| A | B |
|---|
| Unregulated bull market, too much buying on credit and a belief of a permanent economic boom | The Stock Market crashed on October 29, 1929 |
| The ability to buy stocks with only a small down payment | enabled many ordinary citizens to join in a speculative Wall Street boom |
| Lack of diversification of the economy, problems in agriculture, flawed banking system, decreased international trade, overproduction, and too much buying on credit | A situation in which the Stock Market Crash is NOT the only cause of the Depression but in fact there are many underlying causes |
| The Hawley-Smoot Tariff is passed in 1930 as the highest tariff in U.S. History | International trade diminishes significantly as other nations retaliate with their own tariffs |
| Hoover's humble origins and rise as a self-made man, and his pro-big business philosophy being a Republican | Hoover opposed direct government handouts, urged "voluntary cooperation" instead of government intervention, and trickle-down economics in the form of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) |
| Hoover's seeming inaction and lack of compassion during the depths of the Depression | Hoover 's popularity falls rapidly and his name become synonymous wit the Great Depression (ex: "Hoovervilles") |
| World War I veterans are not scheduled to receive their pensions until 1945 | The "Bonus Army" of World War I vets march on Washington D.C. demanding their payments in 1933 |
| Hoover using the U.S. Army to disperse the peaceful Bonus Army | Ended any hopes of Hoover being reelected in 1932 |
| FDR contracting polio as an adult | FDR developed a compassion for ordinary people during their hardships and a humility he did not have before |
| Unstable banking system that is not regulated by the federal government | Bank runs and bank closures where people lost all their deposits |
| Drought and reckless dry-farming techniques on the southern Great Plains | The Dust Bowl |
| The economy reaches the depths of the Great Depression in 1932 | Unemployment = 25-33%, banks fail, and general despair |
| FDR likens the Great Depression to a national emergency when he takes office | The President is granted unprecedented peacetime powers and the avalanche of legislation during the Hundred Days is passed |
| FDR's "Bank Holiday" | Calmed some of the panics that led to the bank failures; the # of bank failures declined markedly |
| FDR's inaugural address ("the only thing we have to fear is fear itself") and his fireside chats | Brought an optimism and calming mood to the White House that helped restore faith and confidence in the American people |
| The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) | Created jobs and provided cheap hydroelectric power in one of the most impoverished regions of the country |
| FDR seeing the need for government to provide jobs for the unemployed | Creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), Civil Works Administration (CWA), Public Works Administration (PWA), and later the Works Progress Administration (WPA) |
| John Maynard Keynes' writings on the importance of government deficit spending to stimulate the economy | Provided the New Deal with the philosophical basis for the government trying to spend its way through the Great Depression |
| The farmers' #1 problem being overproduction | The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) is passed to pay farmers NOT to farm |
| Creation of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) | Eliminated the problems of bank runs because the government insures deposits up to a certain amount |
| The lack of federal regulation of the Stock Market | Passage of the Truth-in-Securities Act and creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) |
| The need to find employment for artists, intellectuals, etc. in addition to traditional public works projects (roads, bridges, etc.) | The creation of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) |
| The need for the U.S. to provide pensions for the elderly and a safety net for the blind and disabled | The creation of Social Security |
| Conservative opposition to "socialistic" New Deal programs such as the TVA and NRA | The rise of the American Liberty League |
| Dr. Frances Townsend's proposed $200/month pension for the elderly | Got the momentum going that will eventually lead to the Social Security Act |
| Father Charles Coughlin's anti-FDR and anti-Semitic rants on the radio | Initially got a large following on "The Golden Hour of the Little Flower" but was eventually pulled off the air for going too far |
| Huey P. Long's "Share Our Wealth" program and his personal charisma | Made Long popular and a potential threat to FDR before being assassinated in 1935 |
| FDR's landslide victory in 1936 and the Court striking down New Deal agencies like the AAA and NRA | FDR's plan to pack the Supreme Court with 1 justice fore each over the age of 70 (+ a total of 6 new justices) |
| FDR"s courtpacking scheme | Backlash against FDR and significant decrease in congressional support for the New Deal |
| The Great Depression's impact on women | Decreasing birthrates and a decrease in the # of working women |
| African-Americans' new political power with the Great Migration to the North | FDR and the Democratic Party recruited African-Americas into the "Roosevelt Coalition" to win swing states like Illinois |
| John Collier and the Indian Reorganization Act (1934) | A shift away from the assimilation policies of the Dawes Severalty Act to more Native American self-government and emphasis on tribal culture |
| A need to escape from the Depression and low ticket prices | High attendance at movies and sporting events |
| The Dust Bowl | Migrant laborers from the Great Plains move to California- chronicled in "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck |
| The rise of the "Roosevelt Coalition" of African-Americans, labor, farmers, and urbanites | The Democratic Party dominates from 1932 to 1968 |
| The New Deal | A fundamental restructuring f the role of the federal government that is still evident today |
