This definitions covers Key Terms within FDR and the 1932 Election for GCSE History. Revise FDR and the 1932 Election in America 1920-1973 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 5 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 6 of 11 in this topic. Make sure you can use the exact wording confidently, because definition marks are often lost through vague language.
Topic position
Section 6 of 11
Practice
10 questions
Recall
5 flashcards
📖 Key Terms
- New Deal
- Franklin Roosevelt's programme of government action to tackle the Great Depression, based on three principles: Relief (immediate help for the unemployed), Recovery (getting the economy working again), and Reform (changing the system to prevent another crash). It represented a complete break from Hoover's "rugged individualism" — the government would actively intervene to help its citizens.
- Rugged individualism
- Herbert Hoover's philosophy that Americans should look after themselves without government handouts. He believed direct relief would make people dependent on the state and undermine American self-reliance. This ideology prevented him from responding effectively to the Depression and contributed heavily to his 1932 election defeat.
- Bonus Army (1932)
- Around 20,000 WW1 veterans who marched to Washington DC in June 1932 demanding early payment of a military bonus that had been promised for 1945. When Hoover ordered the army (under General MacArthur) to disperse them using tanks and tear gas, the resulting images destroyed whatever remained of his public support.
- Fireside Chats
- A series of radio broadcasts by President Roosevelt in which he spoke directly to American families in a conversational, reassuring tone about government policies. The name came from the idea of families gathered around their fireplace listening to the radio. They were enormously effective in building public trust and explaining New Deal policies.
- Hooverville
- A shantytown of makeshift shelters built by homeless, unemployed Americans who blamed Hoover for their suffering. They appeared across America from 1930 onwards. The name was a deliberate insult — a symbol of how ordinary Americans held Hoover responsible for failing them.
- Electoral votes
- In US elections, each state has a number of electoral votes based on its population. The candidate who wins a state takes all its electoral votes. FDR won 472 electoral votes to Hoover's 59 — one of the most lopsided victories in American presidential history.