Depth Study D: The USA, 1919-41 Flashcards
- How was the US economy already strong by 1900?
America’s boom of the 1920s had solid foundations. By 1900 America was already a leading producer of oil, coal, iron, steel, engineering products and textiles. These thriving basic industries provided an excellent platform for later economic growth.
- How did WW1 help the US economy?
The first world war presented the US with increased opportunities for export as the warring European nations were unable to trade with their colonies and required supplies of food, raw materials and military equipment. Whereas Germany, Britain and France were exhausted by the war, the US economy emerged strong and reinvigorated
- Note two points about how each of the following contributed to the US economic boom of the 1920s:
- Invention and innovation
- Electrification
- Mass production
- The motor industry
- Mass-marketing
- Hire purchase
- Government policy
nvention and innovation:
• The building industry benefited from new machines such as concrete mixers, pneumatic tools and power shovels
• Communications were speeded up by automatic switchboards, dial phones and teletype machines
• Advances in chemicals and synthetics brought rayon, Bakelite and cellophane into common use
Electrification
• The widespread availability of electricity meant homes and industry how had a clean, cheap and efficient source of power
• Domestic appliances powered by electricity such as fridges, washing machines and vacuum cleaners became affordable to ordinary Americans
Mass production
• This was made possible by adapting the line production techniques of a Chicago slaughterhouse
• Henry Ford used assembly line production in the manufacture of cars and the same techniques were applied to the production of many other items from radios to cigarette lighters
• Mass production led to a fall in prices
The motor industry
• The motor car was central to Americas economic success
• By 1929 one American in five owned a motor car
• The car industry employed up to ½ million workers and stimulated road and hotel construction, the building of filling stations and the development of suburbs and holiday resorts
• It also boosted associated industries – oil, glass, rubber, steel, leather and upholstery
Mass-marketing (advertising)
• Mass production required ways of mass-selling and advertising became a major industry during the 1920s
• Commercials were devised for the radio and the cinema while giant posters on billboards were used along highways. Magazines, newspapers and mail order catalogues were also used to promote new merchandise
Hire purchase
• Customers who could not afford to buy a product outright were able to pay by instalments under a hire purchase agreement
• Since the cost of living was falling for many Americans, with wages rising and both food and manufactured goods becoming cheaper, this seemed a sensible way to buy
Government policy
• The Republican governments of the 1920s – led by Presidents Warren Harding (1921-23), Calvin Coolidge (1923-29) and Herbert Hoover (1929-33) – followed financial policies considered favourable to business: low taxation, high tariffs (taxes on imports used partly to raise money and partly to protect home industries from foreign competition) and laissez-faire – an absence of regulation and government intervention
- Which three companies dominated the US car industry in the 1920s?
The industry was dominated by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors.
- Give figures for the changing cost and sales of the Model T Ford
Henry Ford led the field, reducing the cost of his Model T from $850 in 1908 to $290 in the 1920s. This was made possible by high volume sales. 15 million Model Ts had been made by 1927. Workers at Ford’s Detroit factory were paid high wages, but they had to sign agreements to say they wouldn’t join unions.
- Give figures for 3 other mass-produced goods
- The number of radios increasing from 60,000 in 1920 to 10 million in 1929
- The number of telephones increasing from 10 million in 1915 to 20 million in 1930
- For every fridge in 1921 there were 167 by 1929
- How was the train industry affected?
the increase in car ownership and road building had a negative impact on numbers travelling by train and train-freight.
- Give examples of changing fortunes of the following industries:
- Building and construction
- Cotton and wool
- Steel
- Coal
Building and construction
The 1920s was a golden age of building and construction in America as new businesses required factories, offices, shops and showrooms connected by new roads. Many skyscrapers were designed during this time including New York’s Chrysler Building and the 102-storey Empire State Building, both completed by the early 1930s. Many new homes, schools, hospitals and other public buildings were also constructed during this time.
Cotton and woollen textiles
The general increase in the standard of living and the increase in the number of shops and department stores meant there was increased demand for clothes. But since these were often made from synthetic fibres such as rayon and celanese (artificial silk) there was actually less demand for cotton and woollen textiles. Problems for the traditional textile industry was also made worse by the change in fashions – shorter hemlines for skirts and dresses meant less material was used. Textile operatives in the cotton and woollen industries were among the lowest paid factory workers.
Steel
The car industry used 20% of steel output and there was further demand from the building industry which used steel girders. Most new industries were equipped with machinery that made use of steel or used steel components in their products.
Coal
The coal industry suffered from overproduction. Oil, gas and electricity were increasingly used in homes and factories. The coal industry was plagued by wage cuts, pit closures and strikes.
- How had US agriculture benefited from WW1?
During WW1 agriculture had boomed as grain from the Midwestern and southern states had been exported to Europe. With the aid of new machinery such as combine harvesters production increased, prices rose and US farmers were able to make large profits
- Give four reasons why US agriculture suffered in the 1920s
- Farm workers in Europe returned to their farms and began producing food again so American imports were no longer needed
- US tariffs made selling to Europe even more difficult. European countries found it hard to sell in US markets and get dollars to buy US products with
- US agriculture began facing competition from Canada and Argentina
- The increasingly prosperous US population preferred more luxurious foods such as fresh fruit and vegetables to cereal products
- Prohibition led to a 90% reduction in consumption of barley for making beer
- Give three examples of or figures for suffering of US farmers in the 1920s
This all led to overproduction and falling prices. Many small farmers could no longer afford their rents or mortgage payments. Evictions and forced sales followed. There were one million fewer farms in 1930 than 1920.
Small farmers and labourers suffered most. Larger operators with modern machinery were still able to make profits. These included some fruit growers of California and Florida and large-scale cereal farmers of the Midwest.
- What % of Americans still lived below the poverty line by the end of the 1920s?
60% of US families lived below the poverty line in the late 1920
- Give examples of how people in each of the following minority groups typically did not share in the prosperity of the USA in the 1920s:
- Black Americans
- Native Americans
- New immigrants
Black Americans
Until the end of WW1 the population of black Americans was concentrated in southern states such as Texas and Louisiana. They worked as labourers or sharecroppers – agricultural workers passing a share of their crops to landowners in return for land to farm. The agricultural slump of the 1920s saw approximately ¾ million of these laid off by white landlords. Those who remained experienced poverty and extreme racial discrimination.
Many tried to find work in northern cities. Many of the jobs available were in the lowest paid sectors – domestic service, casual labouring and building work. Most of the new industries which offered higher wages operated a whites-only employment policy. Blacks met with considerable discrimination, especially with regards to housing where they were segregated into slum areas such as Harlem in New York.
Native Americans
In the C19th American Indians had been gradually forced off their land and by the early 1920s they were living in reservations provided by the US government. These were in areas with poor soil. Those who remained on reservations suffered from poverty, poor education and ill-health. Those who left and tried to mix with white society met with prejudice and discrimination, finding the main job opportunities were in low paid work.
New immigrants
With the exception of the American Indians, America is an immigrant society. The population arrived from Europe and elsewhere over three centuries. The earliest immigrants, largely from northern Europe and Scandinavia and their descendants came to resent later waves of immigrants from southern and eastern Europe and Russia. The new immigrants found that only the lowest paid jobs were available. They also suffered discrimination because of their religion – many were Jews or Catholics – lack of education and ability to drive down wages. Unemployment rates among new immigrants remained high throughout the 1920s.
- What is meant by ‘The Roaring Twenties’?
For a minority America in the 1920s was not just a land of economic prosperity but also a country of glamour, glitz and partying. This life of excess and frivolity was projected across the nation through the mass media so most Americans knew of the new age and daring new ways of the younger generation. This was the decade of shorter skirts and dresses, make-up, bobbed hair, cocktail drinks, nightclubs, the Charleston, the saxophone, jazz and Hollywood. It saw rebellion against the starchiness of earlier standards of dress, morals and social behaviour.
- Did all Americans approve of lifestyles associated with ‘The Roaring Twenties’?
But millions of Americans were envious or disapproving spectators of the racy lifestyles enjoyed by young, rich city-dwellers. The ‘Roaring Twenties’ was more an image than a reality for most of the population.
- Give a figure for increased cinema audiences during the 1920s.
Cinema provided an opportunity for escapism for many Americans and audiences more than doubled during the 1920s, reaching 95 million in 1929.
- Name 4 movie stars.
Hollywood launched stars such as Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino who became some of the world’s first celebrities.
- What big change happened in cinema in 1927?
Talkies’ arrived in 1927, with millions seeing and hearing Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer.
- Give examples of how movie stars affected other people.
Hairstyles, clothes, make-up, perfumes and mannerisms of the stars were copied by impressionable Americans. However, there were concerns that films were corrupting public morals so the industry introduced the Hays Code which limited the length of on-screen kisses and banned nudity (although this wasn’t adopted until 1930 or seriously enforced before 1934).
- Why was the 1920s also known as ‘The Jazz Age’?
The popularity of Jazz has led to the 1920s also being known as ‘The Jazz Age’. Along with blues it originated in the African American community of the south. It was often performed by black musicians who had migrated to the northern cities of New York, Philadelphia and Chicago.
- Did all Americans enjoy jazz?
Jazz appealed to young whites who found it exciting, dynamic and modern. Older Americans found it threatening as it broke with tradition and was seen as a corrupting influence.
- Give figures for developments in radio in the 1920s.
By 1930 40% of US households had radios. The first national network, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), was set up in 1926 following the establishment of more than 500 local commercial radio stations.
- Give three examples of bands or tunes heard on the radio.
Radio was used to broadcast light musical entertainment to a mass audience, producing the age of the great dance bands. Orchestras led by Joe Candullo, Meyer Davis and Jean Goldkette would play tunes such as Swanee River Blues, Black Bottom or Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh?
- List 5 things having cars allowed Americans to do (more easily).
The car made possible much of the activity that characterised the period by giving many Americans a freedom of movement they had never known before. It provided an easy means of visiting clubs, cinemas, restaurants, sporting events and taking day trips and other holidays.
- What was the 18th Amendment?
Nationwide prohibition was introduced by the 18th Amendment of the US Constitution. From 1920 it was illegal to manufacture, transport or sell alcoholic drinks.
- What was the Volstead Act?
The ban was to be enforced through the 1919 Volstead Act which defined alcoholic drinks as those which contained more than 0.5% alcohol
- Give 3 reasons for the introduction of Prohibition.
- Societies such as the Anti-Saloon League and the Women’s Temperance Union had been campaigning for the abolition of alcohol since the nineteenth century. It was argued that alcohol caused much poverty, crime and ill health. Supporters of Prohibition – known as ‘dries’ – were particularly influential in rural areas of the South and Midwest. By 1914 they had persuaded several state governments to ban alcohol within their states.
- Many US brewers were of German descent. In WW1 it was claimed that alcohol was linked to German aggression and that it was unpatriotic to drink alcohol. Many also believed that grain made into alcohol could be better used for making bread
- Politicians began to realise they could win votes – especially in small-town America – by supporting Prohibition. Alcohol was banned in 18 states by 1918
- The Protestant Church supported Prohibition as it believed alcohol was to blame for a decline in moral standards and family life in the big cities
- Industrialists such as Nelson Rockefeller argued that Prohibition would be good for the economy as it would reduce absenteeism and promote hard work
- Give 5 reasons for the failure of Prohibition (using figures where possible)
- It had only ever been supported by a small majority and that support was concentrated in traditional, small-town, rural America.
- It was not illegal to purchase or consume alcohol. Drinking also continued behind closed doors. Illegal drinking bars – ‘speakeasies’ – became commonplace in towns and cities. There were 32,000 speakeasies in New York by 1929
- Private deliveries of wines and spirits were made to the homes of the rich, whilst others produced ‘moonshine’ – home-brewed alcohol – in illegal stills
- The government appointed several thousand enforcement agents to clamp down on illegal manufacture and trading. However, these agents were too few, poorly paid and often privately opposed to Prohibition and vulnerable to threats and bribes from criminal gangs. Nearly 10% of agents were sacked for taking bribes
- The illegal sale and distribution of alcohol provided a golden business opportunity for criminal gangs. They organised the smuggling of rum from the West Indies and whisky from Canada, ensuring ‘speakeasies’ were properly supplied with ‘bootleg’ – illegal – liquor. Gang wars broke out in Chicago and New York as criminal gangs fought for control of different city blocks. Murder and corruption became common means of removing business obstacles. In 1926-1927 there were 130 gangland murders in Chicago for which the killers escaped without punishment. In the St. Valentine’s Day massacre of 1929 seven members of Bugs Moran’s gang were gunned down in a Chicago garage by members of Al Capone’s gang.
- State officials, judges, senior police officers and jury members were often bought off with bribes or threatened with their lives
- Profitable control of the liquor trade enabled the criminal gangs to extend activities into other areas such as protection and prostitution
- When and what was the 21st Amendment?
In 1933 President Roosevelt supported the 21st Amendment which repealed the 18th Amendment and ended Prohibition.
- List 5 groups that some Americans felt threatened their traditions.
new immigrants, communists, anarchists, trade unionists, Catholics, blacks and Jews
- What caused ‘The Red Scare’?
Most of the immigrants to the US during the first two decades of the twentieth century came from southern and eastern Europe. It was thought many of the new immigrants were infected with communist and anarchist ideas following the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917. A wave of strike action during 1919 seemed to confirm these fears. Further evidence of a supposed conspiracy against the state was provided by a series of bomb blasts, one of which damaged the home of the Attorney General, Mitchell Palmer.
The Red Scare was stoked up by hysteria in the press and the readiness of local politicians to see plots and conspiracies behind every protest in favour of improved wages or working conditions. No evidence of a serious threat to the state was ever uncovered.
