pages 8, 9 & 10 of USA booklet (who did and disn't benefit from the boom) Flashcards
Who felt the benefits of the boom?
- owners of consumer goods factories
- assembly line workers
- white people in the cities
- speculators on the stock market
- early immigrants
- middle class women
- builders
Why did assembly line workers benefit from the boom?
The assembly lines meant that women and unskilled workers could work, as they only needed to know how to do one stage of production - meaning unemployment hugely decreased.
Which jobs jobs were women generally suited to?
Electrical companies due to their nimble fingers.
How much did female employment increase by during the boom?
Female employment increased by 24% during the boom.
What was the single biggest contributor to the boom?
Cars because they also provided huge knock on effects.
How much of all the glass produced went to car manufactory?
75% of all glass
Why did owners of consumer goods factories benefit from the boom?
The government believed in Laissez Faire which left it to businessmen to control their industry
By 1929, how many people were speculating and how much money was spent on shares?
20 million and 9 billion dollars spent
How many of the workers at the River Rouge Factory were immigrants?
70%
How much did the number of household flush toilets increase by?
From 20% to 51%
How much did the number of vacuum cleaners increase by?
From 9% to 30%
How much did the number of washing machines increase by?
From 8% to 24%
How much did the number of fridges increase by?
From 1% to 8%
With these new consumer items being brought into houses, how much time could be saved on average for women every week doing housework?
On average 3 hours less on housework every week.
What is evidence that builders benefitted from the boom?
Road lengths doubled.
When was the busiest building period in US history, why?
In the 1920’s because of the road lengths doubling and the growth of skyscrapers.
Which groups did not benefit from the boom?
- Farmers
- Blacks/ immigrants
- Coal and steel workers
- Textile workers
- Union members
- Workers
How much did farm income drop by from 1919 to 1928?
From $22 to $13 billion
How much did a bushel of wheat cost in 1920 and what did it drop to in 1931?
In 1920 a bushel of wheat was worth $233but by 1931 it was just $32.
How many farms had access to electricity or mains water?
Less than 10%.
What percentage of poeple lived in rural areas and how many were forced off their land to try and find work in rural areas?
50% of all people lived in rural areas. 6 million were forced off their land to try and find work in rural areas.
Which country did farmers compete with?
Competition meant that US farmers couldn’t compete with the highly efficient wheat producers of Canada.
Due to the boom what machinery had farmers invested in and what did this lead to?
Invested in new machinery such as combines, this led to overproduction of goods between 1900 and 1920. This created surpluses that nobody wanted.
why were blacks and immigrants hit so hardly by the boom?
They did the least skilled jobs
