The Great Depression Flashcards

Grade 11 · Social Studies · Flashcards

Essential terms for mastering the Great Depression and the New Deal.

Flashcards

Black Tuesday (Oct. 29, 1929)

The worst single-day stock market crash in US history; marked the beginning of the Great Depression.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff (1930)

Protectionist law that raised tariffs on 20,000+ imports; triggered retaliation and collapsed global trade, deepening the Depression.

Hoovervilles

Shantytowns of makeshift housing built by homeless Americans; sarcastically named after President Hoover.

Bank run

Mass withdrawal of deposits by panicking customers; caused thousands of bank failures between 1930 and 1933.

New Deal

FDR's 1933–1938 relief, recovery, and reform programs; permanently expanded the federal government's role in the economy.

FDIC

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (1933) — insures bank deposits to prevent bank runs and protect savings.

CCC

Civilian Conservation Corps — employed 3 million young men in conservation projects; combined relief with environmental work.

Social Security Act (1935)

Created old-age pensions, unemployment insurance, and welfare programs; foundation of the modern US safety net.

Wagner Act (1935)

Guaranteed workers the legal right to join unions and bargain collectively; tripled union membership in following years.

Dust Bowl

Mid-1930s catastrophe in the Great Plains: drought + destructive farming = massive dust storms that displaced hundreds of thousands of 'Okies.'

Rugged individualism

Hoover's belief that Americans should rely on themselves and private charity rather than government relief — seen as inadequate during the Depression.

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