Great Depression
Vocabulary
CHAPTERS 9 AND 10
Stock Market
 A system for buying and
selling stocks in
corporations
Bull Market
 A long period of rising
stock price
Margin
 Buying a stock by paying
only a fraction of the
stock price and
borrowing the rest
Margin Call
 Demand by a broker that
investors pay back loans
made for stocks
purchased on margin
Speculation
 The act of buying stocks
at great risk with the
anticipation that the
prices will rise
Bank Run
 Persistent and heavy
demand by a bank’s
depositors, creditors, or
customers to withdraw
money
Public Works
 Projects such as
highways, parks, and
libraries with public
funds for public use
Foreclose
 To take possession of a
property from a
mortgagor because of
defaults on payments
New Deal
A series of programs, public
work projects, and
financial reforms enacted
by President Roosevelt to
recover from the Great
Depression
Gold Standard
 A monetary standard in
which one ounce of gold
equals a set number of
dollars
Bank Holiday
 Closing of banks during
the Great Depression to
avoid bank runs
Fireside Chats
 Radio broadcasts made
by FDR to the American
people to explain his
initiatives
Deficit Spending
 Government practice of
spending borrowed
money rather than
raising taxes, usually in
an attempt to boost the
economy
Sit-Down Strike
 A method of boycotting
work by sitting down at
work and refusing to
leave the establishment
Court-Packing
 The act of changing the
political balance of the
Supreme Court by
appointing judges who
will rule in his or her
favor