America - 1920s Flashcards
Who were The Republican Presidents?
Warren Harding
Calvin Coolidge
Herbert Hoover
How was the USA governed in the 1920s?
- The government shouldn’t interfere in the private lives of the Americans
- Low taxes, people should keep the money they earn
- LAISSEZ FAIRE: Republicans believed the government should not interfere in the economy. They believed that businesses should be free to be run the way the owner wanted
- Rugged Individualism: Each American should work hard to earn money and be responsible for themselves and their family.
What were the Roaring Twenties
The 1920s was a period of rapid change and economic prosperity in the USA. Life improved for the majority but not all
Causes for the economic boom
Natural resources Technological progress Mass production techniques Spread of electricity Availability of credit
Causes for the economic boom: Natural resources
America had large supplies of natural resources such as timber, iron, coal, minerals, oil and land
Causes of the economic boom: Technological Progress
Technological advances led to the development of new industries and boosted others like the electricity, car and film industries
Causes of the economic boom: Mass Production Techniques
Mass production techniques such as the conveyer belt and assembly line used by Henry Ford, meant that goods could be produced more easily and greater in quantities.
The new machines didn’t require much skill, which meant that anybody could use them
Causes of the economic boom: Spread of electricity
Provided a cheap efficient source of power for factories
Supplied the power needed in homes which led to vacuum cleaners, refrigerators and washing machines
Large numbers of machines could be used at the same time which led to mass production
Causes of the economic boom: Availability of Credit
Companies needed extra moment to extend their business, they needed money
JP Morgan was a bank that lent them money
Many companies used these credits to expand their companies which caused the economic boom
Republican Presidents: Warren G Harding - Positive aspects
- Economy was growing well and he was giving a transition to peace and prosperity from a war, which had harshly impacted America
- He had good secretaries
Republican Presidents: Warren G Harding - Negative aspects
- The Ohio Gang
- He gave important jobs to his friends
- He liked to party and drink
- 200 million dollars disappeared he was corrupt
Republican Presidents: Calvin Coolidge - Positive aspects
- He made America prosperous
- He questioned Harding’s friends and sent them to trial or prison
- He made America the richest country in the world
Republican Presidents: Calvin Coolidge - Negative aspects
- Mean and dull
- He did not work much
Republican Presidents: Herbert Hoover - Positive aspects
- He believed in what was called Rugged Individualism, each American should work hard earn money and be responsible for themselves and their family, they did not think that government should help people
Republican Presidents: Herbert Hoover - Negative aspects
- The Wall Street crash was during his time as president and 12 million Americans were with no work and living in terrible conditions
Impact of the car in the USA
By the end of the 1920s, there was one automobile for every five Americans.
Economic impacts of the car in USA
- Promoted growth for other industries like petroleum, rubber and steel
- Helped to create highways, which led to massive impact in transport and trade
- Created new service facilities - filling stations, garages, roadside restaurants, motel
Social impacts of the car in USA
- Created a more mobile society - this meant that there was movement from the countryside to the city
- Broke down the stability of family life
- Broke down traditional morality, this meant that children could escape
Agricultural American Boom
Boomed in the 1910s
Why did the Agriculture in America boom?
- Americas population was growing so more people needed food
- France and Britain needed to buy American food in WWI
How did farmers grow more food in the Agricultural boom?
- Machines
- Tractors
- The ford son tractor, built by ford, was the most popular
- The combine harvester
- in the 1910s they used nitrates from Chile
