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History - Mrs Downie > Return to Normalcy (1920 - 1932) > Flashcards

Return to Normalcy (1920 - 1932) Flashcards

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1
Q

List the Presidents from this era

A

Harding: 1921-1923
Coolidge: 1923-1929
Hoover: 1929-1933

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2
Q

Describe Harding’s achievements

A
  • Number of effective appointments
  • Sheppard-Towner Maternity Act
  • Successful cuts to government spending
  • Reduced federal government intervention, achieving ‘return to normalcy’
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3
Q

Describe Harding’s effective appointments

A

Andrew Mellon as Treasury and Hoover as Secretary of Commerce

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4
Q

Describe the Sheppard-Towner Maternity Aid Act

A
  • 1921
  • Provided federal aid to states to encourage the building of infant and maternity health centres
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5
Q

Describe how Harding cut government spending

A
  • Budget and Accounting Act made departments present budgets for presidential approval
  • Government spending down from $5,000 million in 1920 to $3,333 million by 1922
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6
Q

Describe Harding’s limitations

A
  • Traditional policies and values
  • Return to before the war
  • Isolationism and conservatism
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7
Q

List the controversies under Harding

A
  • Teapot Dome Scandal
  • ‘Ohio Gang’
  • Harding’s behaviour
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8
Q

Describe the Teapot Dome Scandal

A
  • An oil reserve, originally reserved for the Navy, was put under the control of the Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall
  • Fall was later accused of leasing oil drilling rights in return for bribes
  • Assistant Attorney General committed suicide in 1923 during investigations
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9
Q

Describe the ‘Ohio Gang’

A

Harding’s close friends became notorious for their poker parties in the White House, and boozy meetings at a private house on K Street

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10
Q

Describe Harding’s scandalous behaviour

A

Renowned for drinking during prohibition and having affairs with many women, some of whom were married

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11
Q

Describe the 1927 Immigration Act

A

Under Coolidge

  • Implemented a literacy test that require immigrants over the age of 16 to demonstrate basic reading comprehension in at least one language
  • Increased the tax paid by new immigrants upon arrival
  • Excluded entry for anyone born in the ‘Asiatic barred zone’ except for Japanese and Filipinos
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12
Q

Describe the initial immigration quota introduced by Dillingham

A
  • Set at 3% of the total population of the foreign-born of each nationality in the US as recorded in 1910 census
  • Total number of new immigrant visas each year = 350,000
  • Initially vetoed by President Wilson but later passed by President Harding
  • 1922, the act was renewed for another two years
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13
Q

Describe how the immigration quota changed in 1924

A
  • The existing quota was lowered from 3% to 2%
  • The year on which the quota calculations were based was pushed back from 1910 to 1890
  • The % of visas available to the British Isles and Western Europe increased, but visas to Southern and Eastern Europe were limited.
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14
Q

Describe the impact of the immigration quotas on international relations

A

The Japanese were particularly offended by the Act:
- The Japanese government protested but the law remained
- Tensions between the two countries increased

Relations with Europe remained positive despite the restrictions:
- The global depression of the 30’s and WW2 limited European immigration anyway

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15
Q

Describe the strengths of Coolidge’s presidency

A
  • Made more speeches and met more people than any of his predecessors
  • He excluded confidence and appeared calm and unflappable
  • He was honest and incorruptible (he did not smoke, drink or chase women)
  • He extended Republican pro-business policies, including low taxation, low interest rates and minimal government spending
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16
Q

Describe the weaknesses of Coolidge’s Presidency

A
  • Was criticised for doing very little during his presidency
  • Slept a lot and said very little, nicknamed ‘Silent Cal’
  • Some believe he suffered a severe depression in 1924 following the death of his son
  • He appeared to have a superiority complex
  • Coolidge refused to stand as president in 1928 due to health concerns
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17
Q

Describe the aims of foreign policy during this period

A
  • Avoid involvement in any future European conflict
  • Fear of communism following October 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia
  • Maintain the most powerful navy in the world
  • Protect trade interests and maintain ‘Open Door’ policy
  • Maintain Monroe Doctrine and political and economic interests in Latin America
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18
Q

Describe the Washington Conference

A
  • Peace conference
  • November 1921
  • Attended by the US, Great Britain, Japan, France and Italy
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19
Q

Describe the achievements of the Washington Conference

A
  • 1921
  • Disarmament Agreement signed by US, GB, Japan and France with Italy signing in 1922
  • Four key countries signed Four Power Treaty, agreeing to respect each others interests in the Far East
  • Japan promised to remove troops from Chinese province Shantung and US agreed not to strengthen military presence in Guam
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20
Q

Why did the US attend the 1921 Washington conference?

A
  • The US wanted to prevent the renewal of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance as they feared the spread of Japanese influence
  • Secretary of State was a keen supporter of disarmament
  • Wanted to maintain current relations with China
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21
Q

Describe the limitations of the 1921 Washington Conference

A
  • Disarmament Agreement only applied to naval battleships and aircraft carriers
  • DA had no method of enforcement
  • Japan broke the DA by the 1930’s
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22
Q

Describe the Kellogg-Briand Pact

A
  • 1928
  • The pact was signed by 15 countries which agreed not to wage war except in self-defence and to seek peaceful means to resolve disputes
  • Not enforced and no sanctions for countries that broke the treaty
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23
Q

Why did the US sign the 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact?

A
  • Placate the French, who wanted a much stronger alliance with the US than they were willing to offer
  • Increasing peace movements
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24
Q

Describe US loans to Europe

A
  • US was prepared to lend money to post-war countries to restore prosperity and prevent the spread of Communism
  • Insisted all war debts had to be repaid and even used this to threaten Europe
  • Britain tried to force up the price of rubber by restricting exports but was forced to back down when the US threatened harsher repayments for war debts
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25
Q

Describe the Dawes Plan

A
  • 1924
  • Reduced German payments to $250 million a year, increasing over the next five years as the economy recovered
  • Immediate loan of 800 million marks, half of which came from US bankers
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26
Q

Describe the Young Plan

A
  • 1929
  • Scaled down reparations to $26 billion over 59 years
  • US loaning money to Germany, Germany repaid Europe, Europe repaid US
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27
Q

Describe US economic involvement in Latin America during this period

A
  • US investment in LA doubled 1924-29, from $1.5 billion to $3 billion
  • US companies dominated movies and radio
  • The Kemmer Plans helped to stabilise and develop economies by offering advice on currencies and bank systems
  • Necessary intervention to prevent US loans being spent by corrupt officials
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28
Q

Describe US intervention in Colombia

A

US gave Colombia $25 million in compensation for its support for the independence of Panama in 1903

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29
Q

Describe US intervention in Mexico

A
  • Ongoing dispute with Mexico after it defaulted on its international loans in 1914
  • In 1922, Mexican gov agreed to repay $500,000
  • 1923, the Bucareli Accords provided compensation for damage caused to foreign property during the Mexican Revolution
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30
Q

Describe US intervention in Nicaragua

A
  • 1925, US troops withdrew from Nicaragua
  • 1926, 5,000 troops sent back in following the outbreak of civil war
  • US diplomat Stimson organised Peace Treaty of Tipitapa
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31
Q

Describe how WW1 contributed to the 1920’s economic boom in the US

A

European countries bought supplies and loans from the US. New technology was developed.

  • The US overtook Germany as the world leading producer of fertilisers and chemicals
  • By 1920, the US produced and consumed 70% of the world’s oil and was its leading producer of coal and steel
  • On the Great Planes, farms supplied the rest of the world with 1/3rd of its wheat and over 2/3rd of its corn

However, wealth was unevenly distributed and small farms particularly struggled

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32
Q

Describe how Republican policies contributed to the 1920’s economic boom in the US

A
  • Laissez-faire
  • Rugged individualism
  • Protectionism
  • The Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922 raised import duties on goods coming into the US to their highest ever levels
  • Mellon handed out tax reductions totalling $3.5 billion to large-scale industrialists and corporations
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33
Q

Describe why consumerism rose during the 1920’s

A

The growth of electricity:
- 1912 to 1927, the no of americans living in electrically lit homes 16% to 63%
- The amount of oil used doubled and gas quadrupled

Female employment
- Increased the need for labour saving devices under hire purchase schemes

  • The popularity of entertainment meant more americans brought gramophones
  • 1923 to 1929, the average wage rose by 8%
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34
Q

Describe the rise of advertising in the 1920’s

A
  • Companies began to hire psychologists to design campaigns and target specific groups
  • Increasing focus on slogans, brand names, celebrity endorsements and consumer aspirations
  • Lucky Strike encouraged young women to smoke by branding their cigarettes ‘torches of freedom’
  • By 1929, companies were spending $3 billion annually on advertising, five times more than in 1914
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35
Q

Describe the growth of the car industry

A
  • 4.5 million cars were on the road by the end of the 1920’s
  • This became the largest industry in the US
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36
Q

Describe the benefits of the car industry

A
  • It used many materials that generated jobs for 5 million people
  • Around 90% of petrol, 80% of of rubber and 75% of plate glass made in the US was used by the car industry
  • It promoted road building, travel and hospitality industry
  • The production of automobiles rose from 1.9 million in 1920 to 4.5 million in 1929
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37
Q

Describe road building

A
  • The Federal Highway Act of 1921 gave responsibility for road building to central government
  • Highways were being constructed at the rate of 10,000 miles a year by 1929
  • In 1936, the Bureau for Public Roads reported that between 25 and 50% of the roads built over the previous 20 years were unfit for use as traffic was wearing them out
  • Created service industries such as motels and petrol stations
  • In 1929, 15 billion gallons of petrol were used and 4.5 million new cars sold
38
Q

Describe technological change

A
  • Electricity provided a cheaper and more reliable energy source and stimulated other electrical goods like fridges and vacuums
  • Conveyor belt and mass production techniques were developed by the car industry and increased productivity and products
  • Plastics like Bakelite were developed and used in household goods
  • Other innovations included glass tubing, automatic switch boards and concrete mixers
  • Skyscrapers started being built
39
Q

Describe new business methods

A
  • By 1929, the largest 200 corporations possessed 20% of the nation’s wealth
  • They operated cartels to fix prices and the government turned a blind eye
  • Some corporations were so big that they were able to dictate output and price level throughout the industry
  • They also created holding companies (e.g Samuel Insull bought up 111 electrical companies)
  • There was significant growth in business schools with 89 by 1928, training 67,000 students
40
Q

Describe credit

A
  • This meant people could buy goods even if they did not have enough cash to pay for them immediately
  • This was due to the development of hire-purchase where goods were paid for in instalments
  • About half the goods bought in the 1920s were paid for by hire purchase
41
Q

Describe confidence

A
  • Stocks and shares rose steadily throughout the decade and then rose dramatically in 1928 to 1929
  • Even ordinary people became involved in buying and selling shares
  • The number of shares traded in 1926 was 451 million, increasing to 577 million in 1927
  • In 1929 there were more than 1.1 billion shares sold
  • Up to 25 million Americans became involved in shares in 1929
42
Q

Describe the employment of women

A
  • 1930, 2 million more women were employed than there had been 10 years earlier
  • These tended to be unskilled low-paid jobs
  • Medical schools only allocated 5% of places to women
  • The number of female doctors in the 1920’s actually decreased
  • Still massive pay inequality
  • Supreme court banned all attempts to set minimum wage for women
  • 1927, women’s textile workers in Tennessee went on strike for better wages but were arrested by the local police
43
Q

Describe progress for women’s rights

A
  • Women were given the vote in 1920
  • Nellie Taylor Ross of Wyoming became the first woman to be elected governor of a state in 1924
  • Bertha Knight Landes became the first female mayor of a city, Seattle
44
Q

Describe limitations in women’s rights

A
  • Only a handful of female politicians
  • The women’s movement failed to get the Equal Rights Amendment Act passed
  • Disenfranchisement of Native American and African American women
45
Q

Describe women’s birth control

A
  • Back street abortions killed up to 50,000 women per year

Margaret Sanger wrote articles on contraception:

  • The Comstock Act of 1873 banned the distribution of article on contraception and items through the US mail
  • She was arrested in 1916 for opening the first contraception clinic in the US
  • 1921, she founded the American Birth Control League
  • She began to promote sterilisation for mentally handicapped people
  • Supporters of eugenics often also supported birth control as a method of maintaining racial purity
46
Q

Describe ‘flappers’

A
  • Women who opposed traditional attitudes to and appearance of women
  • They were often seen as too extreme and disapproved of by religious groups
  • Formation of the Anti-Flirt League
  • In reality, there was little change for women during this period
47
Q

Describe how religion was a cause of prohibition

A
  • Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) campaigned hard for prohibition
  • Female reformers argued → clear links between the consumption of alcohol and wife beating and child abuse
  • Many religious groups saw alcohol as the root of the sin and evil values of American people
  • Some religious groups, such as the Methodists and Baptists, joined the crusade
  • Fundamentalist preachers, such as Billy Sunday, persuaded many conservatives that alcohol was evil
48
Q

Describe how politics was a cause of prohibition

A
  • The Anti-Saloon League campaigned against the devastating effects of excessive drinking.
  • Introduction of Income tax made up for the lost revenue from alcohol →alcohol had accounted for 30-40% of government revenue from alcohol tax
49
Q

Describe how big business was a cause of prohibition

A
  • Big business was told that alcohol was causing their workers to massively decrease in productivity
  • Workers were told that alcohol was being used to suppress them
50
Q

Describe how patriotism was a cause of prohibition

A
  • A lot of brewers were immigrants, particularly Germans
  • With the outbreak of WW1, drinking alcohol was likened to supporting Germany
  • The argument was presented that immigrants brought over alcohol and it was harming the true American lifestyle
51
Q

Describe how tensions between brewers and distillers was a cause of prohibition

A
  • Brewers argued that beer was healthy and spirits were harmful
  • This was in hope of deflecting criticism from themselves
  • This meant the alcohol industry did not present a united front against prohibition and any resistance was weak
52
Q

Describe the rise of speakeasies

A
  • Illegal bars
  • More speakeasies in NY than there had been bars
53
Q

Describe ‘moonshine’

A
  • Home-made liquor
  • It was easier to produce illegal spirits than beer so people were drinking stronger alcohol

This was very dangerous to make:
- Stills sometimes exploded
- The liquor produced was incredibly strong and unregulated so could be deadly

54
Q

Describe the rise in organised crime

A
  • Linked to prohibition
  • Al Capone
  • St Valentine’s day massacre
54
Q

Describe the rise in organised crime

A
  • Linked to prohibition
  • St Valentine’s day massacre
  • ‘Big Bill’ Thompson, the Mayor of Chicago, did almost nothing to control the gangsters in the city
  • By the time Al Capone went to jail in 1932, it was estimated his gang had made over $70 million in illegal business
55
Q

Describe how prohibition led to a rise in corruption

A
  • Bootleggers made huge amounts of money so were able to easily bribe the police
  • Policemen didn’t believe in the law they were policing
  • Policemen made very limited money and were often from the same backgrounds as the gangsters
56
Q

Describe how prohibition affected the economy

A
  • Brewing industry suffered badly. St Louis had 22 breweries before but only 9 re-opened after 1933
  • Breweries, distilleries and saloons closed which led to a loss of thousands of jobs and lead to some dereliction of property
  • In New York, almost 75% of the state’s revenue was from liquor lax - this was lost
  • Prohibition cost the government $11 billion in loss of tax revenue
  • Prohibition cost the government $300 million to enforce
57
Q

Describe the loopholes people used to get around prohibition

A
  • Alcohol for medicinal purposes was not illegal
  • Alcohol for industrial use was not illegal (Poison was put in this alcohol and lead to many deaths)
  • Legal to drink in international waters (Drinking parties on boats)
  • Alcohol for religious purposes was not illegal
58
Q

Describe the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti

A
  • 2 italian immigrants put on trial and eventually executed for anarchy
  • Symbolised anti-immigrant ideas
59
Q

Describe the revival of the KKK in the first half of the 1920’s

A
  • The Birth of a Nation film, released 1915, showed the Klan saving white families from violent African-Americans
  • White war veterans were increasingly militant
  • Increasing industrialisation and urbanisation brought people together
  • Black migration to the North increased tensions
  • Southern whites also resented the arming of African-Americans during the war
  • 1920, 100,000 members
  • 1925, claimed to have over 5 million members
  • Lynchings and racially motivated attacks increased
60
Q

Describe the suppression of African Americans

A
  • Rumours that AA were turning pro-German during the war
  • Black Press strongly investigated
61
Q

Describe the decline of the KKK in the second half of the 1920’s

A
  • 1925, one of its leader, Grand Wizard David Stephenson, was convicted of a sexually motivated murder
  • Stephenson produced evidence of the Klan’s illegal business in hope of a shorter sentence
  • Discredited the Klan and led to a decline in membership
  • Public opinion began to turn against the KKK
62
Q

Describe the patriotism of African Americans

A
  • 200,000 AA served abroad
  • Returned with stronger black conscience and renewed energy for civil rights protest
63
Q

Describe the Black Press

A
  • 200 weekly papers and six monthly magazines representing AA views
  • NAACP periodical, The Crisis, 1917-1918, circulation increased 41,000 to 74,000
64
Q

Describe the Monkey Trial

A
  • 1925
  • Six states decided to ban the teaching of evolution in their schools
  • A Tennessee biology teacher called John Scopes deliberately taught evolution in class and was arrested and put on trial
  • Scopes lost the trial and was convicted of breaking the law
  • However, the trial was a disaster for Fundamentalist public image and they were mocked in the media
65
Q

Describe the events of the Wall Street Crash

A

24th October 1929 - ‘Black Thursday’. Panic and prices falling, 13 million shares sold.

25th October 1929 - Bankers meet at midday and pour money into the markets in an attempt to support them. Prices steadied.

26th October 1929 - Hoover claims the panic is over and that banking would soon recover

29th October 1929 - ‘Black Tuesday’. The worst day ever with 16.5 million shares traded. Shares lost all value and many lost everything. Suicides reported.

66
Q

Describe how the banking system was a cause of the 1929 Wall Street Crash

A
  • Banks to regulate themselves without government interference
  • The Reserve Banks acted in the interest of bankers rather than the country as a whole
  • In the 1920’s there were over 30,000 banks in the US and most of them were small and unstable.
  • The Federal Reserve Board favoured low interest rates and in 1927 it lowered them from 4% to 3.5%. This encouraged easy credit and the ‘bull market’
67
Q

Describe how overspeculation on the stock market was a cause of the 1929 Wall Street Crash

A
  • More and more Americans were gambling their money on shares, with the presumption that prices would continue to rise
  • Lack of government regulation allowed speculation to continue
  • The stock market value of shares increased from $27 billion in 1925 to $87 billion by October 1929
  • By summer 1929, there were 20 million shareholders in the US
68
Q

Describe how the availability of easy credit was a cause of the Wall Street Crash

A
  • This allowed people to buy with money they didn’t have
  • Firms allowed customers to pay in instalments in hire purchase
  • ‘Buying on the margin’ was the practice of buying shares on credit
  • As prices started to slow down and then fall problems began
  • Over 75% of the purchase price of shares was borrowed and this had created artificially high prices
69
Q

Describe how loss of confidence was a cause of the 1929 Wall Street Crash

A
  • The market was only maintained by peoples financial confidence
  • In autumn 1929, experts started to sell their shares before prices fell further and small investors panicked
  • This led to a rush to sell shares and prices fell
  • Thousands of investors lost millions of dollars
  • This was partly caused by rumours that the Federal Reserve Banks was about to make credit less available and experts were starting to sell their shares
70
Q

Describe the effects of the 1929 Wall Street Crash

A
  • The collapse of businesses with individuals losing billions
  • Reduced consumerism and investment
  • Job losses
  • The collapse of credit with loans called in and new ones refused
  • Confidence in the American economy tanked

The President of Union Cigar died after falling from a New York hotel when stock in his company fell from $113.15 to $4 in a single day

71
Q

Describe how falling demand for consumer goods was a cause of the Great Depression

A
  • The construction boom came to an end in 1928
  • Industrial production fell in the two months before the Wall Street Crash
  • Unequal distribution of wealth meant that almost 50% of American families had an income of less than $2,000 a year (the minimum needed to survive)
  • The market became oversaturated
  • The US could not sell its market surplus abroad as Europe was still recovering from the war and had responded to America’s high tariffs with similar
72
Q

Describe how the instability of ‘get rich quick’ schemes caused the Great Depression

A
  • There was huge over speculation and gambling on the markets
  • In the early 1920’s Charles Ponzi conned thousands into investing in his ventures, promising 50% profit within 90 days
73
Q

Describe the Florida Land Boom and how it was a cause of the Great Depression

A
  • Between 1920 and 1925, the population of Florida increased from 968,000 to 1.2 million
  • Parcels of land were being sold to wealthy northerners and people began to invest in developments
  • There were scandals of land being falsely advertised
  • Demand tailed off in 1926
  • Hurricanes in 1926 killed 400 people and left 50,000 homeless
  • The Florida land boom collapsed leaving the state strewn with half-finished, storm-battered developments
74
Q

Describe how problems with agriculture was a cause of the Great Depression

A
  • Post-war, demand fell and prices dropped
  • Demand for natural fibres (such as cotton) dropped as they were replaced by cheaper artificial fibres
  • Prohibition cut demand of crops used for alcohol production
  • Farmers went into debt trying to mechanise
  • There was a big divide between urban Northerners and rural Southerners
  • By 1928, half of all US farmers were living in poverty
75
Q

Describe how problems with old industries was a cause of the Great Depression

A

Coal:
- Coal mining was in decline as gas and electricity were used more commonly
- US coal prices were undercut by cheap polish coal
- This led to many mine closures and unemployment.

Textiles:
- Lowering of tariffs on wool and cotton in 1913, increased competition from abroad
- The development of the artificial fibre ‘rayon’ undercut wool, cotton and silk
- Many textile mills in the North closed down or moved south for cheaper labour.

76
Q

What work did Hoover do to assist farmers in the Great Depression?

A
  • Grain Stabilisation Corporation set up 1930
  • $47 million in federal loans to farmers
  • Federal Farm Board designed to help farmers and maintain agriculture

Many of these measures did not go far enough:
By 1932, 25% of farmer had lost their land and they blockaded roads to demand more support

77
Q

What did Hoover do to assist banks in the Great Depression?

A
  • Gave $2 billion to rescue banks
  • Home Loan Bank Act of 1932
78
Q

What did Hoover do for infrastructure during the Great Depression?

A
  • Construction of the Hoover Dam on the Colorado river
  • Emergency Relief Act gave $300 million to state governments
  • Reconstruction Finance Corporation, set up 1932, spent $1.5 billion on roads, bridges and buildings
79
Q

What did Hoover do about tax during the Great Depression?

A
  • International Revenue Service and Justice Department prosecuted gangsters, including Al Capone, for tax evasion
  • Closed tax loopholes
  • Revenue Act increased taxes on businesess and corporations
80
Q

Describe the Smoot-Hawley Tariff under Hoover

A
  • Set very high tariffs on imports and exports
  • This removed the US from world trade and made the depression worse both at home and abroad
  • Other countries retaliated with tariffs of their own and US imports and exports fell by 60%
81
Q

Describe the March on Washington

A
  • 1932
  • WW1 war veterans asking to be allowed access to their war pensions, which were not supposed to be available till 1946
  • Hoover ordered General Douglas MacArthur to deal with it
  • The General dispersed them with tear gas, machine guns and tanks
82
Q

Why did Hoover take so longer to respond to the Great Depression?

A
  • It was not immediately apparent to anyone how severe the crisis was going to be
  • Current economic theory suggested it would sort itself out
  • Rugged Individualism
  • He believed in a hands off government and instead empowered voluntarism (whereby people and charities supported the poor)
  • He did not wish to overstep his constitutional boundaries
83
Q

Describe how the Great Depression affected unemployment

A
  • Unemployment increased from 3% in 1929 to 25% in 1933
  • There were 12,830,000 registered unemployed but the Labour Research Association estimated the reality was closer to 17 million

Unemployment was unevenly distributed:
- New York State had 1 million unemployed
- Toledo was at 80% unemployment
- Unemployment was 4 to 6 times greater among African Americans
- There was much higher unemployment amongst working class women

84
Q

Describe how the Great Depression affected the economy

A
  • The growth rate went from 6.7% in 1929 to (-14.7%) in 1932
  • Production of coal was the lowest since 1904 with 300,000 unemployed in the industry
  • Iron and steel production fell by 59%
85
Q

Describe how the Great Depression affected the cities

A
  • Factories began to close down
  • Rapid rise in industrial unemployment meaning by 1933 alomst 1/3rd workforce out of work
  • In 1932, estimated 2 million homeless
  • Slums made from tin, wood and cardboard became known as ‘Hoovervilles’
86
Q

Describe how the Great Depression affected agriculture

A
  • Long-term agricultural decline started in the early twenties
  • 1928-32, heat waves, drought and wind-erosion created the ‘Dust Bowl’
  • Demand for crops was low due to poverty so prices fell
  • Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas were the worst affected
  • Dust storms affected 20 million hectares
  • More than 1 million people left their homes to seek seasonal work in fruit-picking in the West
87
Q

Describe sport in this period

A
  • ‘Golden Age of Sport’
  • 1924, 67,000 watched the football game between Illinois and Michigan that took place in Baltimore
  • 1926, 145,000 saw the bocking match between Jack Dempsey and Gene Tunney
88
Q

Describe baseball

A
  • Star players were Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig
  • New stadiums such as West Side Grounds in Chicago
  • The development of the cork-centred ball
  • 1920, the Negro National Baseball League founded
89
Q

Describe radio

A
  • First commercial station (KDKA) founded in Pittsburgh, 1920
  • There were 500 stations by 1922
  • First national network (NBC), founded 1926
  • Between 1923 and 1930, 60% of families bought a radio
  • By 1929, sales were worth $842 million
90
Q

Describe cinema

A
  • By the 1920s, it was the 4th largest industry in terms of capital investment
  • 10 million people visited 20,000 cinemas everyday
  • Starred actors like Clara Bow, Theda Bara and Douglas Fairbanks
  • 1927, the first sound film, ‘The Jazz Singer’
91
Q

Describe jazz

A
  • ‘Jazz Age’
  • Originated with black slaves
  • Became popular with white, middle-class youth
  • Ladies Home Journal publishes ‘Does Jazz put the Sin in Syncopation?’
  • Some cities, including New York and Cleveland, prohibited public performances of jazz

History - Mrs Downie (9 decks)

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