, the Agricultural Adjustment Acts aimed to pay farmers not to plant. This approach, federal officials argued, would reduce production and thus raise crop prices and increase farmers' income. -
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent federal agency insuring deposits in U.S. banks and thrifts in the event of bank failures. The FDIC was created in 1933 to maintain public confidence and encourage stability in the financial system through the promotion of sound banking practices. -
Public Works Administration (PWA)
It built large-scale public works such as dams, bridges, hospitals, and schools. Its goals were to spend $3.3 billion in the first year, and $6 billion in all, to provide employment, stabilize purchasing power, and help revive the economy. Most of the spending came in two waves in 1933-35, and again in 1938. -
New Deals Programs
Later, a second New Deal was to evolve; it included union protection programs, the Social Security Act, and programs to aid tenant farmers and migrant workers. ... By 1939, the New Deal had run its course. In the short term, New Deal programs helped improve the lives of people suffering from the events of the depression. (1933-38) -
Social Security Administration (SSA)
This Act provided for unemployment insurance, old-age insurance, and means-tested welfare programs. The Great Depression was clearly a catalyst for the Social Security Act of 1935, and some of its provisions—notably the means-tested programs—were intended to offer immediate relief to families. -
Dust Bowel
An area of land where vegetation has been lost and soil reduced to dust and eroded, especially as a consequence of drought or unsuitable farming practice.
