America in the 1920s Flashcards
What is Isolationism?
-When a country isolates itself from the affairs of other countries by declaring not to enter into alliances or commitments.
What is the Monroe Doctorine 1923?
-America should stay out of Europe’s affairs, and vice versa.
How many soldiers died in WW1 for America?
-100,000.
What is a boom?
-When a countries economy increases rapidly in a short amount of time, which benefits the country and the employment in full.
Describe industry.
- Sales of consumer good doubled e.g. cars went from 9 million - 26 million.
- Roads doubled in count in the 1920s.
- The roads gave an increase tot the truck industry. It went from 1 million to 3.5 million.
Describe Transport.
- Cars made it possible to live in the suburbs e.g. Queens doubled in size.
- A passenger airline was built, by 1930 new airlines flew 162,000 flights a year.
Describe homelife.
- Silk stockings are no longer for the rich, in 1919 only 12,000 had been sold and in 1930 300 million were sold.
- In 1918 only a few homes had electricity, by 1929 almost all urban homes had it.
- Mail order catalogue was introduced in 1927.
Describe Cities.
-Skyscrapers were being built in New York, more buildings were built during the boom than any other part of history.
How much time did it take to build a car?
What was the price drop from 1908 - 1925?
- 13 hours to 1 hour 33 minutes.
- In 1908 it was $850.
- In 1925 it was $290.
What was the Volstead Act or 18th Amendment in January 1920?
-The manufacture, sale or transport of intoxicating liquors within the United States for beverage purposes is herby prohibited.
What is prohibition?
-The ban of alcohol.
What is temperance?
-To restrain from drinking alcohol.
Describe prohibition.
- In rural states there was a temperance movement, by 1916 21 states were ‘dry’.
- Many christians fell alcohol ruined families.
What are prohibition agents?
-Agents whose sole job was to track those who were breaking prohibition laws.
Why did prohibition fail?
-Officers were pid off not to snitch, with bribes of up to $1000.
-Gangs made $2 billion on the selling of illegal alcohol.
There were 130 gangland murders in 1926 and 1927.
-There were speakeasies during prohibition than there were saloons before.
What are speakeasies?
-Illegal bars in the 1920s.
What are bootleggers?
-The people who transported the alcohol from the suppliers to the speakeasies.
What are stills?
-Illegal distilleries where people made there own alcohol..
What is moonshine?
-Illegal homemade whiskey.
Who were Isidore Einstein and Moe Smith?
-They were prohibition agents who made a total of 4392 arrests.
What were the causes of the boom?
- Industrial Strength
- World War One
- State of Mind
- Republican Policies
- Hire Purchase
Describe Industrial Strength.
- It had a growing population of 123 million by 1923.
- They were the world leading industrial nation.
- They had many raw materials such as oil, coal, iron and gas.
Describe World War One.
- America joined the war in 1917 so hd 3 years savings.
- America loaned money to Germany so they got interest.
Describe Republican Policies.
- From 1922-1932 republicans were in power.
- !922 the Fordney-McCumber Act: Set up saying that it will cost lots to import food from Europe.
Describe State of Mind.
- People wanted the best living situation.
- In early days people believed in ‘Saving money for a rainy day’ but in the 1920s it was spend your money because you have it.
Describe Hire Purchase.
- It allowed more people to buy consumer goods, it was scheme where consumers could buy a product but pay for it in instalments.
- 8 out of 10 radios were brought on hire purchase.
- 6 out of 10 cars were brought on hire purchase.
Why were the 20s roaring?
- The film industry was booming.
- Sport was nearly as popular as business.
- The average wage rose by 11%.
- More skyscrapers were built.
- Jazz music became really popular.
- In 1921 there was only one licensed radio station, but by the end of 1922 there were 508.
- By the end of 1929 NBC made $150 million a year.
- The first ‘Talkie’ Was made in 1927.
Why weren’t the 20s roaring?
- Older people didn’t like Jazz.
- Big industries took over.
- There were worried that they were becoming sex-obsessed by films - 36 states threatened to introduce censorship.
Who was Clara Bow?
-She was the ‘It’ girl.
What was a flapper?
- The were granted the vote in all states.
- There were 10 million women in jobs by 1929, 24% more than in 1920.
- In 1914 the were 100,000 divorces, by 1929 this had doubled.
How had women’s lives changed?
- They would wear short skirts, have shot hair and had the flat chested “Garconne” look.
- They wore mens clothes.
- They smoked, drank and wore makeup.
- Played Tennis.
- Danced wildly in jazz clubs.
- Were openly lesbian or sexually active.
Why did the lives stay the same?
- Flappers scandalised America.
- The Anti-Flirt Association tried to persuade young americans to act decently.
- Women were still payed less.
Who didn’t Benefit from the boom?
- Textile workers, because of new industrial methods.
- Poor white people, because they couldn’t get jobs.
- New immigrants, because they couldn’t get jobs.
- Coal miners, because their wages were too low.
Why did farmers struggle?
-The war was over and there were fewer outs to feed and too much crop - Over production
-They had competition from Canadian wheat farmers.
-Farmers were becoming unemployed.
-Cities didn’t want unskilled farmers.
-The land was over worked.
Banks were repossessing farms.
What was the consequence for farmers?
-They lost lots of money and house, they also lost their land and made too many crops which they couldn’t sell.
