1920s usa Flashcards
how did life change for women in RURAL usa
- contrast to urban areas-> not much development
- women expected to behave and dress respectably, eg no public smoking, sport, or vote for women
- few or no paid jobs for women- acted as housewives
- followed the churches traditional rules and restrictions on women
how did life improve for women in URBAN usa
- women gained jobs in 1917, and the vote in 1920
- electric goods reduced the need for housework so women spent on average 3 hours a day less on housework
- by 1929 there were 10 million female workers (24% more than 1920)
- became acceptable for women to drive cars and take place in energetic sports
- 1927 skirt hems rose to knee level
- women wore daring clothes, makeup, drank and smoked in public. also cut their hair into bobs
how was life limited for women in URBAN usa
- paid less than men for doing the same jobs as them
- 1927 united textile workers went on strike in elizabeth town tennessee bc girls worked 56 hour weeks at only 18 cents an hour
- 1928 there was a strike in north carolina bc women were paid $9 for a 70 hour week when the minimum needed to live was $49
- women could vote but not act as politicians
- films painted an inaccurate picture->many women outraged by what they saw
- poor and black women couldn’t afford the new styles so didn’t benefit
- older& religious people rejected the changes
how did life improve for black americans in the 1920s
- education and job opportunities were better in the north
- black capitalist movement encouraged blacks to set up their own businesses
- UNIA encouraged blacks to be proud of their race
- in 1921 UNIA had over 1 million members
- NAACP had 300 branches and 90,000 members by 1919
- high profile blacks emerged like Zora Hurston and actor Paul Robeson
what were the continuing problems faced by black americans in the 1920s
- slavery led to a lot of hatred between blacks and whites
- lots of blacks didn’t have an education due to segregated schools-> bad jobs-> led to poverty
- persecuted by extremist groups like the KKK
- 50 lynchings per year
- KKK grew to 5 million members by 1928
- many blacks moved to northern cities-> NYCs population rose from 150,000 to 330,000
- in 1930 blacks life expectancy was 48 compared to 59 for whites
- paid higher rents for poorer housing
what were the contributing factors to the red scare in 1920s USA
- immigrants coming to the US to start a new life in hope of prosperity
- many americans were worried that immigrants were bringing radical beliefs such as anarchism and communism -> anarchists published pamphlets and posters calling for an overthrow of the government (april, may, june 1919 attacks)
- Palmer used fear to drum up support for his presidential campaign-> predicted a red revolution in may 1920, but when it didn’t happen he looked dumb and lost support
what was evidence of the red scare in 1920s USA
- 400,000 workers including the police went on strike in boston
- rave riots in 25 towns and people believed they were due to communism, but modern historians think the strikes were due to economic hardship-> immigrants had low pay and long hours
- sacco and vansetti-> anarchists arrested in 1920 and killed in 1927 after a trial based on flimsy evidence and the judge called them ‘anarchist bastards’
- hoover built up files on 60,000 suspects w radical political beliefs, but when investigated by Louis Post, only 556 were true
what were the successes of prohibition in 1920s USA
-prohibition was introduced in january 1920
-admissions to mental hospitals for alcoholic psychosis fell across the usa
-alcohol consumption fell by 30% to 50%
-moe smith and izzy einstein made 4392 arrests through the prohibition era
-death rate due to alcohol fell 42%
arrests for public drunkenness fell 50% between 1916 and 1922
-prohibition gained widespread approval in rural states
what were the failures of prohibition and why did it end
- lacked support and made average americans into law breakers->people set up stills to make potentially fatal moonshine
- lots of officials didn’t support prohibition so didn’t really enforce it harshly -wasn’t even introduced in maryland
- not enough agents to enforce it properly- george remus gave agents $25,000 cuff links to ignore his activities & 1/12 agents were corrupt
- led to organised crime and violence- al capone made $60 mill per year from illegal alcohol
- 300 murders took place in chicago
- caused health problems & lost taxes
what caused the boom in 1920s USA
- FIRST WORLD WAR- us joined in 1917, 1 way trade
- INDUSTRIES & METHODS- production line in 1913 by henry ford
- REPUBLICAN POLICIES- laissez faire and low taxes, import tariffs
- STATE OF MIND- good to spend, bad to save, a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage(HH)
- THREE RAW MATERIALS- coal, oil and iron- exporting, don’t need to import, can make consumer goods
how did credit/ advertising help the boom in 1920s USA
- industries used sophisticated sales and marketing learnt from war propaganda to make people buy their stuff
- ‘buy now, pay later’ HP schemes- buying on the never- never: let ordinary people buy consumer goods they couldn’t afford before
- people brought shares in companies in order to get some of the profit
- sears roebuck mail order catalogue- made shopping easier and less hassle
- 6/10 cars and 8/10 radios brought on credit
how did hire purchase help the economy to boom?
- HP meant more demand so more jobs and higher wages
- higher wages meant more people had money which increased demand
- demand increase meant faster production methods were needed- assembly lines meant that unskilled workers could be hired where they couldn’t before
- businesses made bigger & consistent profits from garuanteed HP payments
- CYCLE OF PROSPERITY
who GAINED in the boom in 1920s america
-SPECTATORS- by 1920 20 million ppl were spectating on the stock market and $9 billion was spent on shares
-ASSEMBLY LINE WORKERS- no training needed, so immigrants women and unskilled workers were hired. female employment increased 24% during the boom
-FACTORY OWNERS- businessmen controlled industry due to laissez faire republican attitude, owners made millions of dollars eg henry ford
-EARLY IMMIGRANTS- although were persecuted by WASPs, many found work eg river rouge plant was 70% immigrant workers
MIDDLE CLASS WOMEN- consumer goods were becoming more affordable for consumers, so wealthier women spent on average 3 hours less on housework per week due to rise in households with flush toilets- 20% to 51%, vacuum cleaners 9% to 30%
who LOST in the boom in 1920s america
-FARMERS- farm income dropped from $22 to $13 billion, 6 million were forced to move and find work, overproduction during ww1, competition from canada and pests such as the boll weevil led to a decline in market
-BLACKS/IMMIGRANTS- last hired, first fired and most jobs were still segregated. only 3% of semi skilled workers owned a car & 1 million black farm labourers lost work in the 1920s
-COAL/STEEL/TEXTILE WORKERS- 1918, 1920 and 1927 there were strikes over wages, coal workers wagers were 1/3 of the national average. 1928 there was a strike in north carolina bc men were paid $18 and women $9 for a 70 hour week when $48 was considered the minimum needed for basic living
-WORKERS- 10% wealth to the bottom 42%, and 42% of the population lived below the poverty line
between 1919-27 workers wages only rose from $1158 to $1304, whereas between 1914-28 the number of millionaires rose from 7000 to 35,000
how did the 1920s change peoples lives
- MORALS- sex was no longer taboo, but hayes code was introduced in 1927 after 36 states threatened to introduce censorship after seeing shocking films like ‘up in mabel’s room’
- ENTERTAINMENT - radio stations went from 1 in 1921 to 508 in 1922, NBC made $150 million per year. baseball became a popular boom sport and jazz allowed young people to express themselves, and also led to the introduction of flappers and dances such as the charleston
- THE CAR- made everything accessible- people could go on holiday, go watch sport and other entertainments
- GROWING CITIES- skyscrapers became a status symbol of 1920s usa, but tension between urban and rural usa grew
