1920s Economic Boom Flashcards
Laissez faire:
Government should do as little as possible to interfere in people’s everyday lives-businessmen free to make profits.
Tariffs:
Taxes which were put on imported goods, this made foreign goods more expensive-so Americans bought more home-produced goods.
Low taxation:
This meant people had more money left to spend which helped industrial growth; rich business men benefited the most.
What was the stock market boom?
Confidence that prosperity would continue to grow encouraged people to buy shares in companies and gained a percentage of the profits in return.
In what year did Henry Ford set up the first moving production line?
1913
How many Model Ts were made in mass production between 1908 and 1925?
15 million.
Why weren’t farmers benefited in the economic boom?
Total farm income dropped from $22 billion in 1919 to $13 billion in 1928, the main problem being overproduction.
What year did women receive the right to vote?
1920
How many women were in jobs by 1929?
10 million
In what year was the prohibition law passed?
1920 until 1933.
What percentage did alcohol consumption fall by in the early 1920s?
30%
Why was prohibition not completely successful?
Speakeasies, moonshine. Distilleries were a major fire hazard and the alcohol produced was often poisonous.
What was the St Valentine’s Day Massacre?
1929- Al Capone’s men murdered seven of his rival Bugs Moran’s gang, using a false police car and uniform to put Moran’s men off their guard.
What was the KKK?
A white supremacy movement. It was revived in 1915. It became a powerful political force in early 1920s. Between 1919 and 1925 over 300 African Americans were murdered by lynching. By 1924 it had 4.5 million members.
Which places did immigrants often come from?
Jews from Eastern Europe and Russia fleeing persecution and people from Italy fleeing poverty. And more established immigrant groups such as Irish Americans, French Canadians and German Americans. USA prided itself on being a ‘melting pot’.
