america- depth study Flashcards
1
Q
why was there a boom
mass consumption
A
- mail order companies- buy new consumer goods from catalogues e.g. sears and roebuck
- chain store
- posters, radio advertisement, travelling salesmen
- advertisement learnt during war propaganda used to sell cars, clothes etc..
- buy now pay later- 8 out of 10 radios and 6 out of 10 cars were bought on credit
2
Q
why was there a boom
republican policies
A
laissez faire
- let americans solve their own problems
- government shouldn’t interfere with people’s lives
powerful trusts
- super corporations that dominated industry
- let the trusts control the industries
protective tariffs
- made it expensive to import foreign goods
- protected businesses against foreign competition
- American companies can grow quicker
low taxation
- benefitted the wealthy
- they would re invest in companies
3
Q
why was there a boom
new industries
A
car
- henry ford set up the world’s first production line in 1913
- model t - 15 million produced between 1908 and 1925
- cost $290 - 3 months wages
- each worker had only 1 or 2 jobs as the skeleton passed
- 1920- rayon invented which was a cheaper substitute for silk - 300 million stockings sold in 1930
- all urban homes had electricity by 1928
- telephones, radios, vacuum cleaners and washing machines were all mass produced
- new techniques allowed huge amounts of goods to be produced cheaply
4
Q
why was there a boom
USA’s industrial strength
A
- farmers producing more than they could sell
- developed cars, telephones and electric lighting
- large amount of natural resources
- leading oil producer
- selling more products abroad
- growing population living mostly in towns and cities
- most companies did not export outside the usa
- led the world in coal, steal and textile industries
5
Q
why was there a boom
american dream
A
- spending money was a better quality
- consuming more and more
- ordinary americans had the confidence to buy goods because they
were sure they could pay for them - confidence
- americans believed they had the right to prosperity
- main aim was to have a nice house, good job and plenty to eat
6
Q
the roaring twenties
town v country
A
- more people lived in towns and cities
- growing cities with skyscrapers
- skyscrapers represented the boom
- in the south they fought a rearguard action against the evil effects of the city
- tension
- cities full of drunks, atheists and criminals
- country values of family life and tradition under threat
7
Q
the roaring twenties
radio
A
- everyone had one
- communal activity- families listened together
- in poorer districts they shared a radio
- 1930- one radio for every 2-3 households in poorer parts of chicago
- those who didn’t own one went to a shop or a neighbours house to listen
- 1921- 1 radio station
- 1922 - 508 radio sations
- NBC making $150 million a yera
8
Q
the roaring twenties
jazz
A
- popular amongst young people
- african american
- 1920s- jazz age
- new dances- charleston
- new styles of behaviour summed up by flapper ( short dress and make up and smoked in public)
- older generation saw jazz as corrupting the young people of the usa
9
Q
why was there a boom
the first world war
A
- wasn’t involved heavily in the war
- supplied a lot during the war giving american industry a boost
- american exports to areas controlled by european colonial powers increased during the war
- aircraft became available to the masses- 162,000 flights a year by 1930
- america outstripped germany in the supply of medical products
- plastics and other materials were produced creating new industries
10
Q
roaring 20s
sport
A
- baseball- new york yankees and boston red sox
- babe ruth became an international star
- boxing became popular
11
Q
roaring 20s
cinema
A
- studios in hollywood were producing large numbers of movies
- charlie chaplin and buster kealon (comedy actors)
- until 1927 all movies were silent
- multi billion dollar business
- 100 million tickets sold per week
- for the working people as well
- 10 or 20 cents for a movie
12
Q
roaring 20s
morals
A
- sex became a major isssue in tabloid newspapers, films and conversation
- sold films using sex: ‘forbidden path’
- male stars also presented as sex symbols
- censorship introduced in hollywood
- contraceptive advice openly available
- more common to have sex outside marriage
13
Q
roaring 20s
car
A
- helped cities to grow by opening up the suburbs
- carried owners too and from entertainment
- carried boyfriends and girlfriends beyond the moral gaze of their parents
- took the to sports events, beach, holidays, shopping trips, picnincs etc…
14
Q
who didn’t benefit from the boom
african americans
A
- white governments feared the power of african americans so they introduced laws to control their freedom
- ku klux klan- used violence to intimidate
- the film ‘birth of a nation’ 199915 glorified the klan as defenders of decent american values against african americans and corrupt white businessmen
- k.k.k. gained support from prominent figures such as woodrow wilson
- faced fierce racism and were arrested and lynched always without trial and sometimes in front of cheering crowds of men, women and children
15
Q
who didn’t benefit from the boom
agriculture
over production
A
- 1900-1920 more land was being farmed
- producing wheat no one wanted
- prices fell
- 1 million fewer farmers in 1930 than in 1920
- many farmers sold their farms
- farm prices fell by 50%
- farms producing luxurious food prospered
- population preferred much more luxurious food such as fresh fruit and vegetables and cereal products
- improved machinery (combine harvester)
- fertilisers made us agriculture extremely efficient
- prohibition of alcohol meant consumption of barely fell by 90%
16
Q
who didn’t benefit from the boom
agriculture
no longer importing to europe
A
- europe imported less from the usa
- europe was poor
- american imports not needed as former agricultural workers returned to their farms and started producing food again
17
Q
who didn’t benefit from the boom
agriculture
farmers struggling from competition between other countries
A
- suffering from competition from highly efficient canadian wheat producers and argentinian as well
- america’s population falling and so less food is needed
18
Q
who didn’t benefit from the boom
agriculture
US tariffs
A
- european countries found it hard to sell in american markets
- high tariffs on exports from other countries
19
Q
who didn’t benefit from the boom
traditional industries
A
- coal industry producing too much coal reducing the price of coal
- coal losing out to electricity and oil
- although coal was used to produce electricity they did not need much coal to produce a lot of electricity
- domestic heating boilers use less coal
- leather, textiles and shoe making protected from competition by import tariffs but were not growth markets
- competition from industries which used man made materials and often mechanised
- workers suffered as it came increasingly mechanised due to declining profits
- workers wages did not increase on the same scale as company profits
- 1928 - coal industry strike
- men got paid $18 for a 70 hour week and women $9
- 42% lived below the poverty line
- minimum wage $48
- no money to pay for essentials
20
Q
who benefitted from the boom
rich women
A
- women took over men’s jobs
- post ww1 25% more women are in employment
- 1920 all white women could vote
- corsets abandonned
- new materials such as rayon gave women more freedom
- short hair and make up- symbols of freedom
- women could go out with other women- would usually have to wait for marriage
21
Q
who benefitted from the boom
A
- the wealthy benefitted from low taxation- allowed them to reinvest in companies
- us businesses benefitted from tariffs on imported goods
- new industries- car; plastics; electricity
22
Q
intolerance towards migrants
A
- 1921 emergency quota act passed which set a total annual limit fro immigrants of 357,000 - annual number of immigrants from 1 country 3 %
- national origins act passed in 1924. total number of immigrants reduced to 150,000 and quota firther reduced to 2%. immigrants from japan and china were also banned
23
Q
sacco and vanzetti
A
- arrested on suspicion of murder and armed robbery ata shoe factory
- they were self confessed anarchists and despised america’s political system
- trial centred around their radical ideas as the relevant evidence was thin and inconcluisve
- found guilty and sentenced to death
- an international protest movement was launched to prevent their execution
- 1925 a portugese immigrant confessed to being part of the gang who carried out the murder and robbery and named the four others yet sacco and vanzetti were still executed
24
Q
intolerance communists
A
- many believed that eastern european and russian immigrants would bring over communist ideas
- many were deported
- letter bombs were posted to 36 prominent americans
- pamphlets were distributed widely in the us calling for the overthrow of the government
25
Q
intolerance african americans
how the situation changed
A
- in the north they had a better chance of getting good jobs and good education
- there was a growing african american middle class
- jazz made african american musicians high profile figures
- african american writers and artists flourished
26
Q
intolerance native americans
A
- almost disappeared as an ethnic group from 1.5 million to 250,000 in 1920
- forced to live in reservations in the mid west
- worse health, worse education
- most lived in extreme poverty
- lower life expectancy
- selling land to mining companies
- 1924 - granted us citizenship and were allowed to vote
- 1928- improvement to laws relating to native americans
27
Q
religious intolerance
A
- the south was largely made up of fundamental christians
- more urban christians accepted darwins theory
- in six southern states the teaching of evolution was outlawed
- monkey trial- biology teacher in tennessee broke state law by teaching evolution
- scopes was found guilty however it was a victory for evolutionists as the prosecuting lawyer was a fundamentalist and he got ridiculed when trying to defend the bible’s version of creation
28
Q
why was prohibition introduced
A
- many of the movements for prohibition were devout christians who saw what damage alcohol did to family life
- some southern state governments prohibit the sale of alcohol
- believed workers would be more reliable
- politicians backed it as it got them votes in rural areas
- drinkers were perceived as unpatriotic as most of the big breweries were run by german immigrants who were the enemy during ww2
- people believed bolshevism thrived on drink and alcohol led to lawlissness in cities
- became law in january 1920
29
Q
how successful was prohibition
A
unsuccessful:
- bootleggers brought illegal liquor into the cities as it was big money
- organised into gangs which became rich and powerful
- 1500 prohibition agents were employed for the whole of the usa which meant each agent covered an area the size of london
- gangs made over $2 billion per year causing feuds between rival gangs ( 1926 - 1927 150 gang murders) no one was ever caught
- government officials bribed by gangs allowing them to set up other businesses such as prostitution and gambling
- there was increased production towards the end of prohibition as prohibition agents siezed more distilleries ( 1921 - 9746, 1929 - 15794)
- made from potatoes and other ingredients which was nicknamed moonshine
successful:
- there were many successful agents e.g. smith and einstein who made 9392 arrests
30
Q
rise of gangs during proibition
A
- alcohol was in high demand
- al capone sold his beer and whisky to every place in chicago and so he was now seen as the supplier of the alcohol industry in chicago
- allowed capone to sell to the masses and politicians in chicago from which he made $60 million a year- prohibition raised the prices
- rival gangs would try to take control of the alcohol industry and also hijack eachothers liquor
- valentines day shooting showed that gang crime was public
- more money came in from raketeering as more people wanted to prrotect the alcohol due to its value
