Role of the Government in the 1920s

Question 1

What happened to the Aid Bill which passed through Congress?

Answer 1

was vetoed by Coolidge

Question 2

What was the Agricultural Credits Act?

Answer 2

offered loans to cooperatives - encouraged farms to cooperate together

Question 3

When was the agricultural credits act passed?

Answer 3

1923

Question 4

How were farmers protected by foreign competition?

Answer 4

1921 Emergency Tariff Act & 1922 Fordney-McCumber Act

Question 5

Why were farmers hurt by protectionism?

Answer 5

foreign countries retaliate - so farmers can’t export surplus

Question 6

Why was the McNary-Haugen bill criticised?

Answer 6

• failed to address overproduction
• bureaucratic nightmare
• higher prices might stimulate more domestic production (already overproduction)

Question 7

What action did Supreme Court take against unions?

Answer 7

blocked them on banning of child labour / minimum wage for women

Question 8

By late 1920s what were employees main concerns in terms of employment?

Answer 8

maintaining employment rather than conforming to union pressure

Question 9

What was a disadvantage for labour of the rise of new industries?

Answer 9

many were anti-labour union

Question 10

What was a problem with the x12 regulatory banks headed by the Federal Reserve Board?

Answer 10

allowed to regulate themselves (no gov. interference)

= represented interest of bankers

Question 11

On average how many bank failures were there each year through the 1920s?

Answer 11

600 annually on average

Question 12

To keep markets buoyant in the 1920s what did the Fed do?

Answer 12

favoured lower interest rates

= fuelled easy credit

Question 13

Who / what were small scale farmers hurt by?

Answer 13

large scale “agricultural businesses” using machinery / mass-production and needing little labour

Question 14

What would the government do with the excess grain they purchased through the M-H Bill of 1924?

Answer 14

sell it abroad

Question 15

What did the M-H bill propose to pay farmers?

Answer 15

1924 prices

Question 16

What occurred in the passing of the M-H Bill?

Answer 16

passed through congress twice, but vetoed by Coolidge

Question 17

Who would have to pay an equalisation fee in the proposed McNary-Haugen Bill?

Answer 17

transporters / processors

Question 18

What was the boom entirely dependent on?

Answer 18

continuing domestic consumption

Question 19

What did the Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act replace?

Answer 19

the 1913 Underwood-Simmons Tariff

Question 20

What was Wilson sympathetic to during his administration in terms of trade?

Answer 20

free trade

Question 21

Why were Republicans insistent protectionism was the way forward?

Answer 21

believed after war was over imports would increase - so protectionism would protect US industry

Question 22

What did the 1921 post-war minor depression aid the passing of?

Answer 22

the 1922 Fordney-McCumber Act

Question 23

What was the President given the power to do in terms of the Fordney-McCumber Act?

Answer 23

vary tariff rates up to 50%

Question 24

Why should the F-M tariff not be over-exaggerated? X2 factors

Answer 24

• average rate only 38%

- lower than the Payne-Aldrich duty of 1909 (was 41%)

Question 25

What was the average tariff under the Underwood-Simmons Tariff?

Answer 25

27%

Question 26

What increase in the average tariff was seen between the Underwood-Simmons 1913 tariff and the Fordney-Mccumber 1922 tariff?

Answer 26

11% increase

Question 27

X4 negative impacts of the Fordney-Mccumber tariff

Answer 27

1. counter measures against American trade = make it harder for American exports 2. no competition for American businesses = able to raise prices (although only 1% inflation during period - so not bad) 3. price of imports for average american consumer up 4. farmers hurt as grain exports decline

Question 28

Who was protectionism most popular with?

Answer 28

big domestic businesses - particularly US chemical industry

Question 29

What was the weakening of trade unions largely down to; supreme court or actions of congress? Who dominated supreme court?

Answer 29

supreme court - Republican dominated

Question 30

What were unions banned from doing - making strike action less successful?

Answer 30

'picketing' - enforcing strikes

Question 31

What action meant the incentive to strike was reduced due to the consequences it would cause? - put in place by Republican government

Answer 31

unions would be liable for loss of trade during factory closure

Question 32

In 1929 what % belonged to a union?

Answer 32

less than 10%

Question 33

What had Wilson introduced in relation to child labour which was abolished by the Republican government?

Answer 33

punitive tax if factories used child labour

Question 34

Who won in the 1928 election?

Answer 34

Hoover

Question 35

The Hoover vs Smith 1928 election was essentially what ideology against what?

Answer 35

rural, Protestant America + self-help vs standing up for immigrants, Catholic + modern society

Question 36

What act was passed in 1921 in relation to the manipulation of grain on the stock market? Why was the Act passed?

Answer 36

Grain Futures Trading Act There was the belief that prices were being kept artificially high

Question 37

How many farmers left in 1920s? How many acres of farmland were lost in 1920s? What happened to agricultural production in the 1920s - why?

Answer 37

1.5million farmers left 13million acres of farmland lost Agricultural production increased 9% in 1920s

Question 38

What did the passing of the Grain Futures Trading Act in 1921 show?

Answer 38

That the government recognised the plight of farmers - but offered no direct relief due to their laissez faire and fiscal conservatism

Question 39

Who attended the Washington Naval Disarmament Conference? When was it held?

Answer 39

Britain, Japan, USA | 1921

Question 40

What did the Budget and Accounting Act establish? What department did it notably include?

Answer 40

Bureau of the Budget Department of Female Labour

Question 41

When did the surplus in the 1920s economy begin to decline? What was a large cause of this?

Answer 41

1925 Decline in tax revenue

Question 42

How much did businesses save due to tax cuts in 1920s? What did this encourage them to do? Give an example What problem did this arguably exacerbate?

Answer 42

businesses saved $3.6billion encouraged businesses to reinvest e.g Ford's Dearborn Factory may contribute to overproduction

Question 43

What did the rise of larger companies allow for which benefitted consumers?

Answer 43

- discount purchasing - economies of scale - research and development into better products

Question 44

How many companies controlled the electricity of the USA?

Answer 44

X16 holding companies controlled 90% of the electricity of the USA

Question 45

How many paid tax in 1920 in the USA as a % of the population? What % by the end of the 1920s? How many people was this a decrease of?

Answer 45

1920 : 5% pay tax 1929 : 2% pay tax decline of 1million people

Question 46

What was the name of the Act which allowed for the creation of farming cooperatives? When was this introduced? What did this mean farmers could do?

Answer 46

Capper-Volstead Act 1922 share the means of production / transportation / market together

Question 47

X2 impacts on consumers of the Fordney-McCumber tariff;

Answer 47

- reduced competition for American companies - little need to reduce prices - higher import prices for American consumers

Question 48

Conditions of the debt funding commission for debt repayments from Britain When was the Debt Funding Commission set up? What did this give banks?

Answer 48

$4600million in 62years at interest rate of 4.2% set up in 1922 Gave banks confidence that they would benefit from status as a creditor nation and earn interest = so more willing to lend

Question 49

Explain how the Farm Credit Act of 1923 weakened the banking system

Answer 49

credit system gave loans to farming collectives on easier terms but 66% of farms were loosing money so were unable to repay = so banks were loosing capital farm values decline by 30% over the decade = so when farms were foreclosed upon, banks had assets which were worth less

Question 50

Decisions in relation to unions / labour;

Answer 50

- yellow dog clause enforced by most new industries - picketing banned (enforcement of strikes) - became accountable and had to pay for losses generated during a strike - 1922 : child labour allowed - 1923 : equal rights amendment declined

Question 51

What happened to average working hours over the 1920s?

Answer 51

1920 : 47 1929 : 44

Question 52

Who was Secretary of State in 1920s? How much did the Dawes plan appropriate to Germany? Apart from supporting Germany what was this an attempt to do?

Answer 52

Charles Hughes $200million attempted to curb US's saturated economy via stimulated German demand for US goods

Question 53

When was the Mississippi flood? Who / how did this do harm?

Answer 53

Mississippi flood in 1927 harmed farmers since a large proportion now received no income at all

Question 54

In what election were immigrants not allowed to vote for the first time in 100yrs?

Answer 54

1928

Question 55

What did the Young Plan to German reparations repayments?

Answer 55

Reduced them from $23billion to $8billion

Question 56

What commission was set up by Hoover to investigate the problems of prohibition? What did it suggest?

Answer 56

Wickersham commission Suggested the problem of prohibition was its lack of enforcement by police / gov / agents Advocated its continuation

Question 57

Growth in corporate profits: women wages : unskilled males : What was the average of unskilled males more than women wages?

Answer 57

Growth in corporate profits: 65% women wages : 2% unskilled males : 8% Unskilled males still earning 35% more than women

Question 58

Agricultural values of 1920s; 1920 : 1930 : Oklahoma wheat revenue?

Answer 58

1920 : $10billion 1930 : $4billion Oklahoma wheat revenue; 1920 : $1million 1930 : $7,000

Question 59

Electrical goods; 1912: 1929:

Answer 59

1912 : 2.4million | 1929 : 160million

Question 60

Number of millionaires: 1920 - 1928 -

Answer 60

1920 - 7,000 | 1928 - 35,000

Question 61

Court case in 1923 where supreme court ruled against minimum wage;

Answer 61

ADKINS vs CHILDRENS HOSPITAL

Question 62

During WWI what was there a shortage of? How did this contribute to the construction boom of the 1920s?

Answer 62

Shortage of building materials and labour = all absorbed by war effort Construction companies / realtors eager to fill housing shortage / compensate post-WWI

Question 63

Government policies during the 1920s fulfilled on whose promise in the 1920s election? What was this promise?

Answer 63

Harding's campaign promise of a "return to normalcy"

Question 64

Example of an individual who invested heavily on the stock exchange and whose fortune collapsed; Name Wealth What was his occupation?

Answer 64

Krueger Fortune collapsed from $100billion to $4billion 'Match King'