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History > America 1920-1973 (Opportunity and Inequality) > Flashcards

America 1920-1973 (Opportunity and Inequality) Flashcards

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1
Q

Why was the USA isolationist after WW1?

A

Americans didn’t want to lose more soldiers and Republican president Warren Harding wanted everything to return to normality.

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2
Q

Why did the USA start to demand high tariffs after WW1?

A

Farm and industrial profits started to decline.

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3
Q

What and when was the Emergency Tariff?

A

1921- increased taxes on agricultural products to help farmer increase their farm profits.

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4
Q

What and when was the Fordney-McCumber Tariff?

A

1922- increased taxes on industrial and agricultural imported good to protect factories and farms

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5
Q

Did the tariffs help or hinder the US economy?

A

Help, it encourages Americans to buy American products and therefore increased the number of goods being made and sold in America.

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6
Q

What were the causes of the economic boom? (7)

A
  • Raw materials
  • WW1
  • Mass production
  • Hire purchase
  • Laissez-faire
  • Tariffs
  • Advertising
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7
Q

How did the growth in the car industry help the economy?

A

The assembly line sped up production and made more jobs because unskilled workers could be employed.

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8
Q

In the mid-1920s, how many cars were being produced daily?

A

75,000

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9
Q

What was the cycle of prosperity?

A

More sales -> increases production -> more workers with higher wages -> more spending ->

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10
Q

How did the entertainment industry help the boom?

A

People bought radios and went to cinemas to ‘escape the real world’.

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11
Q

Why was the entertainment industry so popular in the 1920s?

A

People had more time to listen to music or go to the cinemas.

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12
Q

How did the position of women change in society in the 1920s?

A

Women were allowed to vote, WW1 meant that they were more confident going out unchaperoned and wearing shorter dresses.

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13
Q

Why was the USA a divided society in the 1920s?

A

Not everyone benefitted from the boom, e.g. farmer and black Americans

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14
Q

Why did farmers not benefit from the boom? (4)

A
  • New machinery meant too much food was being produced
  • Food prices dropped by 50%
  • Couldn’t pay mortgages
  • Couldn’t find any other work
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15
Q

Why did black Americans not benefit from the boom?

A
  • most were involved in farming
  • 1 million black farm workers lost their job
  • faced mostly same problems as farmer
  • segregation
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16
Q

What was the American attitude towards immigration after WW1?

A

They were scared of immigrant affecting their society.

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17
Q

What immigration laws did the US government introduce after WW1? (2)

A

1921-Emergency Quota Act

1924-Johnson-Reed Act

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18
Q

What was the 1921 Emergency Quota Act?

A
  • No more than 3% of Eastern European immigrants

- 357,000 maximum number of immigrants

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19
Q

What was the 1924 Johnson-Reed Act?

A
  • Maximum number of immigrants 154,000

- Didn’t want unskilled or illiterate people

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20
Q

What was the Red scare?

A

A fear of communism entering the US

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21
Q

What was the Sacco and Vanzetti case?

A
  • 1920
  • Two Italian born immigrants were accused of armer robbery and murder
  • Little evidence except background
  • Accused of anarchists
  • Despite protests, they were executed
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22
Q

Who were the KKK?

A

A group who scared and intimidated black people with violence e.g. burning homes and public lynchings.
-Wore white robes with masks to cover their face

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23
Q

How did the KKK add to the growth of racism in the 1920s?

A

Made people fear black people.

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24
Q

What was prohibition?

A

The sale, production and transport (not drinking) of alcohol made illegal.

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25
Q

Why was prohibition introduced?

A

People were spending too much money on alcohol and not enough on necessities like food.

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26
Q

Why did prohibition fail?

A

Crime began to rise and it was too difficult to regulate illegal alcohol.

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27
Q

What was the Wall St Crash?

A

The collapse of the American economy, cause of the Great Depression

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28
Q

How did the collapse of the banks weaken the economy?

A

Peple couldn’t trust the banks so they stopped using them which meant they didn’t spend as much money.

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29
Q

How did the Wall St Crash lead to a depression? (3)

A
  • Increase in unemployment
  • Banks collapsed
  • Wages fell
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30
Q

How did Hoover deal with the depression? (2)

A

-Believed it was only temporary
“Prosperity is just around the corner”
-Raised import taxes so American would buy American products

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31
Q

Why dod Roosevelt (FDR) win the 1932 election?

A

Promised new deal, government action an end of prohibition. HELP, ENCOURAGE, REFORM

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32
Q

What did FDR introduce in the first 100 days?

A

Alphabet agencies

  • FERA
  • AAA
  • NRA
  • PWA
  • CCC
  • TVA
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33
Q

What did the CCC do?

A

Hired unemployed young men to work on public service projects e.g. building bridges, roads etc.

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34
Q

What did the AAA do?

A

Helped families to control production and stabilise prices

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35
Q

Successes of the New Deal (3)

A
  • Reduced unemployment
  • Made sure banks were safe and properly regulated
  • Helped the poor
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36
Q

Disadvantages of the New Deal (4)

A
  • Unemployment rose again in 1938
  • Wasn’t enough money to maintain it
  • Didn’t help black people
  • Didn’t help women
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37
Q

Define isolationist

A

When a country separates itself from current affairs or other countries

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38
Q

Why was America isolationist? 5

A
  • people expected them to lead in world affairs
  • Americans felt they shouldn’t have been involved in WW1
  • Could easily support itself
  • Americans saw their country as a “place of opportunity”
  • American Dream - thier way of living was best
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39
Q

What was the boom in terms of industry? 3

A
  • more roads built
  • more civillian airlines
  • increase in things like cars, roads etc meant more jobs
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40
Q

What was the boom in terms of transport? 2

A
  • number of cars increased from 9 million to 26 million in 10yrs
  • in 1919 there were only 1 million trucks in USA but increased to 3.5 million by 1929
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41
Q

What was the boom in terms of home life? 3

A
  • cars meant it was possible for people to live outside cities
  • more homes with electricity all homes by 1929
  • more people had silk stockings
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42
Q

What was the boom in terms of cities? 2

A
  • more skyscrapers built

- less people living in cities due to cars

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43
Q

Who was Andrew Mellon? 4

A
  • Secretary of the treasury from 1921-32
  • Believed that tax cuts and lowering government spending would encourage private effort and initiative
  • Spent 8 yrs in office
  • Believed that tax reductions benefited the wealthy
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44
Q

Who was Warren Harding? 5

A
  • Elected as 29th president on his birthday
  • served from 1921-23
  • Allowed congress
  • approved tax cuts on higher incomes and protective tariffs
  • supported limiting the immigration and ending spending controls
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45
Q

Who was Herbert Hoover? 8

A
  • 31st president of US (1929-33)
  • Led America through Great Depression and Wall st Crash
  • Couldn’t overcome economic destruction and despair that was a result
  • lost reelection bid in 1932
  • wanted to keep people working
  • none of his approaches helped the economy
  • Helplessly watched businesses close and America sink into poverty
  • Signed Smoot-Hawley Act which meant taxes were raised on imports
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46
Q

Who was Calvin Coolidge? 7

A
  • 30th US president
  • nicknamed ‘Silent Cal’ because of stubbornness
  • cut taxes
  • limited government spending
  • led America through roaring 20s, escaped presidency before Wall St Crash
  • he rejected US membership of League of Nations
  • set high tariffs on imported goods to try and protect America
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47
Q

In terms of American attitudes, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 2

A
  • American dream

- America was the ‘land of opportunity’

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48
Q

In terms of WW1, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 5

A
  • USA left the war in a good position compared to others
  • only lost 100,000 men
  • no land lost
  • businesses thrived (war torn countries industries were struggling so America took over)
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49
Q

In terms of money, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 2

A
  • they lent money to Germany in 1924 to help pay of ToV (Dawes Plan)
  • lent money to Britain and France in 1925
50
Q

In terms of big businesses, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 2

A
  • mass production
  • Ford motor car industry
  • assembly line meant production was sped up
  • steel, rubber and leather industries increased because of assembly line
51
Q

In terms of Republican policies, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 4

A
  • America first
  • laissez faire attitude (leave businesses to get on with it, very little government intervention)
  • tariffs protected businesses against foreign imports
  • USA began closing borders to foreign immigrants
52
Q

In terms of raw materials, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 4

A
  • raw materials industry had grown massively since 1860’s/70’s
  • leading oil producer
  • selling more products in part of Europe, Latin America and Far East
  • farmers were producing more than they could sell
53
Q

In terms of mass production, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 3

A
  • In 10yrs number of cars increase fro 9 million to 26 million
  • newly mass produced products like telephones, radios, vacuum cleaners and washing machines were the foundations of the boom
  • electrical companies became household names e.g. hoover
54
Q

In terms of hire purchase, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 3

A
  • people had the ability to buy things on credit
  • economically everything was good so no one bothered keeping up with payments
  • people able to afford more luxury items
55
Q

In terms of mail order, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 2

A
  • ability ti be able to order things straight to your house encouraged people to spend more money due to easiness of it
  • lack of transport didn’t stop people from spending
56
Q

In terms of advertising, why was there an economic boom in the 1920’s? 4

A
  • big industries were using sophisticated sales and marketing techniques to attract people to buying their goods
  • poster and radio advertisements introduced
  • the travelling salesman encouraged Americans to buy products
  • advertisers learnt the skill of advertising through war time propaganda
57
Q

What were the government policies? 9

A
  • Republican
  • Approved tax cuts on higher incomes and protective tariffs
  • limiting immigration
  • returning to normalcy after the war
  • isolationist
  • protectionist (protecting the US economy
  • rugged individualism
  • encouraged the role of big business
  • laissez faire
58
Q

Rugged individualism

A

looking after yourself, no government intervention or other support

59
Q

When was the Emergency Tariff Act?

A

1921

60
Q

What was the Emergency Tariff Act?

A

Taxes on a range of imported agricultural products to protect the US farmers and the prices they would recieve

61
Q

When was the Fordney-McCumber Tariff?

A

1922

62
Q

What was the Fordney-McCumber Tariff?

A

Put taxes on imported industrial and food products

63
Q

How did the 1921 and 1922 tariffs lead to the boom?

A

People were buying American products which out more money into the economy and boosted moral, encouraging people to buy more

64
Q

How did the Ford motor industry affect the boom in the 1920s?

A
  • Assembly line meant fewer skilled workers, more cost effective
  • Standardised car
  • affordable for most people
65
Q

What was the price of the Model T Ford?

A

Cost $1200 in 1909, in 1928 it cost only $295

66
Q

What other industries grew rapidly because of the motor industry increasing?

A
  • steel
  • rubber
  • leather
  • paint
67
Q

Why was agriculture failing during the 1920s? 6

A
  • Europe imported less food from USA (bankrupt post war)
  • competition against Canadian wheat farmers
  • population falling, less mouths to feed
  • rural banks collapsed
  • overproduction
  • no war meant they lost buyers from around the world
68
Q

What was the total farm income?

A

In 1919 it was $22 billion, but dropped to $13 billion in 1928

69
Q

Give a statistic on overproduction

A

In the 1920s the average US farmer had enough produce to feed his family and 14 others

70
Q

In 1921 how much did the farm prices fall by?

A

50%

71
Q

How many Americans lived in rural areas?

A

Half

72
Q

What was the cycle of prosperity?

A

Increased production -> increased employment -> more money to spend on consumer goods -> increased demand for consumer good -> increased production etc…

73
Q

Why did black people not benefit from the boom? 4

A
  • less job opportunities
  • poorly educated
  • lived in poorest accommodation
  • worked mostly in failing farming industry
74
Q

Why did workers in traditional industries not benefit from the boom?

A
  • coal miners suffered competition from oil and electric industries
  • more competition from man made products
75
Q

How many millionaires were there in the 1920s?

A

7000 millionaires in 1914

35000 millionaire by 1920

76
Q

How much did the average wagesrise between 1919 and 1929?

A

26%

77
Q

How many unemployed people were there?

A
  1. 9 million in 1921

1. 9 million in 1926

78
Q

How many people owned consumer gadgets in 30 years?

A

845000

79
Q

How many bankruptcies were there in the 1920s?

A

5 times more than there was in the 1900s

80
Q

How many farmers were forced off their land in the 1920s?

A

6 million

81
Q

How many Americans lived below the poverty line in 1929?

A

60%

82
Q

How many Americans wages were below the required minimum amount for a decent standard of living?

A

42%

83
Q

How did radio help the boom?

A
  • advertising

- helped sport industry

84
Q

What percentage of families had radios?

A

60%

85
Q

Why were more Americans going to the movies?

A
  • tickets were cheap
  • escape to a fantasy world
  • became a national habit
  • new and exciting
86
Q

By 1929 how many Americans were going to the movies a week?

A

110 million

87
Q

How did dance impact the boom?

A
  • charleston
  • tango
  • it was suggestive and frowned upon by older generations
  • encouraged by music
88
Q

How many films did big film companies make a year?

A

500 +

89
Q

How did women change in the 1920s-30s?

A
  • hair was pinned back without a hat
  • arms/legs on show
  • lose fitted dresses
  • they gained the vote in most states
  • domestic work was made easier by electrical goods
  • unchaperoned
  • got to experience skilled factory work during war
  • less likely to stay in unhappy marriages
  • The BOOM: films, advertising, radio
  • didn’t want to turn back to the way they were pre war
90
Q

Give a statistic for the number of divorces

A

1914 there were 100,000 divorces, this had doubled by 1929

91
Q

Give a statistic for women in jobs

A

By 1929 there were 10 million women in jobs, 29% more than in 1920

92
Q

What law was introduced in January 1920?

A

The Volstead Act

93
Q

What did the Volstead act/prohibition do?

A

Ban the manufacture, sale and transport of alcohol (but not drinking it)

94
Q

What were speakeasies?

A

Sold illegal alcohol in the back of pubs/clubs/cigar shops

95
Q

What were the causes of Prohibition?

A
  • Supporters known as dries
  • claims that 3000 infants were smothered yearly by drunken parents
  • Womens Christian Temperance- believed alcohol was the root of many problems
  • Anti-Saloon League- “Lips that touch liquor shall not touch ours”
  • Wanted fathers to look after kids instead of drinking
  • Big breweries often run by Germans (seen as the enemy)
96
Q

How long did prohibition last for?

A

From 1920 until 1933

97
Q

In 1920 there was 20,443 arrests for drunken offences, this increased to….

A

58,517 in 1925

98
Q

DEFINITION:

Isolationist

A

Stayin out of foreign affair and focusing on your own country

99
Q

DEFINITION:

Federal Law

A

USAs central government law

100
Q

DEFINITION:

State Law

A

Individual state’s Law

101
Q

DEFINITION:

Moonshine

A

Illegally distilled alcohol

102
Q

DEFINITION:

Bootlegging

A

Importing alcohol across states of from abroad

103
Q

What was the impact of prohibition? 8

A
  • Bootleggers
  • Prohibition enforcement officers
  • Secret distilleries on farms
  • Alcohol related crimes increases
  • Police and politicians took bribes from gangsters to ignore trade in alcohol
  • Speakeasies
  • Difficult to enforce
  • Alcohol was too popular, people were finding ways to get hold of it
104
Q

Why did prohibition fail? 7

A
  • Lack of resources for enforcement
  • Geographical difficulties
  • Bootleggers
  • Easy for people to distil alcohol on an industrial level
  • Popularity of speakeasies
  • Cultural divisions
  • Disagreements between the ‘dry lobby’
105
Q

How much did gangsters make from sale of illegal alcohol?

A

$2 billion

106
Q

How many stills did agents seize?

A

Over 280,000

107
Q

What were the push factors (force) of immigration? 5

A
  • fleeing poverty
  • Jews and Russians fleeing persecution
  • fleeing diseases
  • potato famine in Ireland
  • harvest failures
108
Q

What were the pull (want) factors of immigration? 7

A
  • make money to take back to families
  • seen as land of plenty
  • home of the free
  • War 1914-1918 (Isolationist)
  • Freedom
  • wealth
109
Q

SECOND NEW DEAL:

What was the Wagner Act of June 1935?

A

Forced all employees to allow trade unions to operate and negotiate for better pay and working conditions.

110
Q

SECOND NEW DEAL:

What was The Works Progression Administration of June 1935 (WPA)

A

Set up to help create jobs across a variety of different areas, not only industrial and farmers.

111
Q

SECOND NEW DEAL:

What was the Resettlement Administration (RA) of June 1935?

A

Set up to help small holders and tenant farmers who had not been helped by the AAA.

112
Q

SECOND NEW DEAL:

What was the Social Security Act of 1935?

A

Provided state pensions for the elderly and for widows and benefits for sick and disabled. It also set up a National Insurance scheme in case people became unemployed.

113
Q

How were the 1920s completely depressing? 7

A
  • veterans left without housing
  • soldiers demanded rights
  • banks were bankrupt
  • wars were beginning
  • Americans got worried about the threat of war (Manchuria, Abyssinia)
  • starving
  • communism was growing
114
Q

How were the 1920s exciting? 3

A
  • allowed to drink again
  • people got work
  • New deal/change
115
Q

By the 1920s America was one of the richest companies in the world, why? 5

A
  • arts/movies/cinema/consumerism
  • WW2
  • the new deal
  • government investing in economy, war and people
  • America not directly affected by WW2
116
Q

DEFINITION:

Consumerism

A

Encouraging the buying of products/goods

117
Q

By 1941, how many homes had TVs?

A

10,000

118
Q

Between 1948 and 1958, what % of households owned TVs?

A

1948- 0.4%
1954- 55.7%
1958- 83.2%

119
Q

What was post war America like? (1945-1950) 8

A
  • TVs more popular
  • American Dream-modern conveniences became norm
  • Suburbia-houses built to appeal new buyers
  • Cars-showed off status
  • Cinema-increase in leisure time
  • Consumerism-comfortable lifestyle, credit cards
  • Rock n Roll- growing sense of rebellion
  • Jobs-offices built
120
Q

What was the civil rights movement?

A

A protest movement for equal rights under American law

121
Q

What were the Jim Crow Laws?

A

State and local segregation laws that became widespread in the South during the 1890s. Jim Crow painted his face black and made fun of black people.

122
Q

What is meant by the word segregation?

A

“Separate, but equal”

History (3 decks)

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