Section A1 - American People & The Boom (complete) Flashcards

1
Q

How much did the number of households with flush toilets rise by in the 1920s?

A

20% - 51%

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2
Q

How much did the number of households with vacuum cleaners rise by in the 1920s?

A

9% - 30%

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3
Q

How much did the number of households with washing machines rise by in the 1920s?

A

8% - 24%

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4
Q

What did the rise in the number of washing machines mean for middle class women in the 1920s?

A

They spent on average 3 hours a week less on housework - they could join country clubs with their friends

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5
Q

What impact did WW1 have on American women?

A

In 1917 it gave women jobs - and in 1920 they gained the vote due to their war contributions

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6
Q

What did the Model T Ford come in to attract women?

A

Different colours

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7
Q

How did younger urban women develop after WW1?

A

They wore more daring clothes, drank and smoked in public, wore makeup

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8
Q

How many female workers were there by 1929?

A

19 million - 24% more than in 1920

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9
Q

What happened to divorce rate between 1914-1929?

A

It doubled

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10
Q

What were the limitations of women in the workforce?

A

Still paid less and employment levels only rose because they were cheaper to employ

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11
Q

Give an example of a strike as a result of women’s treatment in the workforce?

A
  • 1927 United Textile Workers Union strike for 56 hour weeks at 18 cents an hour
  • 1928 North Carolina strike - male workers: $18 - female workers: $9 for 70 hour weeks
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12
Q

What didn’t improve for women in the 1920s?

A
  • were not given access to power considered “unelectable” - very few female politicians
  • Bible Belt did not adopt the new lifestyle - outraged and formed the Anti-Flirt Club
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13
Q

What was formed by outraged people at the new developments for women?

A

The Anti-Flirt Club;)

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14
Q

What did entertainment do for women in the 1920s?

A
  • Films exposed them to new role models - daring heroines (e.g Theda Bara)
  • Try could see thenselves in roles other than housewives (inspiration; Gloria Swanson)
  • Clara Bow - played part as a flapper (young, urban girl) in a number of films
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15
Q

Which TV actresses were role models for women?

A
Gloria Swanson (an inspiration for them)
Theda Bara (played daring heroines)
Clara Bow (flapper in a number of films)
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16
Q

Give examples of more daring dances for women in the 1920s?

A

The Shimmy and the Bunny Hug

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17
Q

What changed in women’s fashion in the 1920s?

A

Corsets went out of fashion - 1929 skirts were knee length

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18
Q

What were the limitations of film on women in the 1920s?

A

Many women did not copy what they saw - many novels and films gave a fully inaccurate picture
Many were outraged by films e.g. Up In Mabel’s room and believed in traditional values (rural/religious)

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19
Q

What caused the economic boom in the USA 1920s?

A
  • First world war
  • Industries and methods
  • Republican policies
  • State of mind
  • Three raw materials
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20
Q

How did the First World War cause a boom in the USA 1920s?

A
  • Lost fewer resources - joined war late in 1917
  • One way trade - lent the allies money and sold them goods
  • Took over trade around world - UK, France and Germany etc. busy fighting
  • Became leaders in certain industries e.g. Germany’s chemical industry
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21
Q

When did the USA join the war and what did this mean?

A
  • Joined 1917 - lost fewer resources as joined later than other countries
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22
Q

What was one way trade?

A

US lent the allies money and sold them goods - would be payed back later

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23
Q

What industry did the US take over during the war?

A

Germany’s chemical industry

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24
Q

How did industries and methods cause a boom in the USA 1920s?

A
  • First moving production line - set up in 1913 - goods became cheaper from this - cars had knock on effects (e.g. road building, holiday resorts etc)
  • Sophisticated sales and marketing techniques - Travelling salesmen, posters, radio, billboard adverts - $3 billion a year on advertising
  • Credit Schemes - encouraged poorer people to buy items on credit - 8/10 radios, 6/10 cars - buy now pay later
  • Hire Purchase - people could buy from mail order catalogues (e.g. Sears Roebuck) and make weekly payments
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25
Q

Give an example of how car production increased in the USA

A

In 1919 there were 9 million cars, by 1929 there were 26 million

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26
Q

What was the name of the first mass produced car?

A

Model T Ford

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27
Q

What were the knock on effects of increased car production in the USA 1920s?

A
  • Oil, Rubber, Glass and Steel
  • House and Road Construction
  • Holiday Resorts and Petrol Stations
  • Suburbs grew
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28
Q

How much did industrial production increase by during the USA 1920s?

A

50%

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29
Q

How many radios were bought on credit?

A

8/10 - encouraged poorer people to buy goods

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30
Q

How much was spent on advertising during the US 1920s?

A

$3 billion

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31
Q

How many cars were bought on credit?

A

6/10 - encouraged poorer people to buy goods

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32
Q

Name a mail order catalogue used in Hire Purchase

A

Sears Roebuck

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33
Q

How did Republican Policies cause a boom in the USA 1920s?

A
  • Low Taxation (people had more money to spend)
  • Import tariffs (tax on foreign goods so people bought cheaper US goods)
  • Laissez Faire (government stayed out of business affairs allowing industry to grow without interference)
  • Trusts (corporation dominated by businessmen who made decisions to help their industry grow)
  • Normalcy (America kept out of world politics and problems)
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34
Q

What law put import tariffs on food?

A

Fordney McCumber Tariff Act 1922

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35
Q

Who were the 3 Republican presidents of the US 1920s?

A

Harding
Coolidge
Hoover

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36
Q

How did American state of mind cause a boom in the USA 1920s?

A
  • Most Americans believed it was good to spend and bad to save - latest consumer goods and plenty to eat - keep up with the neighbours
  • “A chicken in every port and a car in every garage” - Herbert Hoover
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37
Q

What was the American state of mind during the 1920s?

A

Good to spend bad to save

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38
Q

What did Herbert Hoover once say which represents American state of mind?

A

“a chicken in every pot and a car in every garage”

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39
Q

How did raw materials cause a boom in the USA 1920s?

A
  • America had an abundance of raw materials e.g. coal, oil and iron
  • Could make money exporting it
  • Could save money not importing it
  • Could use materials to make consumer goods
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40
Q

What raw materials did America have which helped the economic boom of the 1920s?

A

Coal, oil, iron

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41
Q

What did Frederick Taylor do?

A

Started the Industrial Efficiency Movement - 50% increase in industrial production

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42
Q

Who led the Industrial Efficiency Movement?

A

Frederick Taylor

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43
Q

How long did it take to make one car on the assembly line?

A

1 1/2 hours

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44
Q

How much were Ford’s workers paid in the Motorcar industry?

A

$5 a day

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45
Q

How much did Detroit grow by because of the car industry?

A

4 times

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46
Q

How many people did the River Rouge plant employ?

A

80,000 - 70% immigrants

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47
Q

How many phones were produced in the 1920s?

A

1915 - 10 million phones

1929 - 20 million phones

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48
Q

What was the name of Ford’s plant in Detroit and how many Model T Fords were made?

A

River Rouge - 2500 Model T Fords a day

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49
Q

How much did Queens (suburb of New York) grow by?

A

Doubled in size during the 20s

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50
Q

How much did Grosse Point Park (suburb of Detroit) grow by?

A

700%

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51
Q

Which suburb grew by 700% during the 20s?

A

Grosse Point Park

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52
Q

How much did USA road lengths increase during the 20s?

A

Doubled

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53
Q

What were the Republican Policies of the 1920s?

A

Laissez Faire, Trusts, Normalcy, Import Tariffs and Low Taxation

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54
Q

What did the Fordney McCumber tariff of 1922 do?

A

Put import tariffs on food

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55
Q

How many millionaires were there during the 20s?

A

1914 - 7000

1928 - 35,000

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56
Q

How much did GNP rise by during the 20s?

A

40%

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57
Q

How much did average income per person grow by during the 20s?

A

27%

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58
Q

How much did households with fridges rise by during the 20s?

A

1-8%

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59
Q

In what ways did hire purchase help the US economy to boom?

A
  • more demand for goods meant more jobs and wages
  • more people could afford to buy products including poorer elements of society - increasing demand
  • increase in demand meant faster production techniques were needed so companies mass produced leading to the wider use of assembly lines
  • businesses made bigger and constant profits from guaranteed payments - could reinvesting their business and expand further
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60
Q

Who benefitted from the boom?

A
  • Factory owners
  • Assembly line worker
  • White people in the cities
  • Speculators
  • Early immigrants
  • Middle class women
  • Builders
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61
Q

How did factory owners benefit from the boom?

A
  • Republican Government believed in Laissez Faire which allowed businessmen to control industry
  • Owners like Ford made a fortune and reinvested money in plants e.g. River Rouge 80,000 workers - expand business further
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62
Q

How did assembly line workers benefit from the boom?

A
  • assembly line gave unskilled workers work
  • female employment increased 24% during the boom - suited in electrical employment due to nimble fingers
  • people want more and could buy more
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63
Q

How much did female employment increase by during the boom?

A

24%

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64
Q

How did white people in the cities benefit from the boom?

A
  • assembly lines made everything cheaper
  • middle class could move to suburbs e.g. grosse point park
  • entertainment e.g. jazz clubs and sports events - cars to work everyday
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65
Q

How did speculators on the stock market benefit from the boom?

A
  • as companies grew they offered investors shares on the stock market
  • 1929 - 20 million people speculating - 9 billion dollars
  • offered normal people the chance to make money and spend more
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66
Q

How did builders benefit from the boom?

A
  • Road length doubled and suburbs grew rapidly and skyscrapers grew
  • 1920s busiest period of building in US history
  • millions of people given jobs to build - money to buy consumer goods
  • building materials gave a huge knock on to workers in other industries and the cycle of prosperity grew
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67
Q

How did early immigrants benefit from the boom?

A
  • although faced persecution from WASPs, many found work in new factories
  • 70% of river rouge workers were immigrants
  • improve standard of living
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68
Q

How many people were speculating on the stock market by 1929?

A

20 million

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69
Q

Which groups did not benefit from the boom?

A

Farmers, blacks/immigrants, coal/steal/textile workers, union members, poor workers

70
Q

How much did farm income drop between 1919 and 1928?

A

$22 - $13 billion

71
Q

How many farms had electricity or mains water?

A

less than 10%

72
Q

How much did a bushel of wheat cost between 1920-1931?

A

$233 - $32 drop in 10 years

73
Q

How many farmers were forced off their land in the 1920s and forced to find work elsewhere?

A

6 million

74
Q

What were the reasons for farming declines in the 1920s?

A
  • Competition from Canada (highly efficient wheat producers in Canada meant Americans bought the cheaper Canadian produce)
  • Overproduction (farmers invested in machinery, leading to massive surpluses nobody wanted)
  • European markets declined (grain was no longer needed as the war had ended, Europe was also bankrupt and tariffs stopped them selling their goods in America)
75
Q

How did blacks/immigrants impact from the boom?

A
  • did least skilled jobs
  • last to be hired first to be fired (and still segregated in many jobs)
  • seasonal unemployment (particularly affected polish/irish immigrants)
  • 1 million black farm labourers lost work
  • only 3% of semi skilled owned a car
  • sharecroppers shared income from cotton farming but this industry declined meaning they lost their income
76
Q

How many semi skilled workers owned a car?

A

3%

77
Q

How many black farm labourers lost work in the 1920s?

A

1 million

78
Q

How did coal and steel workers impact from the boom?

A
  • 1918-1920 strikes over low pay and bad conditions (coal workers wage 1/3 of national average)
  • coal being replaced with hydro electricity, natural gas and oil
  • West Virginia strikes ended in state troopers
  • Harding set up inquiry and found miners working conditions to be bad but nothing was done about it
  • North Carolina strikes 1928 - male workers $18, female workers $9 for 70 hour weeks ($48 minimum required for basic standard of living)
79
Q

How much were coal workers wages in the 1920s?

A

1/3 of national average

80
Q

Why was there a strike in North Carolina and when was it?

A

1928 - male workers payed $18, female payed $9 for 70 hour weeks (mining industry) - $48 seen as minimum required for basic standard of living

81
Q

What happened to the coal strikes in West Virginia in the 20s?

A

Ended in state troopers being sent in to disperse the strikers

82
Q

How did textile workers impact from the boom?

A
  • cotton industry being replaced by artificial fibres and Asian factories (making cheaper goods)
  • 1927 United Textile Workers Union strike in Tennessee for 56 hour weeks at 18 cents an hour - state troopers sent in
  • More strikes in North Carolina and West Virginia followed with force used again
83
Q

Who striked in 1927?

A

United Textile Workers Union in Tennessee - 18 cents an hour for 56 hour weeks - state troopers used to get rid of strikers

84
Q

How did union members impact from the boom?

A
  • government took the side of managers (not workers)
  • Supreme Court overruled 2 state laws which banned child labour and banned laws setting minimum wages
  • Trade union membership fell from 5.1 - 3.6 million (1920-29)
85
Q

How much did trade union membership fall by between 1920 - 1929?

A

5.1 million - 3.6 million

86
Q

What did the supreme court do in the 1920s that impacted trade union members?

A
  • Overruled 2 state laws banning child labour

- banned laws setting minimum wage

87
Q

How did poor workers impact from the boom?

A
  • only 10% of wealth went to the bottom 42% of the country
  • 42% lived under the poverty line
  • unemployment stayed at around 4% due to electrification
88
Q

How many Americans lived under the poverty line in the 1920s?

A

42%

89
Q

How much wealth went to 42% of the population in the 1920s?

A

only 10%

90
Q

What did the Hays Code do?

A

1930 - censorship to control how relationships between sexes were shown on tv

91
Q

What were 2 daring films that showed women in a new light in the 1920s?

A

Up In Mabels Room

When A Woman Sins

92
Q

How many radios were bought by 1929?

A

$600 million worth

93
Q

What were 2 jazz related dance that emerged in the 1920s?

A

The black bottom
The Charleston
(many people thought jazz was a corrupting influence)

94
Q

What black American performers were there in the 1920s?

A

Louis Armstrong

Bessie Smith

95
Q

Name a boom sport?

A

Baseball - e.g. the new york yankees - babe ruth payed $80,000 a year

96
Q

Who were icons in sport during the 1920s?

A
Jack Dempsey (boxing)
Bobby Jones (golf)
Al Capone (baseball fan)
97
Q

When was the first talkie made?

A

1927

98
Q

Name a film star?

A

Charlie Chaplin

99
Q

Why was prohibition introduced? (important)

A

PUBWATER

  • Politicians could get 50% more votes (e.g. from rural communities)
  • Unpatriotic as gave money to german brewers
  • Babies smothered by drunken parents 3000 a year
  • Waste of grain as Europe was starving after war destroyed farmland
  • Automobile accidents, violence
  • Temperance societies e.g. Anti Saloon League, Women’s Christian Temperance Society has been campaigning since the 19th Century
  • Existed in some states already
  • Reliable workforce as fewer hangovers/drunkenness, powerful business men e.g. Rockefeller supported prohibition
100
Q

How many arrests did Einstein and Smith make during prohibition?

A

4392

101
Q

Who made 4392 arrests during prohibition?

A

Isidor Einstein and Moe Smith

102
Q

How did Einstein and Smith make arrests during prohibition?

A

Entered speakeasies and ordered drink, then emptied contents into a flask

103
Q

How much money did Al Capone make from prohibition?

A

$60 million a year

104
Q

How many speakeasies were there by 1925?

A

More than there had been saloons in 1919

105
Q

How many illegal stills were seized during prohibition?

A

280,000

106
Q

Why were illegal stills particularly bad?

A

Fire hazards and the alcohol they produced was often poisonous

107
Q

How much illegal alcohol came from Canada?

A

2/3 - border was difficult to control

108
Q

Who was a famous bootlegger during prohibition?

A

Captain McCoy - specialised in the finest Scotch whisky

109
Q

How did big breweries stay open during prohibition?

A

They bribed local government officials and the police to leave them alone

110
Q

How many prohibition agents were dismissed for corruption?

A

1/12

111
Q

How can prohibition be seen as a success? (important)

A

(AADHD)

  • Agents employed to make arrests (e.g. Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith)
  • Alcohol consumption declined by 30% (to 50%)
  • Death rate due to alcohol decreased by 42%
  • Homicide rates didn’t increase (where as they had dramatically from 1900-10)
  • Drunk and disorderly in public reduced by 50% (1916-22)
112
Q

Why was prohibition ended? / Why was it a failure? (important)

A

(CLUBING)

  • Corrupt agents - 1/12 were corrupt, Remus bribed agents with $25,000 cufflinks
  • Led to violence - e.g. St Valentines Day Massacre (Capone shot 7 of Moran’s gang members - pretending to be police and making them put hands behind back)
  • Unenforceable - no support in urban areas (more speakeasies in 1925 than saloons in 1919)
  • Blindness from moonshine, illegal stills were dangerous, 280,000 seized
  • Insufficient agents - couldn’t control Canadian border, 2/3 of alcohol from Canada
  • No tax to government for buying, distributing or making alcohol - particularly important during the depression
  • Gangsters made money and ruled the cities e.g. Al Capone made $60 million a year
113
Q

Why were people fleeing to the USA in the 1920s?

A
  • escape poverty (e.g. in Italy)
  • escape persecution (e.g. jews in Germany)
  • to start a new life and find hope of prosperity
114
Q

What was the Melting Pot Theory?

A

that all immigrants would forget their cultures and beliefs and become “Americans” (symbolically put into pot, melted down and reformed as Americans)

115
Q

Why did the Melting Pot Theory not work?

A

Immigrants were proud of their cultures and didn’t want to let them go - this caused tension with white Americans and more established immigrants

116
Q

Was the racism in the USA in the 1920s simply between whites and non white people?

A
  • Caribbean Blacks looked down on African Americans
  • Northern Europeans looked down on Southern/Eastern European immigrants
  • Mexicans looked down on black Americans
117
Q

Why were Americans concerned by immigration in the 1920s?

A

Thought immigrants were bringing radical views into the country e.g. communism from Russia and Anarchism from Italy

118
Q

How many immigrants came from Italy in the 1920s?

A

3.2 million

119
Q

How many immigrants came from Russia in the 1920s?

A

2.7 million

120
Q

How many immigrants came from Germany in the 1920s?

A

4.4 million

121
Q

How many immigrants came from GB and Ireland in the 1920s?

A
  • 5 million from GB

- 2 million from Ireland

122
Q

What was The Birth of a Nation?

A

Film premiered in 1915- depicts the KKK as freedom fighters - protests from African American community and declined from many cities, but still became one of the higher grossing films in history

123
Q

What was the literacy test in 1917?

A

Reading/writing entry tests that were introduced to stop immigration as many Eastern Europeans had not received an education

124
Q

What were the alterations to the Anarchist Exclusion Act in 1918?

A
  • Removed the provision in prior law that people who had resided in the US for more than 5 years were not subject to deportation
  • Punishment for anyone deported who returned to the US (5 years in prison then deported again)
125
Q

Which immigration law was changed in 1918?

A

The Anarchist Exclusion Act

126
Q

What did the Emergency Quota Act do?

A

Restricted number of immigrants to 357,000 a year

Quota that only 3% of any overseas group already in the USA in 1910 could come in after 1921

127
Q

Which act introduced a quota of 357,000 immigrants entering America per year?

A

The Emergency Quota Act 1921

128
Q

What did an Oklahoma Statute do in 1921?

A

Prohibited schools from teaching white and black students in the same facility - if anyone violated this they were charged with misdemeanour and lost their teaching certificate for a year

129
Q

What did the Johnson Reed Act of 1924 do?

A

Reduced immigration to 150,000 per year and cut the quota to 2% based on the population in 1890 (aimed at southern/eastern Europeans)

130
Q

Which acts limited immigration in the 1920s?

A
  • Emergency Quota Act 1921 - 357,000

- Johnson Reed Act 1924 - 150,000

131
Q

What did the Racial Integrity Act 1924 do?

A

Prohibited interracial marriage in Virginia

132
Q

Which act prohibited interracial marriage in Virginia?

A

Racial Integrity Act 1924

133
Q

What law was introduced to prohibit school teachers from teaching black and white children in the same building?

A

An Oklahoma Statute

134
Q

What was forbidden in Oklahoma in 1925?

A

black boxers sparring with whites

135
Q

What did the Public Assemblages Act do?

A

Required all public meeting spaces to be strictly segregated

136
Q

Why were black Americans treated badly before 1919?

A
  • first taken to US as slaves in 17th century
  • 1861 - Lincoln abolished slavery and 11 states decided to leave the union (leading to 5 years of civil war)
  • gangs like the KKK formed to intimidate black people
  • KKK began to decline at the end of the 19th century but started up again after Birth of a Nation (racist film) was released
  • 1876 Jim Crow Laws encouraged segregation
  • immigration caused more racism - KKK had 5 million members by 1928
137
Q

What happened in 1861?

A

Lincoln abolished slavey - leading to a civil war that lasted 5 years because 11 states wanted to leave the union - KKK was set up as a result of this

138
Q

What did the Jim Crow Laws do and when were they introduced?

A

1876 - made black Americans “separate but equal” - encouraged segregation

139
Q

How many members did the KKK have by 1928?

A

5 million

140
Q

Where was the KKK mainly based?

A

The midwest and rural south - especially dominant in Indiana - Oregon and Oklahoma had governors in the klan

141
Q

What were the 5 ways in which black American lives improved in the 1920s?

A

(PRIDE)
P - Pride for blacks emerged - Harlem became centre of black pride and creativity with the Apollo Theatre - high profile blacks e.g. Paul Robeson (actor) and Countee Cullen (poet)
R - racial segregation campaigns set up - NAACP (campaigned for the end of segregation and lynchings) - had 90,000 members by 1919
I - improvement associations set up - UNIA by Garvey encouraged black pride, to set up own business and helped blacks move to Africa to escape persecution - 1 million members by 1921
D - didn’t shop in Chicago chains until they employed black people - Black Capitalist Movement - also encouraged blacks to set up their own businesses
E - education/job opportunities available - Howard University for blacks

142
Q

What was the centre of black pride in the 1920s?

A

Harlem - e.g. the Apollo Theatre

143
Q

Which high profile blacks emerged in the 20s?

A

Paul Robeson, Countee Cullen

144
Q

What did the NAACP stand for?

A

The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People

145
Q

What did the NAACP do?

A

campaigned for the end of segregation/lynchings

146
Q

How many members did the NAACP have?

A

90,000 by 1919 and 300 branches

147
Q

What did the UNIA stand for?

A

Universal Negro Improvement Association

148
Q

What did the UNIA do?

A

encouraged black pride, to set up own businesses and helped people move to Africa to escape persecution

149
Q

How many members did the UNIA have?

A

1 million by 1921

150
Q

What did the Black Capitalist movement do?

A

Boycotted Chicago chains until they employed blacks and encouraged them to set up their own businesses

151
Q

What 5 problems did blacks continue to have through the 1920s?

A
  • Poverty was great - higher rents for poorer housing - bad jobs/education available - life expectancy was 48 compared to 59 for whites in 1930
  • Extremist groups persecuted them e.g. the KKK (which included government officials) who lynched, tar and feathered and branded them with acid - 50 lynchings per year
  • North migration to escape persecution in the South - new york black population rose from 150,000 to 330,000
  • Intimidation prevented many of them from voting
  • Scared by groups of Polish/Irish immigrants who attacked blacks in parks in Chicago and other public places
152
Q

How much did New York’s black population increase during the 20s?

A

150,000 - 330,000

153
Q

What was life expectancy for black Americans?

A

in 1930 - 48 (compared to 59 for whites)

154
Q

How many blacks were lynched per year?

A

50

155
Q

What was the Red Scare?

A

Americans were scared that immigrants were bringing radical beliefs to the US e.g. communism and anarchism

156
Q

What was the evidence of the Red Scare?

A
  • 400,000 workers went on strike - including the police in Boston
  • disturbances in the streets e.g. thieves and race riots in 25 towns
157
Q

How many workers went on strike which led people to blame immigrants - fuelling the Red Scare?

A

400,000

158
Q

How many race riots were there which fuelled the Red Scare?

A

race riots 25 towns

159
Q

Why did 400,000 workers go on strike during the Red Scare?

A
  • at the time people thought it was Communist Interference - the workers might take control of industry from the owners
  • modern historians think it was Economic Hardship - wartime production levels had dropped so workers were sacked and income decreased - combined with bad working hours/conditions
160
Q

What justified peoples fears of the Red Scare?

A

(anarchists)
- published posters calling to overthrow the government
- April 1919 bomb killed 10 people in a Milwaukee church
- May - bombs posted to 36 prominent Americans
- June - Mitchell Palmer (US Attorney General) almost killed

161
Q

When did a bomb kill 10 people in a Milwaukee church?

A

April 1919

162
Q

How many people were killed by anarchists in April 1919?

A

10 people in a Milwaukee church

163
Q

What happened in May 1919?

A

Anarchists posted bombs to 36 prominent Americans

164
Q

What happened in June 1919?

A

Mitchell Palmer - US attorney general was almost killed by anarchists

165
Q

Who was put in charge of building up cases against immigrants with radical beliefs?

A

J Edgar Hoover

166
Q

How many files did Hoover build up against immigrants?

A

60,000 - 10,000 told they would be deported in 1919

167
Q

What happened to Palmer during the Red Scare?

A
  • used immigrant fear to build up his own support to run for president
  • predicted a Red Revolution in May 1920 and papers/politicians undermined him when this didn’t happen
  • Was discredited after only 556/60,000 files had any basis of truth
168
Q

How many files that Hoover built up against immigrants involved in anarchist/communist terror had any basis of truth

A

556 out of 60,000

169
Q

Who were two immigrants who suffered persecution in the 1920s?

A

Sacco and Vanzetti

170
Q

What is the story of Sacco and Vanzetti? (important)

A
  • self-confessed anarchists and italian immigrants arrested in 1920 on suspicion of armed robbery and murder
  • their trial became more about their radical views - relied heavily on racist slurs against their backgrounds
  • judge referred to them as “those anarchist bastards”
  • after six years, in 1927, they were executed - leading to protests around the world