AD AMERICA 1920-1973 : America people & the boom Flashcards
What were the benefits of the ‘boom’? ( GIVE EVIDENCE)
- Before ww1 America was isolationist, this allowed them to prosper & loan money to allies, sell food, weapons and equipment to Europe creating many jobs.
EVIDENCE: by the end they were the world’s highest producer of basic foods: 78% corn, 55% cotton and 42% electricity & coal
What is isolationism?
Isolationism is when your country will remain apart from the affairs & interests of other groups
What is consumerism? (GIVE EVIDENCE)
- People bought appliances on hire purchase, creating jobs for people in factories. It is also were ADs campaigns grew
EVIDENCE: 6/10 cars were bought with hire purchase
- 1916-1927 numbers of homes with electricity went from 15-70%
What is hire purchase?
Hire purchase is an arrangement made while buying expensive goods. allowed people to purchase new gadgets such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines and refrigerators. Borrowing increased the amount of money available to spend, and, therefore, the demand for goods.
what policies of Republican presidents helped make America wealthier during the 1920s?
Laissez-Faire approach to the economy
left businesses alone as much as possible so they could make the most profit
tariffs
(like tax on imports) this made in the USA goods were much cheaper. it encouraged people to buy american this boosted american industries
e.g. Fordney-McCumber tariff tax 1922: a toll imposed on imports which encouraged people to buy american goods
low taxes
wages increased but taxes stayed low so workers had more to spend on American products. this increased sales and boosted profits further
how did people’s confidence lead to an improvement in the economy?
encouraged people to but consumer items such as radios, vacuum cleaners and washing machines
- invest in the stock market by buying shares in a company. some took out loans to but shares hoping that the value of stocks increased to turn a profit, this is called on the margin
what 4 factors helped drive an increase in sales?
mass production
goods produced in a large scale in purpose-built factories with machines or semi-skilled workers working on one part of the production process. this mean that consumer goods were made cheaper
tariffs
tariffs made overseas products more expensive so people bought USA made products
advertising
new advertising techniques encouraged people to spend. newspapers and magazines ran advertisements to persuade people they needed a product
credit
wages increase but not by much, hire purchase (paying of things in instalments) and credit (like a loan) gave people who didn’t have money to spend a way to get what they wanted
Henry Ford and the boom.
what did he create in 1913 which benefited the boom?
the first production line (a more efficient form of mass production) which gave a worker a job as the car went past them
how was the model T made affordable?
- standard parts and only available in black
how many were employed directly?
- 4 million (in 1929 81,000 men were employed at a single plant)
how many cars on the road?
- in 1910 only 468,000 cars and by 1930 26,750,000 cars
how many cars were being produced in the 1920s?
1 million per year and in 1927 1 car was produced every 10 seconds
what backward linkages did ford’s model T create?
20% of steel
80% of rubber
75% of plate glass
65% of leather
what forward linkages did it create?
forward
roadside dinners and gas stations
more oil for petrol
constructing roads
