America Inequality and Opportunity, 1920-73

Question 1

What is the meaning of the Republican policy “laissez-faire”?

Answer 1

“Leave alone” - businesses were left alone to continue generating their wealth, as Republicans believed in low taxes to allow people more money to spend.

Question 2

Who were the First Americans, and how were they treated?

Answer 2

They were (still are) the Native Americans, the indigenous people. Originally, there were 5 million of the., but after poor treatment from the European settlers there were only 250,000 left by 1900. They were forced to live in reservations.

Question 3

Where were the Early Immigrants from?

Answer 3

Britain, the Netherlands and Germany.

Question 4

Where were the New Immigrants from?

Answer 4

Mostly from Eastern and Southern Europe, Cuba and Latin America.

Question 5

Give four features of the 1920s economic boom.

Answer 5

1. Urbanisation.
2. Development of modern architecture like skyscrapers in New York.
3. More people began to move away from rural areas.
4. Broadway offered entertainment and became very popular.

Question 6

What does LACKPANTS stand for?

Answer 6

Laissez-faire
Assembly Lines
Credit
Knowledge
Position of America (war)
Advertisement
New consumer goods
Tariffs
Share confidence (investments)

Question 7

What was credit?

Answer 7

A system that allowed people to pay for a product without actually having the money - they would have to pay it off over a period of time. Also called a ‘hire purchase plan’.

Question 8

Give two pieces of evidence that credit contributed to the 1920s economic boom.

Answer 8

$8.5 million was borrowed in credit in 1929 over the course of the year.
Six out of ten cars were purchased using credit.

Question 9

What was Knowledge (in terms of the economic boom)?

Answer 9

America learnt how to manufacture dyes, chemicals and medicines, which allowed them to outproduce rival countries (e.g. Germany) in this industry.

Question 10

How did America’s position in WW1 contribute to the economic boom?

Answer 10

They did not have as much war debt as countries like Britain or France or Germany. Instead, they were actually owed money. This meant they were in a much stronger financial position.

Question 11

How did tariffs contribute to the economic boom?

Answer 11

Tariffs were higher on imported goods and lower on American goods. This meant that American produce would be cheaper and therefore more appealing to the market, allowing American businesses to thrive and expand.

Question 12

How many Americans owned shares in 1929? How does this compare to 1920?

Answer 12

About 20 million Americans owned shares by 1929. This is 5 times more than in 1920.

Question 13

How many shares has been sold
by 1929?

Answer 13

1.1 billion.

Question 14

How did advertisement contribute to the economic boom?

Answer 14

Billboards, newspapers and magazines all contained adverts urging people to keep up with the latest trends and to continue spending. Catalogues made spending easier, as it meant purchasing goods became more accessible to those in rural areas, since produce could be delivered directly to your door.

Question 15

Give an example of mass production contributing to the economic boom.

Answer 15

Henry Ford’s car business.

Question 16

Why did Ford fanously only produce black cars?

Answer 16

This meant that time would not be wasted in changing the paint in spray guns for every car, increasing the speed and efficiency of production, leading to more cars being produced and them being cheaper because of it.

Question 17

How many Ford Model T cars were made every minute by 1929?

Answer 17

6 per minute. 1 per ten seconds.

Question 18

How did the popularisation and rise in access to electricity contribute to the economic boom?

Answer 18

People were able to buy electrical goods, which opened up a whole new market. 70% of homes had access to electricity in America by 1927, so there was a huge demand for appliances like ovens, telephones, fridges and irons.

Question 19

How did assembly lines contribute to the economic boom?

Answer 19

They enabled mass production - by allowing more products to be made in an organised, efficient manner, the prices of said products were able to decrease while the popularity and profit would increase. It also meant more people were employed to work on different sections of the same productz and no specialist expertise was needed.

Question 20

What was viewed as a method to combat poverty by Herbert Hoover?

Answer 20

Shares.

Question 21

How did Ford’s three-shift system speed up the production process?

Answer 21

It allowed the factories to be open 24/7 and thus producing 24/7. More time to produce the goods meant more goods could be made in that time, reducing the cost of the product, meaning more people could buy those goods.

Question 22

Which method of production allowed Ford to employ cheaper, low-skill workers while speeding up his production process?

Answer 22

Introducing assembly lines, where a worker was responsible for just one or two jobs.

Question 23

Give 4 areas of society that were impacted by the success of the entertainment industry.

Answer 23

Sport, Radio, Cinema, Jazz.

Question 24

How was sport changed by the success of the entertainment industry?

Answer 24

Baseball became a very popular sport to watch, which brought in lots of money. Allowed world heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey to take the spotlight in boxing, also bringing in lots of money.

Question 25

What sort of changes did the rise of jazz bring to 1920s America?

Answer 25

It allowed black musicians to find success. It brought about new dances such as the charleston.

Question 26

Give six groups who did not benefit from the economic boom.

Answer 26

Farmers, Native Americans, African-Americans, Coal Miners, Railway Workers, Unskilled Workers.

Question 27

Which oppressed group lived in extreme poverty, were poorly-educated, had a lower life expectancy, had much of their land seized by mining companies and lost their traditional way of life after being forced to live in ‘reservations’ during the economic boom?

Answer 27

Native Americans.

Question 28

By how much did the total US farm income drop from 1919 to 1928?

Answer 28

$22 billion to $13 billion.

Question 29

How did the tariffs hinder the benefits of farmers in the economic boom?

Answer 29

It meant that European companies imported less goods to America, as the high tariffs meant their produce was less popular and earnt them less money. This meant farmers struggled to cope with the demand on little income.

Question 30

How did competition from Canadian farmers hinder the success of American farmers in the 1920s?

Answer 30

It meant that when the mechanisation of agriculture and the New Green Revolution took place, there was surplus wheat being produced en masse that nobody wanted to buy.

Question 31

Give some conventions of women’s lives before the 1920s.

Answer 31

• Conservative dress, no undressing in public.
• Earned very little, if anything, of their own money as they didn’t usually work. If they did, they were underpaid.
• Financially dependent on their husband.
• Limited social freedom. If they went on dates, they had to have a chaperone.
• No political say, couldn’t vote.
• Limited in terms of work.Either were unable to or could only get jobs such as secretary, cleaners or dress-makers.

Question 32

What were sharecroppers?

Answer 32

Some African-Americans were often known as sharecroppers in the 1920s, as they had to give a share of their crops to their landowners as part of their rental agreement.

Question 33

How did unskilled workers suffer from the economic boom?

Answer 33

Cotton and wool factory owners suffered as there was less demand for their produce as more man-made materials (e.g. rayon) were becoming more popular, as well as the fact that the fashion meant that skirts became shorter and thus required less material to make.

Question 34

What were some changed that took place in the 1920s for women’s lifestyles?

Answer 34

-They could drink and smoke in public
-Skirts and hair became shorter, outfits more revealing.
-In 1920, women got the right to vote.
-Less likely to stay in unhappy marriages. Divorces were 100,000 per year in 1914, and in 1929 there were twice as many.
-Could go out without a chaperone.
-More products advertised to women; mostly household appliances such as vacuums or irons.
-Were making more money as more jobs were made available.

Question 35

How many women were in employment by 1929?

Answer 35

10 million.

Question 36

What was a political setback for women in the 1920s?

Answer 36

They were deemed “unelectable” and to this day, there has never been a female president.

Question 37

What is prohibition, and what did it do?

Answer 37

It was a law that prevented any selling, making or transporting of any drink containing more than 0.5% alcohol.

Question 38

What was prohibition also known as?

Answer 38

The Volstead Act, established 16 Jan 1920.

Question 39

Give some reasons for the passing of the Volstead Act.

Answer 39

• It “wasted” grain.
• Thought to make people poor.
• Blamed for poverty and crime.
• Thought to cause antisocial behaviour.
• 3000 infants smothered yearly by parents due to intoxication.
• Too much alcohol penitentiaries and asylums, preventing any kind of rehabilitation.

Question 40

What were the two main aims of prohibition?

Answer 40

• To improve quality of life.
• To reduce crime by removing the threat of intoxication and irresponsible behaviour.

Question 41

What were some things that improved as a result of prohibition?

Answer 41

Alcohol consumption fell by 30% in the early 1920s.
Black musicians entertained in the Speakeasies. It helped some black Americans gain fame in society.
Women became freer as they drank in the Speakeasies.

Question 42

Give evidence that prohibition did not help alcoholism in America.

Answer 42

Many police officers, politicians and prohibition agents were corrupt, and took bribes to ignore the existence of Speakeasies. 1 in 12 prohibition agents were dismissed for corruption.
Illegal drinking dens called Speakeasies became popular. They smuggled alcohol and broke the law. There was about 32000 of them in New York by the 1930s.
Organised crime was widespread. Gangsters like Al Capone flourished in places like Chicago, where they made and sold alcohol.
Thousands of Americans disobeyed the law. A study by Izzy Einstein showed that it took only 35 seconds to be offered a drink in New Orleans.
Prohibition agents were poorly paid and given areas too large to patrol.

Question 43

Were all States impacted in the same way by prohibition?

Answer 43

Maryland never even introduced it.
Rural and Midwest states were very keen on it.

Question 44

When was prohibition ceased?

Answer 44

1933

Question 45

give evidence that al capone was actually like super chill and people need to stop cancel culture

Answer 45

• Was known for giving generous tips over $100 to waiters and shop girls and spent $30,000 on a soup kitchen for the unemployed.
• Brought wealth and excitement to Chicago through opening up clubs and bringing in famous artists and jazz musicians such as Louis Amrstrong and Duke Ellington.
• Was seen as a sort of Robin Hood figure, as he helped the poor.
• Sold beer and whiskey everywhere in Chicago, even the post office.

Question 46

What happened on February 14, 1929?

Answer 46

Valentine’s Day Massacre.

Question 47

How much money did Al Capone spend on getting his own man, ‘Big Bill’ Thompson, elected as mayor?

Answer 47

$250,000

Question 48

How did Al Capone ensure he had substantial political power?

Answer 48

He stationed gunmen on the roofs of polling stations to make sure people elected the officials on his payroll.
He spent $250,000 on getting his own man, ‘Big Bill’ Thompson, elected as mayor.

Question 49

What did Milt Hinton say about Al Capone in ‘Memories of Al Capone?’

Answer 49

“Capone sold the alcohol to my uncle for $12 a gallon, and we’d sell it to people for $18 a gallon.”

Question 50

How many murders did Al Capone commit in order to destroy all rival gangs’ power?

Answer 50

300 murders.

Question 51

How did Al Capone murder two of his own men?

Answer 51

He organised a huge banquet and gave them a gift wrapped baseball bat, with which he then proceeded to bash their brains out.

Question 52

Give two tactics used by Al Capone in St Valentines Day Massacre.

Answer 52

His men were dressed in police clothes, and made their victims vulnerable by pretending they were raiding them for alcohol - which was routine at the time.
The two murderers were dressed in civilian attire, which meant that those dressed as police officers could lead them out from the crime scene under the pretence that they had been arrested.

Question 53

What were literacy tests?

Answer 53

They banned entry to the USA to any immigrant over the age of 16 who was unable to read a sentence of 40 words.

Question 54

Which law only allowed 350,000 immigrants to enter America each year?

Answer 54

1921 Immigration Quota Law.

Question 55

What was the 1924 National Origins Act?

Answer 55

It cut the number of immigrants allowed into the USA per year from 350,000 to 150,000.