Experiences of the boom 1920-1929 (T1)

Question 1

What % of Americans earned less than $2000 a year

Answer 1

60%

Question 2

What was the average wage in the NE of America during this time?

Answer 2

$921

Question 3

What was the average wage in the SE of America during this time?

Answer 3

$365

Question 4

What was the average wage for farmers in America during this time?

Answer 4

$129

Question 5

Between 1920-26 what % of farms were foreclosed?

Answer 5

nearly 2%

Question 6

At this time what %of farmers operated at a loss?

Answer 6

66%

Question 7

At this time what % of black Americans still lived in the South?

Answer 7

85% - these were the poorest areas of the USA

Question 8

What showed that women did not experience as much prosperity as men during the 1920s?

Answer 8

less than 2% of judges and lawyers, on 2 women in the house of rep, out of 145

Question 9

What was the stability of employment like in 1929?

Answer 9

Employment fluctuated - 4 million unemployed during this period
For every 4 successful business, 3 failed

Question 10

What were ‘get-rich quick’ schemes?

Answer 10

Motivated by making quick profit from speculative ventures

Question 11

Why were get rich quick schemes quite accessible?

Answer 11

You could make investments on credit meaning almost anyone could do this

Question 12

What are 2 examples of get rich quick schemes?

Answer 12

• The stock markets

- Florida land rush

Question 13

How many small banks were there in the USA in the 19020s

Answer 13

30,000

Question 14

What did the federal reserve board not regulate?

Answer 14

Small banks, local people would save all their money in these small banks, however if the banks failed then people would lose all their money

Question 15

What caused the cycle of international debt to cause economic problems for the USA?

Answer 15

Dawes Plan (1924) and Young Plan (1929)
The USA had lent money to many European countries which they then had to pay back, however they couldn't as the USA had raised tariffs, meaning most other countries did

Question 16

How did tariffs exacerbate issues with the drop in consumer demand?

Answer 16

Fordney-McCumber tariff raised US tariffs by an average of 40%. This then meant other countries raised their tariffs, so during the 1920s there was less and less trade