AMERICA 1 Flashcards
why did republican policies cause the boom
Fordney McCumber tariff- put high taxes on imports, making foreign goods more expensive. As a result American bought more US goods, creating more jobs for Americans
They cut taxes paid by rich people- as a result the rich invested more money to start more business, creating jobs
Taxes were low in general, so people had more money to spend which helped industrial growth
laissez faire- meant businesses were left alone to get on with creating wealth and make profits
how did the consumer society cause the boom
The number of US homes with electricity grew- from 15% in 1916 to 70% in 1927
This meant that people could by new gadgets like vacuum cleaners, radios and fridges
Huge demand for these goods created jobs in factories
catalogues made buying easy as goods could be delivered straight to your door
1919- 60,000 radios, 1929- 10 million
why did advertising cause a boom
Bilboards, newspapers and magazines urged people to but the latest gadgets. This led to a boost in sales
cinemas and radios broadcast advertisements encouraging people to use hire purchase
why did hire purchase lead to a boom
meant buyers could pay for goods in small instalments over a fixed period
this meant more people could buy them, increasing demand and so making more jobs in factories
6 out of 10 cars were bought through hire purchase
why did mass production lead to a boom
the motor industry developed assembled lines and mass production- car making used 20% of US steel, 65% of leather and 75% of its glass and rubber. More jobs were created in these industries as more cars were made
many American businesses stated to use the mass production methods developed in the motor industry eg radios, telephones and ovens. Mass production made goods cheaper, increasing demand and jobs in factories
what was the ford motor company
1913- ford introduced a new method of production- the assembly line- which meant cars could be made faster and cheaper
used the assembly line to mass produce model T cars
as mass production got faster the prices of the car fell- from $800 in 1911 to 4295 in 1928. 15 million bought Model Ts between 1911 and 1928
how did the car industry lead to a boom
created jobs building roads, petrol stations, roadside hotels etc
by 1925, over 500,000 worked in the car industry n factories
how did WW1 lead to a boom
the USA stayed out of the war at first due to isolationism- this allowed the USA to proser financially as American banks could loan money to Britain and the allies to but food and weapons form the USA, which crated jobs in factories
By the end of the war the USA became the world leading producer of basic goods
how did the stock market lead to a boom
ordinary American bought shares in companies and gained a percentage of the profits in return
this provided more for the company to invest and expand, which helped to create jobs
1920- only 4 million owned shares
1929- 20 million
inequalities of wealth during the boom- farmers
after WW there was less demand in Europe for US goods and some countries taxes US goods, making them more expensive
high tech machinery produced to much food and so prices fell.
some borrowed money form banks to buy the new machinery but due to their reduced income they couldn’t repay the loans. as a result many were evicted or forced to sell their farms
600,000. lost their farms in 1924
farm income dropped form 22 billion in 1919, y0 13 billion in 1928
inequalities of wealth- traditional industries
cotton and wool factory workers suffered as there was less demand for them as a result of new fibres like rayon. this lead to the prices of them dropping, which resulted in workers wages dropping
coal mines shut and miners lost their jobs as other forms of fuel like oil and gas were being used
inequalities of wealth- poverty and unemployment
1927- 6 million families had an income of less than $1000 a year
15,000 millionares in 1927
richest 55 owned 33% of the money
how did sport develop in the 1920s
the first time sportspeople achieved celebrity status eg baseball player Babe Ruth was earning $80,00 a year by 1930
radio, newspapers and magazines helped bring major sporting events to mass audience- 60 million radio listeners heard the coverage of the 1927 world heavyweight boxing fight
how did jazz music develop in the 1920s
jazz originated for the southern states and was popular with African Americans
by the 1920, jazz music had spread as African Americans moved north in search for work
became popular with the young
provided opportunities for black musicians like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith as they made lots of money from radio performance and record sales
older generation saw it as a bad influence on the young
jazz music made new dance crazes become popular like the Charleston
how did cinema develop in the 1920s
weekly audience of 35 million in 1919, changed to 100 million in 1930
Charlie Chaplin, Rudolf Valentino and Clara Bow were popular
by 1929 Hollywood were making around 500 films a year
1927- first ‘talkie’ was made- the jazz singer
many movies horrified older Americans as they were worried about the sexual content of some films and the impact this was having on the young. this lead to Hollywood introducing the Hays code in 1930 which included strict rules in films
what other social developments were there in the 1920a
Car- helped cities to grow by opening up the suburbs. meant people could travel to sporting events and holidays.
average working week dropped from 47.4 to 44.2 hours a week so people had more leisure time
wages rose by 11% so people had more income which could be used for entertainment
what was life like for women before the war
had restricted lives- wore long skirts, wore little makeup and didn’t some, poorly paid jobs and couldn’t vote, unmarried women had to be chaperoned if they went out with a boyfriend
how did WW1 change lives for women
when men went away to fight, women took over their jobs, this meant they no longer had to rely on their husbands wealth
given vote in 1920 because of their war effort
1929- 10.5 million working, 20% more than in 1920
with money of their own they had more freedom to make decisions- divorce rate doubled during the 1920s, wore more revealing clothes, smoke and drank in public. 1900- 80% had not had sex before marriage, in 1920 it was 31%
took on new jobs- 1929- 10 million women working, 24 % more then 1920
what were flappers
mainly middle and upper class women from northern states went to nightclubs with men, smoked, wore shorter skirts anti flirt league was formed to protest against flappers behaviour and many older Americans saw flappers as an example of the evils of modern life
why did some women lives not change
many were too busy working or raising families to go to nightclubs and didn’t have enough income to afford luxuries like makeup and smoking
despite gaining the vote they were still not equal to men and earned less than men in the same job
why was prohibition introduced
morality- seen by some to be contributing to a decline in moral values and through America would be better off with alcohol banned
pressure groups- groups like the anti-saloon league campaigned for alcohol to be banned
patriotism- most of the beer came from Germany or was brewed by German immigrants0 during WW1 it was argued that those who drank this beer were traitors
religious- many religious organisations and churches opposed alcohol as it cause a lot of problems like poverty and addiction, like the temperance movement said 30000 babies were killed by drunk parents
when did prohibition become law
16th January 1920- volstead act
why was prohibition hard to enforce
the USA had 18600 miles of coastline and land boarders to control- there were only 1500 agents so it was hard to stop alcohol coming in
why did prohibition fail
not enough agents- 1500
many were willing to break the law and continue drinking
gangs ran illegal speakeasies which sold bootleg alcohol.gents seized over 280,000 stills. 32000 speakeasies in New York, there were only 15000 legal bars before prohibition
corruption- gangs made so much money that they were able to avoid arrest and persecution because they bribed the police and judges
lots of crime
how did prohibition lead to organised crime
organised gangs made $2 billion out of the sale of illegal alcohol.
in Chicago there were 130 gangland murders between 1926 and 1927
Al Capone was a well known gang leader- st valentines day massacre (1929)- capones men murdered 7 of rival Bugs Morans gang
why did prohibition end
st valentines day massacre showed that prohibition has made the USA corrupt and made ganagsters rich
legalising alcohol would create jobs, raise tax revenue and free up resources that were being used in enforcing prohibition
organisations like the association against the prohibition amendment (AAPA) said it was peoples choice to drink alcohol and prohibition was leading people to lose respect for the war
effects of prohibition on society
negative- lots of gangland murders
deaths from alcohol poisoning went up from 98 in 1920 to 800 in 1926
however levels of alcohol consumption did fall by 30%
why was there racial tension in the 1920s
even though slavery had been abolished many Africans in the south were suffering discrimination as they were denied access to higher education, good jobs and right to vote
in the south there were Jim Crow laws that segregated whites and blacks
why did africans leave the south
as result many moved to the north as there were better chances of good jobs and education - during the 1920s New Yorks population went from 150,000 to 330,000
why was life still hard in the north
however in the north many Africans lives in poverty- they lived in poorer housing but paid higher rent and had poor health services and education than whites.
in chicago africans were set upon by gangs called athletic clubs when they tried to use parks or beaches
as a result in the North Africans became isolated in ghettos
there were also race riots like the 1919 riot in Chicago
what was the KKK
founded in 1860s to terrorise African Americans in Southern states
by 1925 membership was 5 million
many members were white people from southern and western states
they thought blacks were taking jobs form white people
burned, lynched and whipped blacks
between 1919 and 1925 300 africans were killed by lynching
how did the KKK end
in 1925 a popular leader, David Stephenson was convicted of kind-napping, rape and murder of a young woman.
at his trial he exposed secrets of the KKK
he was sentenced to life imprisonment and within a year KKK membership fell form 5 million to 300,000
impact of immigration
immigration was at a high from 1901 and 1910
immigrants were fleeing persecution and poverty in Europe
large ethnic communities developed in larger cities
immigrants were poor, couldn’t speak English and had unfamiliar religions like jewish or catholics
the immigrant experience
some achieve success by opening up shops and making a good living
for many working and living conditions were poor and difficult
most were poorly educated so were working for vey low wages
some felt that they were stealing white jobs which created prejudice
immigration laws
the government stated introducing laws to control immigration
1917 literacy act banned immigrants over the age of 16 who couldn’t read a sentence of 40 words
1921- emigration quota- allowed 350,000 immigrants in each year
1924- national origins act- allowed only 150,000 in each year
what was the red scare
prejudices towards immigrants were made worse by the fear of communism from the Russian revolution in 1917. many feared communism would spread to the USA
in 1919 an American communist party was set up and many feared that the members would start a revolution like in Russia
anarchists were also feared as they believed countries shouldnt be ruled by governments - in 1901 an anarchist was shot dead by the US president
what heightened the fear of immigrants
industrial unrest increased- 100,000 members of Boston police force went on strike and communists blamed
in July 1919 a bomb destroyed the front of Mitchell palmers house (he was the man in charge of americas law and police)
April 1919 a bomb in a Milwaukee church killed 10 people
may 1919- mail bombs posted the 36 important Americans
in 1920s trade union membership decline from 6 million in 1920 to 3.6 million in 1923 because they were seen as communist
what were the palmer raids
after the attack on his home he vowed to get rid of americas communists
palmer raids- 60000 suspected communists were arrested and put in prison, later it was shown that only 556 cases had actually reasons for them to be imprisoned
he said there were plans by communists to launch terror attacks
Sacco and Vanzetti
they were Italian immigrant anarchists who were charged with robbing a shoe factory and murdering 2 staff in April 1920
there were doubts about the evidence against them
they said they were innocent
there was no conclusive evidence but they jury found them guilty and they were executed in 1927
impact of the case
there were demonstrations all over the world against the verdict and protestors said the trial was unfair and they were prosecuted for their anarchist ideas instead of the crime
