Economic Problem

Question 1

Economic problem - New competitors

Answer 1

1. Canadian Wheat
2. New industries - synthetic fiber called rayon, required less workers
3. New fashion used 1/3 of former amount of material
4. Female cotton operatives - Less demand for cotton and wool as synthetic textiles were more in demand
5. immigrants - after going bankrupt - losing jobs

Question 2

Economic problem - Tariff

Answer 2

1. Emergency tariff act 1921 - increased import duties, gave American producers some protection in the domestic market
2. Fordney McCumber Act 1922 - retaliation abroad, price increased, less competition
3. generating revenue for the federal government

Question 3

Economic problem - Overproduction

Answer 3

1. Did not expect the reduction in demand from countries

2. Assembly lines - electric conveyor belt - reduced price & wage

Question 4

Economic problem - End of WW1

Answer 4

1. American imports were no longer needed
2. Former agriculture workers returned to their farms and began producing again
3. surplus not sent to overseas allies - save food for soldier’s rations

Question 5

Economic problem - Agriculture1

Answer 5

1. overproduction and underconsumption
2. 1924 - Forced to sell their farm, 600k farmers losing their farms
3. 1928 - half of farmers were living in poverty
4. 1929 - farmers were crippled with debts reaching $2B
5. Prohibition - consumption of barley fell by 90% sold less wheat (whisky & moonshine), low price, cheaper to burn as fuel
6. New fertilizer - produced more than needed

Question 6

Economic problem - racial discrimination

Answer 6

1. All whites policy
2. 3/4 of a million lost jobs, moved to cities
3. life was hard for southern states
4. Seen as 2nd class citizen - slum areas
5. Jim Crow laws - segregation, terrible intimidation

Question 7

Economic problem - Unemployment

Answer 7

1. Long working hours - No time to spend for consumption of goods
2. suffered poverty & uneducated immigrants worked for lower wage - lack of disposable income
3. Ex-farmers had to accept lower wage

Question 8

Hire purchase

Answer 8

1. created artificial demand

2. could not pay their repayments when they lost their jobs

Question 9

Economic problem - agriculture2

Answer 9

7. Did not dare to cut down production - ploughed 8M hectares using Fordson tractor in 1917
8. Caused farm prices to plunge - South and the Great Plains
9. American patterns of food consumption changed, saturated with foods that no one wanted to buy
10. Farm relief bill - enable gov to buy & store surplus until markets become more favorable - vetoed by Coolidge - problem never solved
11. farmers borrowed heavily to expand their acreage
12. 1919 farm income amounted to $17.7B