1920s America Flashcards
Why did the price of food fall?
Farmers produced more food than was needed
How many African Americans lost their jobs?
Almost 1 million
How many American families lived below the poverty line?
Over half
In early 1929 what percentage of American people enjoyed 1/3 of the nations wealth?
5%
What was the 1917 immigration law?
It requires all foreigners to take a literacy test to prove they could read English. Prevented poorer countries from entering the USA
What was the 1921 immigration quota law?
Limited the maximum number of immigrants allowed in the USA to 357,000 per year. Limited the number of each ethnic group emigrating to 3% of the number already in the USA by 1910. In favour of northern and Eastern Europe
What was the 1924 national origins act?
Further reduced the quota to 2% of the population in 1890.
What was the 1929 immigration act?
Number of immigrants entering the USA each year reduced to 150,000.
What year did the US Supreme Court did legal approval for the Jim Crow laws?
1896
What were the Jim Crow laws?
Laws passed in 1896 which allowed African Americans to be inferior and to be exploited by white Americans
When was the KKK formed?
1866
When was the KKK reformed?
1915
Who did the KKK attack?
Catholics Jews and African Americans
How many members did the KKK have in early 1920s?
5 million members
What did the KKK believe founded American greatness? I
The achievements of WASPS
When did the influence of the KKK decrease?
In the later 1920s when a well publicised court case about one of its leaders being convicted of the kidnap, rape and murder of a woman on a train.
How many speakeasies did Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith raid in the first half of the 1920s?
3,000
Who was the most notorious gang leader?
Al Capone
How many men did Al Capone employ?
Nearly 1,000 many with guns
How many murders have been linked to gang activities?
Over 200
When was the St Valentine’s Day Massacre?
1929
What happened during the St Valentine’s Day Massacre?
Some of Al Capone’s gang gunned down six members of the rival Bugs Moran gang
When did prohibition end?
1933
Who promised to repeal the prohibition law in the 1932 presidential election?
Roosevelt
What did young people gain in the 1920s?
Freedom
Which presidential election did Wilson lose to the Republican Harding?
The 1920 election
What was the advantage of the assembly line?
Cars could be produced in 1/10 of the time they used to be
How many cars were there in America by 1930?
30 million
How many jobs directly/indirectly relied on the motor industry?
4 million
How much did share prices go up by in the 1920s?
300%
What were the 5 main long term causes of the Wall Street Crash?
- over production in agriculture
- over production in consumer goods
- lack of credit control
- effects of the tariff policy
- unequal distribution of wealth
When was the Wall Street Crash?
1929
What were the immediate consequences of the crash?
- many went bankrupt as they couldn’t pay back loans they used to buy their now worthless shares
- some homeowners lost their homes as they couldn’t pay mortgages
- people lost savings as banks collapsed
- farmers lost property as couldn’t pay bank loans
How many banks stopped trading between 1929 and 1933?
11,000
What happened when demands for goods of all types fell?
Production fell and so did wages and jobs
What was the 29th October 1929 called?
Black Tuesday
When did the price of shares begin to slowly fall?
September 1929
