america 1919-1948 Flashcards
what is laissez-faire?
little to no involvement of the government in the economy
what does rugged individualism mean?
everyone being self-reliant, not depending on imports
what were the republican policies?
- laissez-faire
- powerful trusts
- low taxation - people get to keep more of their money and spend it
- protective tariffs - tariffs on overseas goods to encourage people to buy local american goods instead
why didn’t famers benefit from the 1920s economic boom?
- less overseas sales, less profit
- overproduction hence more more wasted product
- fall of prices of produce
why didn’t the unemployed benefit from the 1920s economic boom?
- lack of help from the gov
- machinery replaced many workers
why didn’t traditional industries benefit from the 1920s economic boom?
- lower pay because their industries became less relevant
what caused the 1920s economic boom?
technological progress → mass production of goods → availability of cheap credit and employment → increase in consumerism
how did WW1 boost the economy?
- increased weapon production
- stimulated the aviation industry
- benefitted from giving loans to devastated countries
how did motor industries boost the economy?
- production line of motor t revolutionised car production
- exploitation of natural resources by large companies: rockefeller, carnegie, mellon
how did mass consumerism boost the economy?
- items were mass produced so they were more affordable
- people were more confident in the economy so more eager to spend money and buy luxurious goods
- nationwide advertising encouraged people to spend
- people invested in the stock market hoping for returns
how did chain stores and credit boost the economy?
- people could easily borrow goods
- buy now, pay later scheme
- new type of stores that sold the same things all over the country
what is suffrage?
the right to vote
who were the suffragists?
those who campaigned for the right to vote
what was the shepard towner act and when did it happen?
- 1921
- 2.6 million for health and maternal care; 3000 maternal centres
what were the advantages for women in 1920s society?
- more money, more freedom and we’re targeted by advertisers
- gained the right to vote in 1920
- more employment opportunities after WW1
- political empowerment: eleanor roosevelt
what were the disadvantages for women in 1920s society?
- pay gap still existed
- a lack of employment opportunities compared to men
- strong disapproval of women who didn’t follow suggested traditional values
- female candidates were seen as unelectable and didn’t have access to political power
what was prohibition?
the ban on the sale and production of alcohol from 1920-1933
what was the volstead act and when was it enforced?
- 1919/20
- enforced alchol prohibition
what were the advantages of prohibition?
- officers were more effective in enforcing rules
- rural areas supported prohibition
- alcohol consumption fell rapidly
- people made a lot of money from bootlegging (smuggling alcohol)
what were the disadvantages of prohibition?
- ordinary people who visited speakeasies became criminals
- prohibition was difficult to enforce in the city
- bootlegging and sale of ‘moonshine’ increased
- officials became corrupt
- rich people thought that prohibition didn’t apply to them
- gangsters became more common as they smuggled alcohol
who was al capone?
high profile gangster in chicago that smuggled alcohol and made 60M a year
what happened at the st.valentine’s day massacre and when did it happen?
- 1929
- mass killing of members of a rival gang
why was alcohol reintroduced?
reintroduced due to the depression and the 1929 wall street crash so that new jobs would be created
how did christian beliefs cause prohibition?
alcohol was seen as ungodly and people from the christian temperance union wanted to protect family welfare, less irresponsible parents
how did patriotism cause prohibition?
- people who drank were seen as cowardly
- at the time germany was leading in the beer industry and americans didn’t want to support that - threat of communism
what was the first red scare?
racist attitudes and the fear of communism: people were afraid that russians and eastern europeans would bring about radical communism
what did the first red scare lead to?
in the 1920s many people who were suspected communists were deported with very little evidence
what were the palmer raids and when did they happen?
- 1919
- anarchists conducted bomb raids in many cities and nearly killed attorney general palmer
who were sacco and vanzetti and when did this take place?
- 1920
- two italian immigrants were arrested for armed robbery and murder and were executed in 1927 despite there being very flimsy evidence
what was the national origins act and when was it established?
severely restricted immigration due to a quota system. the total number of people immigrating were limited and asians were not at all allowed
what were the jim crow laws?
legalised segregation of poc and white minorities
what were the impacts of the jim crow laws?
- african americans were restricted from jobs, voting and education
- lynching cases increased - there were thousands in southern states in the 1920s
- extreme violence and discrimination urged many to move to the more accepting northern states
who were the klu klux klan?
- group that believes in white supremacy and had a lot of political power in the 1910s
- discriminated against african americans with extreme violence
what were two organisations that helped african americans in the US?
- NAACP - national association for the advancement of coloured people
- UNIA
what did the NAACP do?
campaigned for desegregation and equality
what did the UNIA do and when?
encouraged african americans to take pride in their heritage and gave them money to help start up businesses
what happened in the wall street crash?
people began panic selling their stocks so they dramatically reduced in value → people lost a lot of money → loss of loans, houses, businesses
what was the impact of the wall street crash?
- 659 banks closed in 1929, further 1352 in 1930
- 14 mil unemployed by 1933
- wages 1928-33 fell by 60%
how did the depression affect the countryside?
- farmers suffered further losses and many went bankrupt
- had to leave their farms and homes
- overfarming and malnutrition
- lots of unemployment
how did the depression affect cities?
- rapid rise in unemployment
- people forced out of their homes
- hoovervilles increased
what was the revue act 1932?
biggest peacetime tax increase - taxes paid by the top 1% were doubled
what was the garner-wagner act?
it would have provided 2.1 mil for new jobs but was blocked by hoover
what did hoover do to try and save the economy?
- tried to restart the economy with tax cuts and asking business to heighten wages
- set up the reconstruction finance company
- invested in public works: hoover dam and colorado river
- revue act 1932
what did hoover fail to do to save the economy?
- refused to accept that there was a major financial crisis until 1932
- returned to the laissez faire policy
- blocked the garner wagner act
how did herbert hoover’s failure become an opportunity for roosevelt?
- roosevelt was a democrat who promised to spend money to help the poor, invest in gov schemes and consult businesses
- promised a new deal to improve the economy
what did roosevelt promise to do for the american people?
- protect savings and property
- provide relief for the old, sick and unemployed
- restart the industry and agriculture
what did FDR do in his first 100 days?
- close all banks and reopen the trustworthy ones
- introduce the emergency banking act and securities exchange commission
- organise the alphabet agencies
when was the first new deal and which of the alphabet acts were established during the first new deal?
first new deal: (1933-1934)
- FERA
- CCC
- NRA
- PWA
- AAA
- TVA
what was the FERA?
federal emergency relief aid - helped states to provide aid for the poor and unemployed
what was the CCC?
civilian conservation corps - program that hired unemployed men to do public works jobs
what was the NRA?
national recovery act - used gov money to build new infrastructure, which provided jobs
what was the PWA?
public works association - used gov money to build new infrastructure, which provided jobs
what was the AAA?
agricultural adjustment administration - set quotas to reduce production and therefore stabilise food prices
what was the TVA?
tennessee valley authority - building a dam in tennessee valley which would create jobs and improve farming land
what were the advantages of the first new deal?
- improved confidence in the gov and economy
- stabilised banks and created millions of jobs
- women were placed in prominent roles
- some african americans gained work
- improved the standard of living
- slums were cleared
what were the disadvantages of the first new deal?
- undermined the local gov
- trade unions were still met with violence
- big businesses remained powerful
- didn’t deal with underlying economic issues
- women and poc were still at a major disadvantage
- fdr was accused of being anti american
when did the second new deal take place and why?
- 1936
- in reponse to criticism (particularly that of huey long)
which acts were instated during the second new deal?
revenue tax act 1936
- wagner act
- social security act
- WPA:
- RA
- FSA
- indian reorganisation act 1939
what was the revenue tax act and when did it happen?
1936 - 79% tax on incomes over 5 mil
what was the wagner act?
allowed the formation of trade unions
what was the social security act?
- gave pensions to the elderly, provided gov aid and insurance
what was the WPA?
works progress administration - organised agencies from the first new deal that helped people get jobs
what was the RA and FSA?
RA: resettlement association - provided monetary loans to small farmers to buy land
FSA: farm security administration - the second version of the resettlement administration
what was the indian reorganisation act and when did it happen?
1939 - allowed indigenous people buy land
how did the war boost the economy?
- improved production levels
- from 1941-45 250,000 aircrafts, 90,000 tanks, 350 destroyers and 300 submarines were made
- US made 50% of the worlds weapons and other essentials
- directly benefitted other industries supplying them too
- encouraged new businesses and further employment
- benefitted from the increased demand for food in europe
how did the war boost morale?
- people were enthusiastic to help with the war effort especially rationing
- people purchased war bonds
- anti-nazi and pro-american ( plus hollywood) propaganda helped the gov gain suppprt
- wartime economy was controlled and gov spending doubled
what was employment like during the war?
- 75000 african americans found work in war industries and the armed forces
- 16 mil employed in the armed forces; 14 mil in factories
- people moved to the north of the country for work
- unions agreed not to strike in return for better working conditions
- additional 7.5 mil women in the workforce
what did howard zinn say about the overall war experience?
- author of ‘a people’s history of the united states’
- questioned the enthusiastic response to the wartime experience
- strikes took place even though they weren’t meant to, wages were frozen and workers were frustrated
what are conscientious objectors?
those who refused to fight because they were against the idea of war
what was the espionage act and when was it introduced?
1917: against talk that would encourage refusal to fight
what was the smith act and when was it introduced?
1940: made it illegal to encourage people to refuse to fight
what discrimination did african american soldiers face?
- they were only allowed in segregated units
- only allowed in combat in 1944; were labour workers until then
- discrimination was the worst in the navy as african american soldiers were designated the most dangerous jobs
how did the gov try to combat discrimination
- president eisenhower supported integrated units in 1941
- 1948 executive order 9981 which ordered the navy to end all discrimination
- 1963 order 5120 passed by robert mcnamara which banned segregation in military accommodation
what were the good wartime experiences for african americans?
- 400,000 americans migrated to the north where there was employment and wages doubled to $1000
- the war sowed the seeds for the success of the civil rights movement
what were the bad wartime experiences of african americans?
- african americans faced lots of prejudice and discrimination and earned half of what their white colleagues did
- many white workers walked out when they saw that african american workers were getting promoted
what was executive order 8802?
1941 - told employers that any business in the war effort had to end all forms of discrimination in the workplace
what were the detroit race riots?
increased racial tensions; riots also took place in 47 other cities
why were japanese americans interned? and what were their experiences?
- due to the attack on pearl harbour there was a strong anti japanese attitude
- 120,000 japanese americans were interned in remote camps
- the discrimination made no distinction between issei and nisei
- it was clear that this was a racist policy rather than one regarding the security of the country
- however japanese americans remained patriotic and 33,000 signed up to fight in 1943
what was the civil liberties act?
1988: reparations were paid to those who were interned (ronald reagan)
