Economic Developments: Weaknesses in the 1920s Economy

Question 1

What year did the construction boom end?

Answer 1

1928

Question 2

What was the situation for people buying cars by 1929?

Answer 2

Most people who could afford a car already had one

Question 3

What percentage did Ford production decrease by in 1929?

Answer 3

30%

Question 3

How many cars were there in 1929?

Answer 3

25 million

Question 4

How much had iron and steel production decreased by in 1929?

Answer 4

60%

Question 4

What percentage of Americans were making less than $2000 a year in the 1920s?

Answer 4

50%

Question 5

Name a law which reduced American exports and the year it was passed

Answer 5

1922 Fordney McCumber Tariff

Question 6

Name an individual who made “get rich quick” schemes

Answer 6

Charles Ponzi

Question 6

Give one reason why Britain was unable to buy things from the USA

Answer 6

They were $3 billion in debt to the USA after WWI

Question 7

What percentage profit did Ponzi say one of his schemes would generate for investors in 90 days?

Answer 7

50% profit

Question 8

What happened to Ponzi’s first scheme?

Answer 8

It failed

Question 9

What happened to Ponzi after his first scheme?

Answer 9

He was arrested

Question 10

What event did Ponzi take advantage of to make another “get rich quick” scheme?

Answer 10

Florida land boom

Question 11

What was the population of Florida in 1920 and 1925?

Answer 11

1920 - 1 million. 1925 - 1.2 million

Question 12

What was the message in Ponzi’s second scheme?

Answer 12

He was selling land in Florida that was supposedly close to beaches

Question 13

What was the reality of the land’s location in Florida that Ponzi was selling?

Answer 13

It was near swamps

Question 14

When did the Florida Land Boom end and why?

Answer 14

1926, there was a large hurricane

Question 15

How many people were killed in the 1926 Florida hurricane?

Answer 15

400 people

Question 16

What was the damage cost of the Florida hurricane?

Answer 16

$100 million

Question 17

Name a staple industry

Answer 17

Coal

Question 18

What percentage of houses were powered by electricity in 1912?

Answer 18

15%

Question 19

What percentage of houses were powered by electricity in 1927?

Answer 19

70%

Question 20

Name a ‘new’ industry that emerged in the 1920s

Answer 20

Cars

Question 21

How many cars were there in the USA in 1919?

Answer 21

10 million

Question 22

How many cars were there in the USA in 1925?

Answer 22

20 million

Question 23

How many cars were there in the USA in 1927?

Answer 23

26 million

Question 24

How many people lost their jobs to mechanisation a year in the 1920s?

Answer 24

2 million people a year

Question 25

Which trade union lost 1.7 million members due to mechanisation?

Answer 25

American Federation of Labor

Question 26

How many members did the United Mine Workers union have in 1920 and in 1928?

Answer 26

5 million members in 1920. 75,000 members in 1928

Question 27

What percentage wage increase did farmers experience during WWI?

Answer 27

30% wage increase

Question 28

What was the price of a wheat bushel in 1920?

Answer 28

$2.20 per bushel

Question 29

What was sthe price of a wheat bushel in 1929?

Answer 29

$1 per bushel

Question 30

By what fraction did farm land value fall in the 1920s?

Answer 30

Fell by 1/3

Question 31

How much money did the average farmer make a year in 1929?

Answer 31

$300 a year

Question 32

Name an act made in the 1920s to help farmers and the year it was passed

Answer 32

Agricultural Credits Act, 1923

Question 33

What did the 1923 Agricultural Credits Act do?

Answer 33

Made low-interest loans more available for farmers

Question 34

How many of the wealthiest American families made the same amount as how many Americans on less than $1500 a year?

Answer 34

30,000 of the wealthiest American families made the same amount as 10 million Americans on less than $1500 a year.

Question 35

What was the population of the USA throughout the 1920s?

Answer 35

100 million

Question 36

What fraction of Americans had shares in the stock market in the 1920s?

Answer 36

1/5 of Americans

Question 37

What were you able to do with all of your money in the 1920s?

Answer 37

Invest all of it in the stock market

Question 38

How much money did all USA banks have in reserve by 1928?

Answer 38

$200 million

Question 39

How much money had all USA banks given out in loans by 1928?

Answer 39

$8 billion

Question 40

What did Mellon say would happen if there was a sudden crash in the stock market?

Answer 40

It would naturally recover

Question 41

When was there a brief stock market crash in 1929? (To the month)

Answer 41

September 1929

Question 42

How much did the USA GDP increase a year on average in the 1920s?

Answer 42

2% a year

Question 43

What percentage did the stock market value go up from 1925 to 1929

Answer 43

300%

Question 44

What was being fuelled with people investing in economic growth that was not actually happening?

Answer 44

Speculative bubble

Question 45

How many shares were bought in 1929 in the stock market?

Answer 45

1.1 billion

Question 46

How much of an increase in share buying was there every year in the 1920s?

Answer 46

100 million more shares bought every year