paper 4: all topics

Question 1

what was the boom in america?

Answer 1

-another word for the 1920s in america was ‘boom’
-this referred to the massive successes that were happening in the USA for industry and economy
-the ‘Roaring Twenties’ is also used to describe this time

Question 2

On what factors was the economic boom based? (8)

Answer 2

-Resources
-Impact of the First World War
-Technological change
-Mass-production
-Mass-marketing
-Credit
-Confidence
-The policies of the Republican Presidents

Question 3

resources:

Answer 3

-US had a great store of natural resources: wood, iron, coal, minerals, oil and land
-helped America to become a great industrial power by the beginning of the 20th century + provided a sound basis for further expansion in the 1920s

Question 4

Impact of First World War:

Answer 4

-US had come out the war well, it had supplied Europe with many goods during the war + had taken over European overseas markets
-in some areas, US industry was now the world leader, e.g: chemicals
-there was hastened technological change which US industry seized on

Question 5

Technological change:

Answer 5

-plastics like Bakelite were developed effectively for the first time and were used in new household products
-automatic swicthboards, glass tubing, conveyor belts, and concrete mixers
-helped modernise existing industries + develop new ones
-the most important change was the introducing of electricity
-electricity provided a cheaper, more efficient source of power for factories + led the production of new consumer goods such as refrigerators, vacuum cleaners and radios

Question 6

Mass-production:

Answer 6

-new technique meant that goods could be produced much more cheaply on a large scale
-Henry Ford had developed mass-production in the car industry by introducing an assembly line before the war
-he made cars so cheaply that thousands of ordinary Americans could afford them
-in the 1920s, his ideas were applied throughout industry, particularly to the new consumers products

Question 7

Mass-marketing:

Answer 7

-mass-produced good have to be sold to a mass market: if enough people do not know about or buy the goods, the system will collapse
-so companies spent huge amounts on advertising
-this new industry developed sophisticated techniques to persuade people to buy
-the expansion of the mail-order companies gave consumers in the countryside access to the wide range of goods on offer

Question 8

Credit:

Answer 8

-the growth of credit made it much easier for people to buy goods even though they did not have enough cash to pay for them on the spot
-firms arranged for customers to pay by instalment or hire purchase

Question 9

Confidence:

Answer 9

-confidence amongst americans was sky high
-this meant confidence to buy goods, invest in companies, and to try out new ideas
-confidence is a vital ingredient in any economic boom

Question 10

The republican policies:

Answer 10

republican pro-business policies encouraged the boom:
-they lowered taxes on income and company profts, giving the wealthy more money to invest in American industry and buildings, and people more money to spend on american goods
-they put tariffs on imported goods, this made imports more expensive compared with american-made goods and thereby helped american producers
-laissez faire -> they didn’t interfere in buisness or put any controls on financial institutions
-rugged individualism, with Republicans resisting the call to intervene too much in society’s problems.

Question 11

New industries:

Answer 11

-these were industries that could use electricity and often produced the new consumer goods such as radios, cookers…
-the assembly line was adapted for use in all of the new industries and reduced costs
-most products were labour-saving devices which made life easier, they sold very well

Question 12

Declining industries:

Answer 12

-cotton:polyester taking over
-coal: oil, gas and electricity taking over, mines closing, 600 000 miners on strike (1922)
-overproduction
-prices dropped, wages fell

Question 13

Why did agriculture not share in the prosperity?

Answer 13

-Farming did not do well in the 1920s. US agriculture had expanded during the First World War to send food to Europe, but afterwards countries returned to growing their own again
-Foreigners could not buy US food because the high tariffs meant that they did not have dollars to spend
-There was also competition from Canada. Prohibition hit the production of barley
-US farmers were over-producing food, and prices got very low

Question 14

Did all Americans benefit from the boom?

Answer 14

YES
W hite
A nglo
S axon
P rotestants
NO
- Black Americans + Farmers + Industry workers + complications in the South

Question 15

Black Americans:

Answer 15

-3/4 of US black population lived in the South, where they sufferes from racism in all its forms
-although they had been freed from slavery, they were still desperately poor, especially the sharecroppers, who were exploited by white landowners
-many lived in wodden shacks with no amenities. They had seperate cinemas, restaurants, buses and parks
-During the first ww, many black americans had moved to the industrial cities of the north to find work, but when the war ended, they faced hostility + even race riots

Question 16

Industrial workers:

Answer 16

-although profits rose by 80%, wages rose only by 8%. Recent immigrants got the worst jobs: casual work, on low pay
-wages were low in old indutries facing world competition, like coal and textiles. Mechanisation often replaced workers, especially skilled workers
-there were up to 2,000,000 unemployed throughout the 1920s
-trade unions were able to make little impact, henry Ford would not allow trade unions in his car factories which meant that workers could do little to improve their conditions

Question 17

The South:

Answer 17

-the worst conditions for all, Black Americans, white farm labourers, were in the South, where the main industry was farming
-few farms had electricity or running water and wages were very low
-most farms in the south were dependent upon one crop, such as cotton. In the 1920s the price of cotton crashed, as man-made fibres became available
-also suffered more and more dust storms, which blew away the topsoil and destroyed agricultural land
-in some parts, farm labours were only earning 1/3 of the wage of industrial workers

Question 18

What were the roaring twenties?

Answer 18

-as prices fell, people had more money to spend on enjoying themselves
-for many, the ‘Roaring Twenties’ were a time of fun, parties, prosperity, jazz music and frantic dancing, also called the ‘The Jazz Age’
-new dances and music were all the rage, the ‘Charleston’, the ‘Black Bottom’ and jazz
-jazz evolved black music and became the only way Black Americans could be successful in America
-jazz clubs were especially popular during prohibition, but the biggest craze of all was the cinema

Question 19

the movies:

Answer 19

-the 1920s, was the ‘Golden Age of Hollywood’, movie companies were founded and the first real fim-stars emerged
-nearly 100,000,000 tickets were sold for movies each week, this was a real sign of prosperity
-it could open up whole new worlds for just a few cents, in 1927 the first talkie was produced, ‘The Jazz Singer’
-there were concerns that the cinema might lead to immorality, and in love scenes in a bedroom, actors always had to keep one foot on the floor
-rules were brought in to cover what could and could not be shown on screen

Question 20

sport:

Answer 20

-baseball, boxing and golf all became very popular and the first great sporting heroes emerged
-this was yet another sign of the new prosperity that many Americans were enjoying; they could afford to attend sporting events regularly

Question 21

radio:

Answer 21

-during the 1920s, sales of radios rose rapidly. At the same time sales of gramophone records fell
-new radio stations opened almost every week, many of them playing music almost non-stop
-radio was widely used for advertising and helped to fuel the economic boom of the 1920s. The US gov. made no attempt to regulate radio advertising

Question 22

Why was prohibition introduced and then repealed?

Answer 22

-it was introduced by the Volstead Act, which became the 18th amendment to the US Constitution
-this banned the production, transporting and sale of acoholic liquor. It did not however, ban its consumption
-many small town and women’s organisations campaigned against alcohol, politiciand agreed with their votes
-the blamed acohol for breaking up families, causing unemployment, ill health and suffering of women and children
-brewing in the USA was traditionally run by German immigrants, campaigners claimed that it would be patriotic to close down their industry

Question 23

What effects did prohibition have?

Answer 23

-speakeasies: illegal bars, moonshine or hooch: illegally made alcohol, bootlegging: smuggling alcohol into the US from Canada
-it made ordinary people into criminals, pocile were reluctant to enforce the law, and were open to bribes
-the gangsters stepped in to supply the demand. The made a fortune- Al Capone is supposed to have made $100,000 a year
-they also fought to control the business + encouraged an atmosphere of lawlessness and direspect for the law
-led to a big increase in prostitution, drugs, protection rackets and gambling

Question 24

Why was prohibition repealed in 1933?

Answer 24

-it was clearly not working, some states repealed their own legislation which meant that the local police would take no action
-the depression meant that there was less money to spare to catch smugglers, and other important priorities
-Roosevelt, who became president in 1933, personally dissaproved of prohibition

Question 25

How far did the roles of women change during the 1920s?

Answer 25

-some young, well-off women, much to the disgust of older generations became ‘flappers’
-dressed flamboyantly and behaved extravagantly and were encourgaed by the Jazz Age
-were now accepeted as fully qualified doctors and lawyers, but did not enjoy quality in wages and working conditions
-had campaigned successfully for the vote in several states where they outnumbered men
-in 1920, 47.3% of college students were women

Question 26

why were the achievement of women limited?

Answer 26

-medical school allocated only 5% of their places to women and the number of women doctors declined over the period
-women were not generally interested in politics
-american women had different views of their role in society. There was still a strong belieg that their domestic role was of the greatest importance
-women who had worked during the first world war were content to return to the domestic scene after 1918

Question 27

How widespread was racial intolerence in US society:

Answer 27

-‘Jim Crow’ laws existed in many southern states. These prevented black Americans from exercising their legal rights
-literacy tests before somebody could vote made it very difficult for black Americans to live in ‘white’ areas
-were forced to attend seperate and often much poorer schools
-public buildings, transport, restaurants and many other places were segregated
-used seperate park benches, water fountains and bathrooms
-worst of all, they could be ‘lyched’ and very often nothing was done about it, lynchings averaged more thant 50 a years in the 1920s

Question 28

The Red Scare:

Answer 28

-Fear of communism
Due to:
Propaganda
Bolshevik Revolution
Strikes (3600 strikes in 1919)
Bombs
The Palmer Raids:
-industrial workers were under suspicion of leading a communist plot of strikes
-4000 - 6000 arrested under suspicion of being communists
-556 deported

Question 29

What effects did the changing of policies have?

Answer 29

-anyone with left wing ideas became a suspect, trade unions were harassed; membership fell in the 1920s
-Henry Ford refused to allow his employees to join a trade union
-Socialists were harassed, Sacco and Venzetti, two Italian Anarchists, were accused of robber and murder in 1920
-their trial was a farce because the judge was obviously biased
-the case dragged for 7 years before the two were executed in 1927, even though somebody else actually confessed to the murders
-they were scapegoats for the fear and hatred felt by many Americans

Question 30

The Ku Klux Klan:

Answer 30

-was a secret organisation set up in the south of the USA in the 1860s
-in 1915, the KKK was reformed by William Simmons a clergyman. By the 1920s there were 5,000,000 members of the KKK
-worked on the fears of some Americans at the increase of immigration to the USA in the years after the First World War
-used violent methods of dealing with its opponents, thousands of blacks were shipped, branded or hanged without trial (lynching)

Question 31

What happened to the KKK?

Answer 31

-for a while, they were very powerful, attacked Blacks, Jews, Catholics and anyone who was not fully American (aliens)
-True Americans were WASPs
-1925: a leading member of the KKK, David Stephenson, was convicted of the kidnapping, rape and murder of a young woman
-he was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in prison 31 years later
-within a year, the KKK membership fell from 5,000,000 to 300,000

Question 32

The Black Renaissance:

Answer 32

-black culture and pride flourished in the cities, Harlem (NY) became the centre of these
-talented black artists and writers collected there
-their work expressed the social and economic grievances of blacks and made whites aware of the ‘black experience’ of rootlessness and alienation
-black theatre attracted big audiences and black perfominf artists- comedians, singer and dances like Josephine Barker-were successful in musical shows, clubs and black revues.
-music, whether jazz, or blues, became the most influential art forms of the 20th century

Question 33

NAACP:

Answer 33

-led by W.E.B DuBois, it was dedicated to ‘equal rights and opportunities for all.’
-it grew rapidlyin stregnth and support, with nearly 90,000 members
-it was determined to challenge white supremacy, end of the segregation laws and make blacks aware of their civil rights, including the right to vote
-DuBois was also the father of the pan-african movement, recognising cultural links between black people in Africa and the USA
-it carried out investigations which revealed the extent of lynching and proved that it was unjustified and sadistic
-it failed to get a law against lynching passed but caused public outcry and the number fell dramatically

Question 34

UNIA:

Answer 34

-founded by Marcus Garvey, he said that blacks should have pride in their colours, culture and history
-he blamed their problems on white racism and offered disillusioned black hope of a better future
-wanted to establish close contacts with Africa, and introduced a repatriation ‘back to Africa’ movement where he ecnouraged black to return to their original homeland to help develop it and escape white racism
-set up the Black Star steamship line where he pressed the League of Nations to hand over former colonies to a new African republic where he would be president
-1925 Garvey was arrested on fraud charges, and later deported to Jamaica

Question 35

The ‘Monkey Trial’:

Answer 35

-in some states it was illegal to teach Darwin’s theory of evolution, this led to the ‘Monkey Trial’ in Dayton Tennessee in 1925
-a schoolteacher (John Scopes) was prosecuted for teaching the evolution in a biology lesson, which was illegal in Tennessee
-the case became famous all over the world and although the teacher was found guilty, the outcome was generally regarded as a vicotry for Darrow (criminal lawyer) and the modernists, and a blow to the fundamentalists (W. Jennings Bryan) who were trying to censor what was taught in schools
-the decision was overtuned on appeal by the Tennessee Supreme Court the following year

Question 36

Wall Street Crash:

Answer 36

share prices dropped:
-by 1929, there was $64 billion worth of shares on Wall Street as people bought/sold stocks but a loss of confidence in the stock market cause many people to sell their shares quickly
-on Black Thursday, prices fell rapidly as people panic sold; shares lost $26 billion and banks had to call back loans as they didn’t have enough money
there was deflation:
-as credit reduced and business failed, over-production meant that the prices fell and businesses couldn’t pay wages so more workers were stacked
-banks failed so people had no savings and couldn’t afford food; Europe cut trade with the US

Question 37

intervention and volunteerism during the depression:

Answer 37

-Hoover believed volunteerism would help the US
-he believed the government shouldn’t interfere in the economy and that markets would fix themselves (laissez-faire)
-he emphasised “rugged individualism”-the gov. shouldn’t intefere with people’s lives and so shouldn’t give out handouts to help them
-the governement used intervention to help in the Depression
-the 1930 Hawley-Smoot tariff raised import taxes on food by 40% so Americans would buy their own food and not that from other countries; this cause prices to increase
-the 1932 Emergency Relief and Construction Act gave loans to promote building (e.g. Hoover dam) which increased the number of jobs and helped the economy

Question 38

unemployment & Hoovervilles:

Answer 38

-people lost their jobs and savings as industries struggled
-9000 banks closed from 1930-33 ($2.5 billion was lost in savings); farming income fell to $2 billion in 1932(1/3 of what it was in 1929)
-combined with the Dust Bowl, farmers migrated having lost their land; wages in industry fell by 50% in 1933 and even Ford was making workers redundant
-many moved to Hoovervilles
-24.9% of the workforce were unemployed in 1933 (couldn’t afford rent); the birth rate fell and immigrants/black people were most likely to lose jobs
-those who couldn’t pay rent set up shanty towns (Hoovervilles) in NYC, Washington, etc.. with help from charities and there was migration towards these towns

Question 39

the Bonus Marchers:

Answer 39

-first world war veterans had been promised bonuses
-to make up for lost wages during the war, veterans were promised a $625 bonus payable in 1945
-many became unemployed and lost savings in the Depression and so wanted the bonus immediately in order to feel their families
-they marched to Washington
-in 1932, 20 000 Bonus Marchers marched in order to pressure Hoover (after Congress rejected their proposal, they set up camp in Washington)
-Hoover called the US army who teargassed the marchers with 100 being injured and some even dying; this destroyed Hoover’s reputation as he had set up the police against war veterans

Question 40

The Hundred Days:

Answer 40

-Roosevelt, the new President, wanted to restore economic activity
-he wanted to “prime the pump”: use money to create jobs; he closed all banks for 4 days with the Emergency Banking Act
-this helped him reopen only financially secure banks, rebuilding confidence in banks (fewer people were rushing to withdraw their savings) and ending the banking crisis
-he increased support in ‘fireside chats’
-via the radio, Roosevelt explained simply the new laws and alphabet agencies to the American people
-he did this 30 times, increasing support for himself and the New Deal amongst Americans as well as encouraging them to put their savings in banks again to help stabilise them

Question 41

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA):

Answer 41

-it was federally controlled
-as southern states weren’t doing enough for the poor, the TVA helped 7 states to recover
-it was part of the New Deal plan to redevelop of the Tennessee Valley to create unemployment and reduce the effects of the dustbowl
-it revived the economy by producing electricity
-up to 20 dams were built, creating jobs and allowing the flooding in the area to be controlled for farmers
-it generated hydro-electricity for local farms which boosted productivity and revived the economy

Question 42

policies for agriculture:

Answer 42

-Roosevelt stopped over-production in order to increase prices
-the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) paid farmers to keep area of land empty and limit the number of crops/animals they kept
-6 million pigs were killed and, because there was less wheat/cotton grown, prices rose; this helped farmers to make a profit
-farmers were helped if they struggled with mortages
-the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) improved mortgage arrangements for 20% of farmers
-more could now afford to pay their mortages so were more likely to keep their land and jobs; this made sure the number of farmers didn’t decrease

Question 43

policies for industry:

Answer 43

-businesses were encouraged to join the National Recovery Administration (NRA)
-the NRA was popular amongst the amongst the public as it controlled prices, wages, and working hours
-2.3 million buisnesses took part, displaying the Blue Eagle symbol to show they were part of it, which helped to improve conditions for workers across America
-workers could join unions
-the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) allowed worders to join unions (and 3.9 million were in a union by 1939)
-they could fight be better pay/hours/conditions helping them to earn more and improve the economy

Question 44

policies for unemployment:

Answer 44

-Roosevelt provided a basic income for the unemployed
-the Federal Emergency Relief Act (FERA) gave $500 million to states to help the unemployed
-this allowed the unemployed to feed their family in the short time whilst looking for a job
-people were encouraged to return to work
-Roosevelt set up the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) which gave young men outdoor paid jobs; 500 000 had joined it by 1935
-the Public Works ADministration (PWA) were given $3.3. billion to build structures (e.g. dams) which created jobs

Question 45

Works Progress Administration (WPA):

Answer 45

-provided work relief for the unemployed
-it spent $11 billion to employ 8 million Americans in short-term work, providing them income and experience as part of the 2nd New Deal
-it heped families with their income during the winter
-it invested in a variety of projects
-the WPA supplied workers for manual construction projects (e.g. roads, school, hospitals) and organised training programmes for the young
-it also helped the arts industry (e.g. writers) and gave women sewing and teaching programmes

Question 46

National Labor Relations Act (NLRA):

Answer 46

-workers were entitled to join a u union
-this act, also called the Wagner Act, banned unions which were funded by companies and firing members because they were part of a union
-union membership rose to 9 million by 1940 allowed factory workers and craftspeople to campaign for better pay/working hours
-protection was given to unions and workers
-the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) supervised union negotiations
-they defended worker who were fired because they were part of unions, hiring 226 lawyers, in order to decrease unemployment and help families

Question 47

Social Security Act (SSA):

Answer 47

-created a federal pension system
-employees paid 1% of their total income into a pension scheme (which later rose to 3%) alongside money paid it from a tax on employers
-this was paid back in retirment which increased the incentive to work
-it created unemployment insurance and grants to help the unemployed
-employers of over 8 people paid a tax which provided unemployment pay to feed families
-matching grants were given by the federal government to the money provided by the state government for dependent children, which helped 7000 people

Question 48

Welfare for farmers:

Answer 48

-teh Farm Security Administration (FSA) helped farmers struggling for money
-the FSA helped rural people buy land for farming rather than working as tenants on wealthy farms
-it gave $1 billion in loans by 1941 to buy land to resettle families
-Roosevelt helped to increase prices
-the AAA continued to limit production of crops by taxing farmers who grew more products than they were allowed to
-the government could control the amount of produce from farms so prices rose and farmers could make a profit, which helped after the dustbowl

Question 49

Bamking Act:

Answer 49

-it created a board with financial powers
-a board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System was created in 1935, chosen by the president
-they had financial powers (e.g. setting interest rates) so powerful banks had less power
-it strengthened the banking system
-by increasing central powers, banks became more stable and none were closed in 1936
-interest could be carefully monitored and controlled by the Government so another stock market crash and less likely to happen

Question 50

Rural electrification:

Answer 50

-farmers could modernise their farms with loans
-electrical appliances (e.g. cookers, fridges) were installed in the houses of farmers and other rural communities with loans from the Electric Home and Farm Authority (EHFA)
-farmers could use modern methods of farming (e.g. electric brooders for chicken) making farming quicker, cheaper, and more efficient
-the number of farms with electricity increased
-as farms were rural, it wasn’t profitable for utility companies to spply electricity (only 10% of farms had it in 1930)
-the Rural Electrification Administration (RFA) gave loans to give farms electricity so that, by 1945, 40% of farms had it

Question 51

Roosevelt’s aims and the New Deal:

Answer 51

-RECOVERY: farm income rose, banks reopened, unemployment fell by 3 million
-unemployment still wasn’t down to the levels in 1929 (3.2%)-it was 17.2% in 1939; farm income wasn’t as high either (it wasn’t until the Second World War that it got better)
-RELIEF: WPA, Social Security Act, 35% of people received governmental relief
-it varied from state to state and some still needed more money and houses to live in
-REFORM: Social Security Act, unions, rural electrification, financial regulation
-there was still a large gap between rich/poor, wages for men/women and black people/white people

Question 52

Supreme Court opposition:

Answer 52

-the Supreme Court closed down Alphabet Agencies
-many judges who were against Roosevelt claimed that AA were unconstitutional as they took away the power of state governments (the federal gov was too powerful)
-they agreed that the NRA was to have no control over trade and the AAA could not be forced on states as this was against the constitution
-Roosevelt tried to get a majority in the court
-judges were appointed by the President so, in 1937, he asked Congress to add 6 more judges in order to him a majority of supporters in the Supreme Court
-this was called court-packing (and typical of a dictator) and was refused but 2 of the exsiting judges began to back him, giving Roosevelt a majority in the Supreme Court

Question 53

Republican opposition:

Answer 53

-the republicans disagreed fundamentally with the democrats
-the republicans disliked Roosevelt and the federal government gaining too much power
-they hate him spending so much money (e.g. on construction programmes), often by borrowing it or in raising taxes
-the republicans gaines power in Congress
-in 1938, due to a recession, they gained more seats in Congress and formed a coalition with some democrats from the southern states
-they voted to cut spending on work relief programmers (e.g. the CCC), block any New Deal measures, and investigate the Alphabet Agencies

Question 54

Business opposition and the Liberty League:

Answer 54

-businessmen disagreed with the New Deal
-businessmen disliked the governement being so powerful with high taxes (to fund all its New Deal programme): they preferred a laissez-faire attitude
-they hate the NRA setting working hours and pay and the Wagner Act allowing unions to challenge businesses-both granted workers too much power
-the Liberty League was set up to paint Roosevelt as anti-business
-the American Liberty League was founded in 1934 and distributed leaflets/broadcast speeches to try and show the New Deal as a threat to the power of individual states
-only 150 000 people joined it and it was closed in 1940 after the Supreme Court began backing Roosevelt (so it wasn’t a success)

Question 55

Father Coughlin’s Social Justice campaign:

Answer 55

-Father Coughlin spread his messages on the New Deal
-he was a Catholic priest near Detroit whose sermons were broadcast via radio to 30 million
-his political opinions were taken seriously by politicians/the public and he intially supported the New Deal (which boosted votes for Roosevelt)
-he set up the National Union for Social Justice
-Coughlin claimed that the Depression was caused by Wall Street financiers and so wanted banking reforms and more fair taxes
-he campaigned in November 1934 to nationalise the US economy by setting up the National Union for Social Justice; many of his ideas were realised in the Second New Deal so his influenced declined