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The New Deal (Parts 1 - 3):

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)

The 32nd President of the United States, who initiated the New Deal to combat the Great Depression. 

Herbert Hoover

The 31st President of the United States, defeated by FDR in the 1932 election. 

New Deal

A series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1939 to provide relief, recovery, and reform during the Great Depression.

Bank Holiday

A temporary closure of all banks, declared by FDR immediately after his inauguration in March 1933, to stop widespread bank runs and stabilize the financial system. 

Bank Holiday

The temporary closure of all U.S. banks by FDR in March 1933 to stop bank runs.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

A U.S. government corporation created in 1933 to provide deposit insurance to depositors in U.S. commercial banks.

Gold Standard

A monetary system where a country's currency is linked to a fixed quantity of gold. FDR took the U.S. off the domestic gold standard to give the government more monetary flexibility.

Deflation

A general decrease in the prices of goods and services, which was a major problem during the Great Depression. 

Money Supply

The total amount of money in circulation in an economy. Leaving the gold standard allowed the Federal Reserve to expand the money supply.

Fiat Currency

A currency not backed by a physical commodity, but by the decree and trust in the government that issues it.

Deflationary Spiral

A severe economic condition where falling prices lead to lower production, lower wages, and lower demand, which then leads to even lower prices.

New Deal

The series of programs and reforms enacted by FDR's administration to combat the Great Depression. 

Public Works

Large-scale infrastructure projects, such as dams, bridges, and schools, funded and constructed by the government.

Fiscal Stimulus

The use of government spending (and sometimes tax cuts) to inject demand into a sluggish economy.

Public Works Administration (PWA)

A New Deal agency that focused on large-scale, heavy construction projects. 

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

The largest New Deal agency, which employed millions of people on a wide range of public works projects.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

A federally owned corporation created to provide economic development to the Tennessee Valley region.

Sources for The New Deal (Part 1): The First Hundred Days

  • "The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope" by Jonathan Alter
  • "FDR" by Jean Edward Smith
  • "The Great Depression" by David M. Kennedy

Sources for The New Deal (Part 2): Reshaping a Financial World

  • "FDR" by Jean Edward Smith
  • "The First New Deal: When FDR Saved Capitalism" by Liza Mundy
  • "A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960" by Milton Friedman and Anna Jacobson Schwartz
  • World History Encyclopedia, "Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation"

Sources for The New Deal (Part 3): Building a Nation

  • "The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope" by Jonathan Alter
  • "FDR" by Jean Edward Smith
  • "The Great Depression" by David M. Kennedy
  • "A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960" by Milton Friedman and Anna Jacobson Schwartz
  • World History Encyclopedia, "Works Progress Administration (WPA)" and "Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)"

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