U.S. Presidents: Hoover vs. Roosevelt

Herbert Hoover Presidency

• Served as the 31st U.S. president (1929-1933), facing the onset of the Great Depression.
• Believed in "rugged individualism," minimizing government intervention.
• Oversaw the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, which worsened the economic crisis.
• Initiated the Hoover Dam project to create jobs, but it was insufficient to halt the Depression's impact.

Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal

• 32nd president (1933-1945), responding to the Great Depression with the New Deal.
• Focused on "the three R's": Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
• Relief: Provided immediate aid to the unemployed and impoverished through programs like the CCC, WPA, and FERA.
• Recovery: Revitalized the economy through initiatives supporting industries and agriculture (e.g., AAA, NRA).
• Reform: Prevented future economic collapses by implementing financial reforms (e.g., Glass-Steagall Act, SEC, and Social Security).
• New Deal Impact: Ushered a shift from laissez-faire policies to greater government intervention. Fireside Chats boosted public confidence in his leadership.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

• Aimed to stabilize crop prices by reducing production through subsidies (paying farmers).
• Controversially destroyed surplus crops and livestock.
• The AAA was initially ruled unconstitutional (1936) later modified programs were implemented.
• Early governmental intervention in regulating agriculture.

National Recovery Administration (NRA)

• Encouraged voluntary fair codes in businesses (setting wages, prices, and hours).
• Symbolized by the blue eagle.
• Ruled unconstitutional (1935) for exceeding federal power over commerce.
• Early attempt at federal economic planning had limited long-term success.

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

• Created jobs and improved infrastructure in the Tennessee Valley, a region suffering poverty.
• Built dams to control flooding, generating electricity, and boosting local economic development.
• Faced criticism for displacing residents and creating government monopolies in utilities.
• Demonstrated federal intervention in regional development.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

• Employed millions in public works projects (roads, schools, bridges).
• Supported cultural projects (artists, writers, musicians).
• Provided short-term jobs to combat unemployment during the Great Depression.
• Created lasting public infrastructure, though critics pointed to inefficiency.

Social Security Act (1935)

• Established pensions for the elderly, unemployment insurance, and disability benefits.
• Funded through payroll taxes.
• Key component of America's social safety net, though excluded certain groups initially.

Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)

• Organized industrial workers regardless of skill level or trade.
• Pushed for better wages and working conditions.
• Instrumental in labor rights movements, particularly successful sit-down strikes.
• Merged with the AFL to form the modern AFL-CIO.

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

• Created federal minimum wage and 40-hour workweek.
• Outlawed oppressive child labor.
• Standardized wage and hour regulations across industries.
• Provided a foundation for modern labor laws.

Critics of Roosevelt's New Deal

• Figures like Father Charles Coughlin, Huey Long, and Francis Townsend voiced criticisms and alternative solutions.

America First Committee

• Isolationist group opposed U.S. entry into WWII.
• Included prominent figures like Charles Lindbergh.
• Disbanded after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Double V Campaign

• WWII-era campaign for victory abroad against fascism and victory at home against racism.
• Highlighted the hypocrisy of fighting for freedom abroad while facing inequality at home.
• Led to important efforts like Executive Order 8802.

Bracero Program

• Agreement between the U.S. and Mexico to recruit Mexican laborers during WWII.
• Workers faced poor working conditions and low wages; crucial to the U.S. agricultural sector.
• Program lasted until 1964.

Zoot Suit Riots

• Racial violence in Los Angeles between U.S. servicemen and Mexican American youth.
• Originating in racial tensions and the "zoot suit" clothing style.
• Highlighted racial tensions during WWII.

Japanese Internment

• Forced relocation and incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.
• Driven by racial prejudice and fear of espionage after Pearl Harbor.
• Ruled constitutional in Korematsu v. United States, later recognized as a grave injustice.

Birth of Cold War

• Tensions between the U.S. and Soviet Union after WWII, escalating global issues.
• Truman Doctrine: Provided aid to countries resisting communism.
• Marshall Plan: Economic aid to rebuild Western Europe.
• Berlin Airlift: Supplied West Berlin, challenging the Soviet Union.
• NATO: Military alliance against Soviet aggression.
• Korean War: Conflict to prevent communist expansion.

Containment

• U.S. strategy to prevent the spread of communism during the Cold War by resisting expansion.
• George Kennan advocated this strategy.
• Led to policies like the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan; shaped U.S. foreign policy.

Red and Lavender Scares

• Red Scare: Fear of communist infiltration in government, society, and led by Senator McCarthy.
• Lavender Scare: Persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals in government, due to suspicions of security risks.

CIA Coups

• Covert operations to overthrow foreign governments seen as threats or communist allies.
• Notably in Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954), and Vietnam.

Brown v. Board of Education

• Supreme Court decision (1954) declaring state-sponsored segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
• Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson; landmark victory for Civil Rights.

Civil Rights Groups

• CORE, SNCC, and SCLC — key organizations and strategies of the Civil Rights Movement, using non-violent direct action.

Civil Rights Protests

• Marches on Washington, Freedom Rides, and sit-ins—all protested segregation and discrimination.

Betty Friedan

• Author of "The Feminine Mystique," highlighting women's dissatisfaction with traditional roles.
• Co-founder of NOW (National Organization for Women), advocating for gender equality.

Great Society

• Lyndon B. Johnson's domestic policy agenda, focused on eliminating poverty and inequality.
• Included Medicare, Medicaid, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and other social programs.

Vietnam War

• Escalated during Kennedy and Johnson's presidencies, fueled by containment efforts.

Kerner Report

• Investigated urban riots, finding systemic racism, poverty, and segregation as contributing factors.
• Recommended programs to alleviate racial disparities.

Port Huron Statement

• Manifest by SDS, criticized racism, inequality, and the Vietnam War, advocating for participatory democracy.

Richard Nixon

• Advocated for the "Silent Majority," and faced economic problems with stagflation.
• Resigned following the Watergate scandal.

Reaganomics

• Economic policies focused on tax cuts, deregulation, and reduced social programs. Increased wealth inequality.

Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)

• Reagan's proposed missile defense system (nicknamed "Star Wars"), aiming to counter Soviet attacks.

Mikhail Gorbachev

• Soviet leader who implemented glasnost and perestroika, easing Cold War relations.

Gulf War (1990-1991)

• U.S.-led coalition drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait, an early example of modern military intervention.

Neoliberalism/Globalization

• Economic policy emphasizing free markets, privatization, and globalization, leading to global trade expansions and criticism.

Hurricane Katrina (2005)

• Hurricane that devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Exposing inefficiencies in disaster response.

Great Recession (2008)

• Global financial crisis triggered by the U.S. housing market collapse and leading to widespread unemployment.

Affordable Care Act (2010)

• Expanded healthcare coverage, mandated insurance, and protected pre-existing conditions. Obama's signature policy.

Explore the contrasting presidencies of Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Great Depression. This quiz examines Hoover's minimal government intervention and Roosevelt's New Deal policies aimed at recovery and reform. Test your knowledge on key events and initiatives from both administrations.