American People and The Boom

Question 1

Give four reasons as to why America experienced an economic boom.

Answer 1

• Natural Resources
• Mass Production
• WWI
• Advertising
• Technological Improvement
• Hire-Purchase
• Credit
• Tariffs
• Stock Market

Question 2

What is mass production?

Answer 2

Where companies produce products in large quantities

Question 3

Who developed the assembly line and how did it work?

Answer 3

• Henry Ford
• The product moved along a conveyor belt with workers standing stationary and completing small and singular tasks to build the product.

Question 4

What was the benefit of using the assembly line?

Answer 4

It was faster and cheaper to create products

Question 5

Give examples of new technology that emerged in the 1920s.

Answer 5

• Radios
• Vacuum Cleaners
• Washing Machines
• Irons
• Refrigerators
• Electrically powered lights

Question 6

By 1929, what percentage of homes had electricity?

Answer 6

70%

Question 7

Give examples of advertising.

Answer 7

• TV
• Radio
• Cinema
• Billboards
• Magazines
• Newspapers
• Leaflets
• Blimps

Question 8

What is a share?

Answer 8

A percentage of someone’s business

Question 9

Due to the assembly line, how quickly was Henry Ford able to produce one Model T?

Answer 9

It took him 1 hour and a half, compared to 13.5 hours when using old traditional methods.

Question 10

How often were cars being produced by the mid-1920s?

Answer 10

7’500 cars a day (which is equivalent to 1 car every 10 seconds)

Question 11

What is standardisation?

Answer 11

When the products made by a company are identical and made the same.

Question 12

Give three reasons as to why the car industry was important.

Answer 12

• Led to city expansion and suburb development
• Resulted in a vast national network of roads
• Allowed/encouraged travel
• Encouraged the construction industry
• Helped other industries grow rapidly (like rubber, steel, and glass)
• Henry Ford influenced government policy

Question 13

By how much did the economy (GNP) grow during the 1920s?

Answer 13

From $78 billion to $103 billion.

Question 14

Give four advantages of mass production.

Answer 14

• Faster production rate
• Production accuracy is higher (products are more identical)
• Lower labour costs for unskilled workers
• Number of people earning more than $1 million per year rose from 65 to 513
• Unemployment dropped from 11.9 million in 1921 to 3.2 million in 1929
• Wages experienced an average of 11.1% increase

Question 15

Who were the three Republican presidents during the 1920s?

Answer 15

• Warren Harding
• Calvin Coolidge
• Herbert Hoover

Question 16

What was The Fordney-McCumber Tariff Law of 1922?

Answer 16

The law that raised taxes on imported goods to protect factories and farms, as well as making American products cheaper to sell in America.

Question 17

What was Laissez-Faire?

Answer 17

It meant that the government did not interfere with business or put controls on financial institutions.