The Roaring 20’s, The Great Depression and the New Deal Review Guide
The Roaring 20’s
Alcohol in the 20’s:
18th Amendment – prohibition of alcohol
Speakeasy – During the Prohibition Era, they were illicit establishments that illegally sold alcohol. A password
was often required to gain access.
Bootlegger – A person involved with the illegal selling of alcohol, known as bootlegging, during the Prohibition
Era.
African Americans in the 20’s:
Great Migration – A movement of 6 million African-Americans out of the rural Southern United States into the
urban Northeast, Midwest and West that occurred between 1910 and 1970.
Harlem Renaissance – A cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York, spanning the
1920s.
Women in the 20’s:
Flappers – The modern women of the 1920 that were young, rebellious and bold. They would cut their hair
short, wear short dresses to the knees, wear more makeup, and could be found smoking and drinking in public.
19th Amendment – Women’s suffrage (right to vote)
Francis Perkins – The first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet and the longest serving US Secretary of Labor
from 1933 to 1945.
Famous People of the 20’s:
Louis Armstrong – Most popular jazz musician of the 20’s
Charles Lindbergh – First to fly solo, non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean (New York to Paris)
Amelia Earhart – First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean; Disappeared when trying to fly solo around
the world
Scopes/ “Monkey” Trial:
Explanation of Trial– The state of TN passed a law in 1925 that made it illegal to teach evolution (Charles Darwin
theory) in public schools
John T. Scopes – a teacher from Dayton, TN, was chosen by the ACLU to challenge the law
Clarence Darrow – Scopes’ defense attorney
William Jennings Bryan – the prosecutor
The Great Depression
The Great Depression – was an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialized areas of the
world that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939.
President at the beginning of the Depression – Herbert Hoover
Causes of the Great Depression:
1. Unequal distribution of wealth – People were very rich or very poor
2. Installment buying – buyer pays a certain amount down and then pays the rest in installments
(payments) with interest
3. Bank Failures – banks poorly managed, people lost money when their bank closed throughout 20’s
4. Increase in unemployment – new factory machinery required fewer workers
5. High tariffs on foreign goods – decreased competition, which increased prices of certain goods
6. Huge farm surpluses – led to drop in farm prices, many farmers lost farms – no one needed their food
The Stock Market Crash:
Stock Market – A place or system in which stocks, bonds, or other securities are bought and sold. This provides
companies with access to capital in exchange for giving it’s investors a slice of ownership in the company.
Credit – Arrangement where consumers agree to buy now and pay later for purchases, often includes interest
charges
Stock on margin – borrowing money to help pay for the stock
“Black Tuesday” – – On October 29th, 1929, the stock market crashed and investors immediately sold their
stocks in a panic before their stocks became worthless. Between $6 and $9 billion was lost.
Life during the Depression:
Dust Bowl – During the Depression, the Great Plains suffered droughts that caused the region to become so dry
that it was named the “Dust Bowl.”
Hoboes – Homeless people who ride railroads looking for work and food.
“Hoovervilles” – A community of homeless living in small villages made of cardboard boxes and crates; named
“Hoovervilles” because people were disgusted with Hoover after the stock market crash and the failing economy
Bonus Army March – June 1932, 20,000 veterans marched into Washington, D.C., set up camps, and said they
wouldn’t leave until they received their bonus (argued they would put that money back into the economy)
Election of 1932:
Candidates who ran: Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt
What did they promise?
Hoover – “a chicken in every pot”
Roosevelt – a “New Deal”
Who won? – Roosevelt was elected to fix the economy
The New Deal
The New Deal – FDR’s response to the Great Depression was to establish new agencies and programs to help the
people. The goals of the New Deal were “reform,” “relief,” and “recovery.”
Bank Holiday – To restore people’s confidence in banks, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first action as president was to close
every bank in the US for four days to determine which banks were strong and which banks should be closed.
Three R’s of New Deal
Programs Associated with Each
Explanation of Program
Relief
Works Progress Administration
(WPA)
Employed men and women to do public works, research
and artistic projects
Civilian Conservation Corps
(CCC)
Employed young men on public works projects
Agricultural Adjustment
Administration (AAA)
Increased government regulation of crop production and
payments to farmers
Tennessee Valley Authority
(TVA)
Constructed dam and power projects on the Tennessee
River
Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC)
Insured all savings in banks, helped restore confidence in
banks
Social Security Act
Offered safeguards for workers by providing
unemployment benefits and retirement
Explain: Provided direct
payment to people for
immediate help
Recovery
Explain: designed to
bring nation out of
depression over time
Reform
Explain: corrected
unsound banking and
investment practices