1920's economic boom and intolerance Flashcards
What factors caused the economic boom?
Mass production Electricity Impact of ww1 Policies of Republican presidents Buying on the margin and prosperity in the stock market Construction New products due to electricity and new materials New industries Credit
Give an example of a new industry?
Car industry- Henry Ford produced one Model T every 10 seconds by the 1920’s. Cars affordable due to mass production driving prices down and credit allowing people to buy items and pay for them over time.
What industries didn’t benefit from the economic boom?
Farming
Natural resources
Old clothing industry (cotton farms)
Why didn’t Farming benefit from the economic boom?
Farming overproduction as they continued to produce as much as they did during ww1 for Europe. Also, competition from Canada, drove prices down and smaller farms out of business.
Small farms couldn’t afford machinery and farms industrialised and mechanised.
Big farms take over land.
What were the advantages of electricity in the 1920’s?
Enabled large buildings and offices (construction)
Powered mass production
Helped develop new consumer goods (vacuum cleaners)
What effect did industrialisation have on the economic boom?
Enabled mass production and products could be produced much quicker and machines replaced humans in the factories. Also, makes production cheaper.
Made smaller farms go bust as they couldn’t afford to industrialise (combine harvesters) therefore big farms took over the farming industry.
What policy did the Republican’s adopt in the 1920’s on the international front, and how was this beneficial to the economic boom?
Isolationism.
The Fordney-McCumber Tariff made American goods much cheaper than non American goods in the USA, as a heavy import tax was put in imported goods. Therefore, Americans brought more American goods, which helped to boom the American economy.
Also helped to created the red scare.
Americans also were scared that old world problems would interfere with the new world, therefore they didn’t want to have to interfere in the old world (Europe).
What policies did the Republican’s adopt in the USA in the 1920’s?
Laissez faire approach to business
Rugged individualism
Fordney-McCumber tariff to make American goods considerably cheaper than imported goods in the US.
Prohibition
Migration policies in response to the Red Scare.
When was prohibition enforced?
1st January 1920 as the 18th amendment, along with the Volstead Act. Due to pressure from the Anti-Saloon League and Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
What did prohibition outlaw?
The production, transportation, and selling of alcohol.
How was prohibition enforced?
4000 prohibition agents to enforce it.
What happened in response to prohibition?
Gangs produced alcohol through stills illegally. The illegal transportation of alcohol was called bootlegging, and the illegal alcohol called moonshine liquor.
When did Prohibition end?
5th December 1933 as the 21st amendment.
Who was Al Capone (Scarface) compared to?
Robin Hood because he ‘stole’ from the rich and gave to the poor.
What changed public opinion of Al Capone?
He was seen as a hero until the St Valentines Day massacre, when his gang murdered 7 of O’Brian’s gang, which was the rival gang to Al Capone’s.
February 14th 1929
