America in the 1920s

Question 1

How did unemployment change at the end of WW1 in America?

Answer 1

950,000 in 1919 to 5,010,000 in 1921.

Question 2

What were Warren G. Harding’s main aims when he was elected in 1921?

Answer 2

• Balance the government’s books
• Reduce taxation on the American people
• Introduce tariffs to protect US trade and industry
• Provide countrywide radio

Question 3

What became a byword in Harding’s administration due to his policy of ‘Isolationism’?

Answer 3

‘Buy American’

Question 4

What did the 1921 Emergency Quota Act state?

Answer 4

It limited immigration into the US to 357,000 a year. Revised in 1924 to 150,000, with quotas within this of immigrants from certain countries.

Question 5

Why did people feel that President Wilson took too big a part in government decision making?

Answer 5

He took America into WW1 despite campaigning to keep out of it and didn’t consult Congress about promoting the League of Nations. He also looked to be involved in law-making, introducing Congress to his ideas personally.

Question 6

What reasons were there that caused the shift to Republicanism after Woodrow Wilson’s Presidency?

Answer 6

• Harding’s campaign slogan, ‘Less government in business and more business in government’ appealed to those who disagreed with Wilson’s policies of involvement
• Republicanism - policy of ‘laissez-faire’ which distanced the federal government from getting involved in social or economic problems for businesses
• Harding’s campaign policies were nicely vague - it looked as if he would be a President who wouldn’t interfere

Question 7

How did the Russian Revolution during the First World War affect America?

Answer 7

Following the conclusion of the War, many Americans went on strike when their work conditions didn’t improve. The number of strikes grew following the establishment of the Communist Party of America in 1919, with a general high coming in February 6th, 1919, of 60,000 people. ‘Red Hunting’ began from this point until 1921, which became known as the ‘First Red Scare.’

Question 8

What concept did Hoover introduce when he was appointed as President in 1929?

Answer 8

Rugged Individualism - Hoover’s own take on Laissez-Faire - it dwelt less on inaction and more on allowing people to take responsibility for themselves

Question 9

If someone believed in ‘Rugged Individualism,’ what do they think?

Answer 9

• People, even the poor and homeless, were weakened by government support , because it sapped their self-reliance. The government should not interfere to help those with jobs and homes either. It should not regulate working hours, pay or working conditions, or fix the bank interest on mortgages and other loans. Businesses had to be free to run themselves, even if they exploited the workforce.
• The USA should isolate itself from other countries.
• The USA should restrict immigration. When the USA had needed workers, immigrants had been encouraged to think that they could come to the USA to realise dreams of equality and freedom. At the end of the war, with rising unemployment, unlimited immigration made things worse. Most immigrants were moving to improve their lives, not, in the main, to bring wealth into the country.

Question 10

What did the Wall Street Crash do to America?

Answer 10

• The Wall Street Crash started on October 29th, 1929.
• ## The US stock market collapsed, sending the USA, then many other countries, into the Great Depression.