| A | B |
|---|
| consumer revolution | Flood of new products available to consumers |
| installment buying | Purchasing a product with a small down payment, and then equal payments over time |
| bull market | An extended period of rising stock prices |
| buying on margin | Borrowing money to buy stock—only works if prices continually rise |
| stock market | The place where shares of a company are bought and sold |
| stock | A share in the ownership of a company, that can be bought or sold |
| rural | The country and people who live there, the opposite of the city. Often used in reference to farm areas |
| Great Depression | The economic crisis that officially began in 1929. A period of high unemployment, low wages, and low stock prices |
| distribution of wealth | A percentage showing how the amount of money in America is divided among Americans. |
| Income gap | The difference between the earned income of the rich and the poor. |
| Herbert Hoover | Republican president who took office in 1928, and was blamed for failing to react to the effects of the Great Depression |
| prosperity | Being successful and making a lot of money |
| speculation | someone buys a product at a low price hoping to make a large profit by selling high (also assuming a large financial risk) |
| Black Tuesday | The day the Stock market fell to its lowest point, wiping out the wealth of many |
| business cycle | The expansion and contraction of the economy over time. |
| bank run | The rush of people (depositors) to withdraw money from a bank out of fear it will close. |
| Hawley Smoot Tariff | Depression era tax on imported goods, aimed to protect American businesses. |
| John Maynard Keynes | Economist who said the government needed to spend more money (go into debt) to help fix the economy |
| bread line | Name given for waiting outside a charity for food handouts |
| commodity | Something bought or sold (ex. Wheat, cattle, beans, hogs) |
| tenant farmer | A farmer who raises crops on rented land |
| Dust Bowl | Area of the country that faced an environmental crisis due to drought and intensive farming |
| Okies | People who were forced to leave the Dust Bowl region in search of a new life. |
