The Great Depression Essay Example for Free

The Great Depression Essay In a Bull Market, the stock market experiences a general rise in prices and stock trading volume for shares over a period of time. While in a Bear Market, the Stock market experiences a general decline in prices of stock. Not all stocks experience a decline in value, but most do. 2) Stock Market Crash- (1929) Plunge in stock market prices that marked the beginning of the Great Depression. 3) New Deal- the historic period (1933-1940) in the U. S. during which President Franklin Roosevelts economic policies were implemented. Three components of the New Deal. The first R was the effort to help the one-third of the population that was hardest hit by the depression, ; included social security and unemployment insurance. The second R was the effort in numerous programs to restore the economy to normal health, achieved by 1937. Finally, the third R let government intervention stabilize the economy by balancing the interests of farmers, business and labor. There was no major anti-trust program. 4) 100 Days- FDR began sending bill after bill to Congress. Between March 9 and June 16, 1933 which came to be called the HUNDRED DAYS. Congress passed 15 major acts to meet the economic crisis setting a pace for new legislation that has never been equaled. Later became known as 1st New Deal. 5) Bank Holiday- closing of banks for four days during the Great Depression, March 6-10. Roosevelt declared this holiday to prelude opening banks on a sounder basis. 6) Dust Bowl- Late in 1933 a prolonged drought struck the states of the trans-Mississippi Great Plains. The resulting dust storms were caused by drought, wind, and dry-farming techniques and mechanization. Tens of thousands of refugees fled their ruined acres. ) Brain Trust- Group of expert policy advisers who worked with FDR in the 1930s to end the great depression. 8) Social Security- guaranteed retirement payments for enrolled workers beginning at age 65; set up federal-state system of unemployment insurance and care for dependent mothers and children, the handicapped, and public health 9) Court Packing- Roosevelts proposal in 1937 to reform the Supreme Court by appointing an additional justice for every justice over age 70; following the Courts actions in striking down major New Deal laws, FDR came to believe that some justices were out of touch with the nations needs. Congress believed Roosevelts proposal endangered the Courts independence and said no. 10) NRA/ â€Å"Blue Eagle†- The National Recovery Administration was designed to assist industry, labor, and the unemployed. Labor, under the NRA, was granted additional benefits. Workers were guaranteed the right to organize and bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing. A blue eagle was described as the symbol of the NRA. 11) SEC- In 1934, Congress took further steps to protect the public against fraud, deception, and inside manipulations. It authorized the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was designed as a watchdog administrative agency. 12) WPA- New Deal program that provided relief to the unemployed in fields such as theater, literature, entertainment, and art. One of the largest alphabet agencies. 13) Herbert Hoover- President of the United States from 1929 to 1933. Republican candidate who assumed the presidency in March 1929 promising the American people prosperity and attempted to first deal with the Depression by trying to restore public faith in the community. 4) Franklin Roosevelt- He was president from 1933-1945 and was elected four times, he led the countrys recovery from the Depression and to victory in World War II. He died in office, however, just weeks before Germanys surrender. He is generally considered the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln. 15) Eleanor Roosevelt- FDRs Wife and New Deal supporter. She was a great supporter of civil rights and opposed the Jim Crow laws. She also worked for birth control and better conditions for working women. 16) Huey Long- Senator of Louisiana, who was said to have more brass than a government mule. He used his abundant rabble-rousing talents to publicize his â€Å"Share Our Wealth† program, which promised to make â€Å"Every Man a King. Every family was to receive $5000, supposedly at the expense of the prosperous. Fear of Long’s becoming a fascist dictator ended when he was shot by an assassin in the Louisiana state capitol in 1935. 17) Isolationism- Abstention from alliances and other international political and economic relations. American foreign policy. It’s what America strives to do in order to keep out of European problems and wars. 8) Appeasement- Policy pursued by the Western democracies towards Nazi Germany, consenting to concessions in which Hitlers demands to annex the German-inhabited Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia were acquiesced to in hopes of achieving peace in our time; although Hitler promised the Sudetenland would be his last territorial claim, he broke this vow only a few months later. 19) Fascism vs. Communism- Fascism is a political s ystem headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and no tolerance of opposition. Communism is a political system characterized by a centrally planned economy with all economic and political power resting in the hands of the central government. 20) Blitzkrieg- Tactics used by Germany in invasion of Poland in 1939. Also called lightning war. Involved a surprise attack, and then overwhelming with force! 21) Pearl Harbor- was the site of an unexpected attack on an American naval fleet by Japanese bombers on December 7, 1941. The United States suffered 3,000 casualties and the loss of several naval and aircrafts. And Congress declared war on Japan the following day, and Italy and France soon after. 2) Midway- (battle) It was a U. S. naval victory over the Japanese fleet in June 1942, in which the Japanese lost four of their best aircraft carriers. It marked a turning point in World War II. 23) D-Day- June 6, 1944 Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops (the largest invasion force in history) stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. It was the turning point of World War II. 24) Japanese Internment- Carried out through Executive Order 9066, which took many Japanese families away from their homes and into internment camp. Motivated (somewhat) by racism and fear of spies. 5) Hiroshima/Nagasaki- The first dropped on August 6, 1945 and the second dropped on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only active deployments of nuclear weapons in war to date. For six months, the United States had made use of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities. US clued for surrender of Japan in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945. The Japanese government ignored this ultimatum. By executive order of President Harry S. Truman, the U. S. dropped the nuclear weapon Little Boy on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August 6, 1945, followed by the detonation of Fat Man over Nagasaki on August 9. 6) Occupation of Japan- Occupied by American army under MacArthur, he carried out his program for the democratization of japan with stunning success. Top Japanese war criminals were tried in Tokyo . The Japanese cooperated to astonishing degree when they saw that good behavior and the adoption of democracy would speed the end of the occupation. a MacArthur-dictated constitution renounced militarism and introduced western-style democratic government paving the way for a phenomenal economic recovery that within a few decades made japan one of worlds mightiest industrial powers. Occupation of Germany- Four zones France in the southwest, Russia in the east, us in the south, and UK in the northeast. Likewise, berlin was split into east and west. This maintained that Germany would be nonaggressive while rebuilding and under allied and Russian control. 28) Douglas MacArthur- (1880-1964), U. S. general. Commander of U. S. (later Allied) forces in the southwestern Pacific during World War II, he accepted Japans surrender in 1945 and administered the ensuing Allied occupation. He was in charge of UN forces in Korea 1950-51, before being forced to relinquish command by President Truman. 29) Dwight D. Eisenhower- Supreme Commander of the US Forces in Europe during World War II; became president and during his two terms presided over the economically prosperous 1950s. He was praised for his dignity and decency, though criticized for not being more assertive on civil rights 30) Admiral Yamamoto- Japanese admiral who planned Pearl Harbor Attack. Japan stealthily came in from the North.