1. The Great Depression
Chapter 14 Vocab

2. Distribution of Wealth
Uneven
In 1929, the top 5% of all American households earned 30% of the nations income.
About 2/3 of families earned $2500 or less a year.
Many Americans had high debt, finally causing a slowdown in retail manufacturing.

3. Installment Buying
Buying high-cost items by putting a small down payment down, then paying off the rest in monthly installments.

4. Buying on the Margin
Buying stocks by paying a small (10%) down payment, then borrowing the rest from a stockbroker.
If stocks rose, the buyer could easily pay the stockbroker and still make a profit.
If stocks fell, the broker would issue a margin call, and the buyer would have to pay the loan immediately.

5. Black Tuesday/ Stock Market Crash
October 29, 1929
The stock market lost $10-$15 billion dollars.
By November, stock prices had dropped by over 1/3.

6. Dust Bowl
Farmers in the Great Plains had used poor farming methods which deprived the soil of moisture.
Combined with a severe drought, the soil turned to dust.
Winds blew the dust for hundreds of miles, blanketing farms and blackening the skys.

7. “Hoovervilles”
Makeshift shantytowns of tents and shacks built on public land or vacant lots.
The nickname “hooverville” was a jab at President Hoover, who many blamed for the hard times.

8. Bonus Army
A group of World War I veterans who traveled to Washington DC to demand an early payment of the bonus that Congress had promised them.

9. Hawley Smoot Tariff
Raised prices on foreign imports to such a level that they could not compete in the American market.
Effect: caused European countries to enact their own tariffs…disastrous to the global economy.