America questions

Question 1

What do you think the phrase the boom means?

Answer 1

It means a surge in economic prosperity where employment is high, businesses are doing well and wages are high.

Question 2

What is meant by the term isolationism?

Answer 2

It is where a country want to conduct themselves by themselves and not interfere with policies that they feel are not advantageous to them.

Question 3

Explain how each consumer good has impacted a consumer’s life.

Answer 3

Cars: It meant that Americans could drive to parties and work rather than having to take other means of transport.

Telephones: This meant that Americans could connect with Americans in other parts of the country and also people in other parts of the world.

Radios: They could keep up with political issues.

Refrigerators: They could store their food.

Question 4

Show your understanding of these terms.

Answer 4

Assembly line: A line where employees would mass produce products. They would all work on a set section.

Consumer goods: These were products that would apply to the everyday American.

Hire purchase: Consumers could pay for products in instalments.

Import duties: These are tariffs that are placed on goods entering the country.

Rugged individualism: This is a policy that was introduced by the American government which was where they would leave businesses and business alone and not interfere.

Question 5

What do each of the American presidents of the 1920s have in common?

Answer 5

Other than Woodrow Wilson, they were all Republican.

Question 6

Describe how Ford’s assembly line worked.

Answer 6

Every employee would work on a specific bit of the product.

Question 7

Describe why American farmers suffered during the 1920s.

Answer 7

They suffered because of the decreased demand for American imports, overproduction and losing their produce.

Question 8

What is meant by inequalities of wealth?

Answer 8

It is the unequal spread of wealth.

Question 9

What was speculation?

Answer 9

Speculation was where you would invest in stocks.

Question 10

Explain what is meant by the word craze.

Answer 10

A craze is a trend that is done by someone and replicated worldwide.

Question 11

In what ways are sources d and e different?

Answer 11

Source D is positive and supportive of jazz music. He feels that black people are contributing heavily to the increased popularity of jazz music.

Source E is negative and does not support jazz music. The author feels that it is over-sexualised and that it is not appropriate.

Question 12

What was the Hays Code and why was it needed?

Answer 12

The Hays Code was a set of regulations relating to film. It was needed because Americans were horrified at the nudity and sexual content of many of the films at the time.

Question 13

How did the following make an impact on women’s lives?

• WW1.
• The Boom.

Answer 13

• WW1: Women began to take over the men’s jobs. They worked just as hard as men and they were earning money which gave them a sense of freedom and independence. They didn’t have to rely on their husbands and they could go out by themselves.
• The Boom:
  This meant that women had more time to go out and they also had more freedom. They could dress in a liberating fashion and didn’t have to adhere to the stereotypes surrounding women at the time.

Question 14

Write a sentence explaining each of the following words.

Answer 14

Prohibition: The banning of the sale, transportation and manufacture if alcohol.
Speakeasy: An illegal club where smuggled alcohol would be sold.
Bootlegger: People that would smuggle in alcohol from other countries.
Moonshine: A home-made spirit.

Question 15

Why did immigrants see America as a land of opportunity?

Answer 15

They saw it as a place where they could live a prosperous life. They saw it as a place of opportunity and where they could live in better conditions. The American dream was a lure to immigrants as they saw America as a place of prosperity and success.

Question 16

Write a sentence about the following.

Answer 16

Lynching:
This is where a black person would be hung from a tree.
Jim Crow Laws:
These were laws that discriminated against black people in favour of white people.
NAACP:
This was an organisation that campaigned for equal rights.

Question 17

Why do you think members of the KKK were able to get away with such violence without being punished?

Answer 17

They were able to get away with violence because in the organisations that would punish them, members were in the KKK therefore would turn a blind eye to it.

Question 18

Why do you think the KKK were keen to associate themselves with American patriotism?

Answer 18

They were keen because they wanted to parade their version of America and how America should be according to them.

Question 19

Why do you think there was a red scare in the early 1920s?

Answer 19

Americans were afraid of Communism as they saw it as a threat to their values.

Question 20

What were Sacco and Vanzetti accused of?

Answer 20

They were accused of armed robbery and two counts of murder.

Question 21

Describe what happened on black Thursday?

Answer 21

The Wall Street Crash.

Question 22

Explain the following.

Answer 22

Hooverville:
These were shanty towns.
Breadline:
These were queues to get soup and bread.
Hobo:
Unemployed workers that would travel the country trying to find work.

Question 23

What is meant by rugged individualism?

Answer 23

Rugged individualism is the belief that people should overcome problems through their own hard work and without help.

Question 24

What were the ‘3 Rs’?

Answer 24

Relief, recovery and reform.

Question 25

Explain what the following were?

Answer 25

Emergency Banking Act:
It closed the banks for a four-day bank holiday.
Economy Act:
It cut the pay of everyone who was working for the government by 15%.
Beer Act:
It made it legal to make and sell alcohol again.

Question 26

What steps did FDR take to help farmers, industry and workers and the unemployed?

Answer 26

Farmers: 
- FCA. 
- AAA. 
Industry and Workers: 
- NRA. 
- HOLC. 
- TVA. 
Unemployed: 
- CCC. 
- CWA. 
- FERA.

Question 27

What is meant by the term popular culture?

Answer 27

Popular culture is the customs, common ideas or behaviours of a country or a group.

Question 28

Why do you think radio and cinema were so popular in the 1930s?

Answer 28

They became popular because film was becoming more and more popular. Also, people had more time to go to the cinema.

Question 29

Write a sentence about the following.

Answer 29

Isolationism:
This is where a country wants to conduct its business itself and doesn’t want other countries to interfere.
Neutrality:
This banned countries giving loans to each other at times of war.
The cash and carry plan:
This was where Britain and France began buying US weapons, warships and planes.
Lend Lease:
This was where America would lend Britain weapons. The Mothers Crusade:
They held anti-war demonstrations.

Question 30

Why did Japan choose to attack Pearl Harbour?

Answer 30

They chose to attack Pearl Harbour because FDR had vowed not to sell any oil or steel to Japan which angered the Japanese which meant that the Japanese planned a secret attack on US ships.

Question 31

What was the role of the WPB?

Answer 31

Their role was to convert industries from peacetime work to war work.

Question 32

How successful was the WPB?

Answer 32

They were quite successful because it produced 86,000 planes in 1943 and 96,000 in 1944.

Question 33

In what ways did African-Americans suffer discrimination during the war?

Answer 33

• Black soldiers were not allowed to train as officers.

- The air force wouldn’t train black pilots at all.

Question 34

Define the American dream.

Answer 34

The American dream was the idea whereby everybody would be living prosperously and would be earning money.

Question 35

Define teenager and rock and roll.

Answer 35

Teenager: A teenager is someone that is between the ages of 14 and 18.
Rock and roll:
Rock and Roll is an energetic genre of music.

Question 36

What was the second red scare?

Answer 36

The second red scare was one that took place after the war.

Question 37

Explain the role played in the second Red scare by each of the following factors.

Answer 37

Nuclear weapons: The Soviet Union emerged as a nuclear superpower to America.
Spies: A member of the US government was accused of spying for the Soviet Union. This increased the fear of communists.
China: China had become Communist in the late 1940s.
Communism in Eastern Europe: The large majority of countries in Eastern Europe had become Communist. Americans were worried that Communism would spread to America.

Question 38

Who was Joseph McCarthy and why do you think he was able to win such popularity?

Answer 38

He was an American senator and he played on people’s fears.

Question 39

What was the Civil Rights movement?

Answer 39

It was a movement that fought for equal rights for black people.

Question 40

Define direct action.

Answer 40

Direct action is action that is going to have an effect.

Question 41

Explain what is meant by freedom rides and sit-ins.

Answer 41

Freedom rides: This was where black and white civil rights campaigners would sit next to each other in white only sections of the bus in protest.

Sit-ins: African-American students would sit alongside white students in white only sections.

Question 42

Write a sentence to describe the following:

• Nation of Islam.
• Black panthers.
• Black power.

Answer 42

Nation of Islam: They were a civil rights group led by Malcom X.

Black panthers: They were the same but they were militant.

Black power: This was a movement towards equal rights for black people.

Question 43

What do you think LBJ meant by the term great society?

Answer 43

It was a term that meant a society whereby everyone would prosper.

Question 44

What was the feminist movement?

Answer 44

It’s a movement that fight for equal rights for women.

Question 45

Why is the Roe vs Wade case a significant event?

Answer 45

It was significant because it meant that women had greater control over their bodies.

Question 46

Describe how two Republican policies affected the economic boom in the 1920s.

Answer 46

Laissez Faire:
The Republicans believed in a laissez faire approach to the economy. This meant they left businesses alone to make as much profit as possible.

Tariffs:
- The Republicans introduced tariffs on imports. This meant that goods built and made in the USA were cheaper. This encouraged people to buy American goods, boosting American industries hugely.

Question 47

In what ways did changes in society affect the role of women in the 1920s?

Answer 47

Dress and Behaviour:

• Flappers wore daring clothes and smoked in public.
• Women could go out unaccompanied which meant there was greater sexual freedom.

Work:

• The First World War challenged these views. Women worked in munitions factories and earned great respect.
• By 1924, there were 10 million women in paid work.

Rights:
- In 1920, women won the right to vote.

Question 48

Which of the following reasons was the more important for the ending of prohibition?

Answer 48

The failure of law enforcement against illegal speakeasies:

• Speakeasies were supplied by bootleggers.
• Few people were sent to prison for illegal trade because of corruption.

The violence of gangsters controlling the illegal trade in alcohol: -The St Valentine’s day massacre.

Question 49

In what ways was American society affected by depression?

Answer 49

• Unemployment soared to 14 million: average wages fell by 60%.
• Hoovervilles appeared in cities.
• Farmers suffered badly: American exports fell from 10 billion dollars in 1929 to $3 billion in 1932.
• The Dust Bowl: American farmers went bankrupt.

Question 50

Describe two ways that the New Deal the American economy.

Answer 50

Created millions of jobs: employment rates went up: more money into the economy: FDR introduced the economy act: cut the pay of everyone working for the government and armed forces by 15%: saved nearly $1 billion.

Improved banking system: more confidence in banks: more trustworthy banks were opening: government lent some money to the banks to help them: this meant that well-run banks could now lend money to well-run businesses: this would create jobs as businesses expanded.

Question 51

In what ways were the lives of African Americans affected by the Second World War?

Answer 51

Impact on Soldiers:

• The US army included over 1 million African Americans.
• In Europe, they were fighting to defeat a racist regime in Germany and yet many felt they faced racism at home in America.