L3: The American Boom Flashcards
When did this ‘Boom’ period happen?
1920’s
How did America benefit from WW1?
America sold food and weapons to Britain and their allies
This created jobs and made people very rich
America, untouched by most of the war, produced a high percentage of the worlds basic goods
Why was electricity so beneficial?
In 1916, only 15% of American homes had electricity – but nearly 70% of homes had it by 1927. This meant that workers could spend their hard-earned money on any number of ultra-modern ‘gadgets’ which had recently been invented – vacuum cleaners, gramophones etc. Huge demand for these goods created jobs in the factories that made them.
What happened with technology, including cars, in America?
American business people, such as Henry Ford, were very quick to see the advantages of using technology to produce goods. He made huge numbers of cars, bit by bit, using an assembly line, in a massive factory in Detroit. Glass, steel, rubber and leather went in one end of his factory – cars came out of the other: one every ten seconds,. Many other goods – radios, telephones and ovens –were produced like this. And all the time, as companies got getter and quicker at making them, the cheaper the goods became. More jobs were created from this.
What happened in America with department stores?
Department stores sold goods on every high street and, for those who didn’t live near a town, there was the latest catalogue, full of goods to choose from that could be delivered to your door. Cinemas and radios carried advertisements too, even encouraging people to take advantage of new ‘buy now, pay later’ plans, which meant buyers could pay for goods in small installments over a period of time.
