T1 01-16 US starter Flashcards
Who was the first Democrat president of the time period 1913-1961?
Wilson
Between which years was Woodrow Wilson President of the USA
1913-1921
Contextually what was the significance of Wilson’s presidential terms?
He was President during the First World War.
What was unusual about Harding’s term in office?
It was not a full term.
What can you infer from Harding’s short term?
He died in office? He did, he suffered a heart attack and died
Who was the last president of the period 1913-1961?
Dwight D Eisenhowe
What process has begun during the 19th century that helped fuel the economic boom of the 1920s?
Mass production
How did the USA emerge from WW1?
Powerful, they had bank rolled Britain and were economically stronger
What was the assembly line?
A method of production using a moving conveyor belt. A product is gradually built as it moves along the line. Each person working on the assembly line completes one step of the production.
By 1924, how effective had Ford’s assembly line been?
10 million Model Ts had been built at Highland Park
How did the automobile industry help other industries to grow?
-Other factories copied the assembly line method, such as consumer goods like vacuum cleaners
-Industries hugely benefited cars used 90% of America’s petrol, 80% of the country’s rubber and 75% of its glass
Which political party were in power during the 1920s?
The Republicans
What were the names of the Presidents and when were they in office?
Harding 1921-1923
Coolidge 1923-1929
Hoover 1929-1933
What was the approach of the government towards the economy?
Laissez Faire
What effect did lack of regulation have?
Increased industrial expansion creating job opportunities. More jobs = more wage earners = more consumption = more expansion etc.
Business malpractice and exploitation.
What did Andrew Mellon introduce throughout the 1920s?
Tax cuts!
What was was Coolidge’s attitude to European war debt?
That it should be repaid. In full.
What was the Fordney-McCumber tariff?
A law that raised import duties on foreign goods (38.5%)
What approaches did the Republican government take towards the economy? (detailed)
Laissez-faire meant very little government involvement in policy. The free market was allowed to operate with minimal restrictions.
The belief in self help and individualism meant that people should create wealth for themselves, and that in a successful economy wealth would naturally trickle down.
Isolationism meant that the government tried to protect American industry, and did not want to get involved in issues abroad
What did the Fordney-McCumber Act 1922 do?
What did this mean for the market? (detailed)
It raised tariffs (tax) on imported goods meaning foreign goods were much more expensive to buy than domestic (American) goods. This meant American industry sold more of their goods.
Tariffs were on average 38.5% on dutiable products.
It had a negative effect on farmers who relied on foreign markets to export their surplus goods, and purchased their machinery from abroad.
5 years after the tariff was introduced, European countries began to retaliate
What did the reduction in regulations mean for business activity? (detailed)
Companies would fix prices to prevent fair competition
Workers could be easily exploited.
In the Southern textile mills, child labour was common, as was a 56 hour working weeks. Wages rarely rose above 18cents an hour.
What % of Americans lived below the poverty line?
60
What happened to the wages of workers in the construction industry?
They rose by 4% in the 1920s
How were most Americans paying for their goods?
They used cheap credit though Hire Purchase schemes.
How did prohibition impact farmers?
It reduced the demand for grain
What did the Agricultural Credits Act of 1923 do?
Offered cheap loans to farmers who agreed to join co-operatives.
Why did the Fordney McCumber Act negatively influence farmers?
Foreign powers retaliated and refused to buy American goods, leading to overproduction.
When was slavery abolished in the USA?
1865 - 13th Amendment
Name 3 US cities African Americans moved to during the Great Migration.
Detroit, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia etc.
What was the Teapot Dome scandal?
A bribery and corruption scandal in which a member of Warren Harding’s inner circle, Albert Fall, took bribes and loans to give gas leases on naval reserves to speculators without a competitive bidding process.
What is a Trade Union?
An organisation of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment i.e better wages, working conditions etc.
How many women were working as domestic servants in the 1920s?
700,000
How was wealth distributed geographically across the USA?
Wages in the North Eastern Industrial cities: average $921 a month
Wages in rural South: average $361 a month
Wages in South Carolina: average $129 a month
What % of families lived on less than $2,000 a year?
60%
What was the Agricultural Credits Act 1923? What did it aim to do?
Small scale farmers were going bankrupt.
The Act funded 12 Credit banks to fund cooperatives - with the idea that small farms would join together.
However, this was a loan - which small scale farmers could not pay back - so big farms benefitted instead.
What were the yellow dog contracts / clauses?
Clauses in an employees contract which forbade them from joining a trade union.
What was the role of sharecroppers?
- Farmers allow tenant farmers to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop.
- Many black American families after the Civil War (1860s) did not have enough wealth to own their own farms, so many became sharecroppers working on the farms of white farmers.
- Many were living close to subsistence during the 1920s.
How was wealth distributed geographically across the USA?
Wages in the North Eastern Industrial cities: average $921 a month
Wages in rural South: average $361 a month
Wages in South Carolina: average $129 a month
What % of families lived on less than $2,000 a year?
60%
What was the Agricultural Credits Act 1923? What did it aim to do?
Small scale farmers were going bankrupt.
The Act funded 12 Credit banks to fund cooperatives - with the idea that small farms would join together.
However, this was a loan - which small scale farmers could not pay back - so big farms benefitted instead.
What were the yellow dog contracts / clauses?
Clauses in an employees contract which forbade them from joining a trade union.
What was the role of sharecroppers?
- Farmers allow tenant farmers to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop.
- Many black American families after the Civil War (1860s) did not have enough wealth to own their own farms, so many became sharecroppers working on the farms of white farmers.
- Many were living close to subsistence during the 1920s.
Which constitutional amendment banned the sale and production of alcohol?
18th
What did the Volstead Act do?
Defined ‘intoxicating liquor’ as any drinking containing more than 0.5% alcohol.
What made prohibition inconsistent with other Republican policy?
Republican economic policy was to leave things alone with minimal regulation - whereas with prohibition they had no issues getting involved.
Which 3 groups campaigned most strongly for prohibition?
Women, big business, religious groups.
What factors accelerated the passing of prohibition into law?
WWI and lack of opposition.
Give one reason for the failure of prohibition and explain it.
Geographical Difficulties; Bootleggers; Industrial Alcohol; Corrupt Agents; Popularity of ‘speakeasies’; Division among supporters; Government
What was the government approach to the economy during the 1920s?
Republican gov.
Laissez-faire and conservative.
Lack of regulation of stock exchange, corporations and business practices, banking system, use of credit and speculation.
Lack of support for those out of work
Name at least two changes that were happening in society during the 1920s
Population increase: 106.5 million 1920 - 123 million 1930 (13.7% increase)
Migration to cities: Philadelphia rose by 500%
Increased immigration - leading to legal limits on number and type of immigrants
1921 Emergency Immigration Act, 3% of 1911
1924 Johnson Reed Immigration Act, 2% of 1890, banned Japanese
Poor conditions for industrial workers - labor unions (Red Summer 1919)
Communist uprisings in Europe
What effects did these societal changes in 1920s have?
Increased moral concern, fear of moral decline
The Red Scare - the Palmer raids - targeted immigrants
Increased membership of white supremacist group, the KKK
When was slavery abolished in the USA?
1865 - 13th Amendment
Name 3 US cities African Americans moved to during the Great Migration.
Detroit, New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia etc.
What was the Teapot Dome scandal?
A bribery and corruption scandal in which a member of Warren Harding’s inner circle, Albert Fall, took bribes and loans to give gas leases on naval reserves to speculators without a competitive bidding process.
What is a Trade Union?
An organisation of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment i.e better wages, working conditions etc.
Who or what was a flapper?
A woman from the 1920’s famous for having their hair cut in a bob, wearing short and revealing clothing (for the time) whilst drinking, smoking and dancing to jazz music.
What differences were there between different groups of women?
New women vs traditionalists.
New women - embraced new fashions, personal freedom and new ideas that challenged the traditional role of women.
Traditionalists - feared that the ‘ New Morality’ of the era was threatening family values and the conventional role of women in the home.
How were women impacted by the consumer boom?
More independent women with their own salaries started spending more. Companies like Lucky Strike started advertising to women. Whilst domestic appliances like cookers, irons, fridges etc became common.
How and why were marriages affected during the 1920s?
Divorce was cheaper and easier. During the 1920s the number of divorces doubled in America.
What role did Hollywood and the media play in how women were portrayed?
Flappers were celebrated in cinema and the wider media inspiring millions to imitate these celebrity icons.
How did women participate in the consumerism of the 1920s?
More independent women with their own salaries started spending more. Companies like Lucky Strike started advertising to women. Whilst domestic appliances like cookers, irons, fridges etc became common.
What was the significance of the 19th Amendment?
Removed the denial of the vote based on sex. In short - gave women equal voting rights to men.
How did women make limited political progress?
Women focused parties like The Women’s Party were set up however women did not vote as a ‘homogenous’ block. Only 2 out of 435 delegates in the House of Representatives were female.
What impact did the Sheppard Towner Act have?
Provided federal funds to states to establish programs to educate people about prenatal health and infant welfare.
What was the significance of Margaret Sanger?
Helped found the birth control movement and campaign for women’s reproductive rights.
What was the 19th Amendment?
Removed the denial of the vote based on sex. In short - gave women equal voting rights to men
What was the significance of Margaret Sanger?
Helped found the birth control movement and campaign for women’s reproductive rights.
What was the Great Migration?
The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to the industrialised North and West. It took place in the first half of the 20th century.
What was the Fordney McCumber Act and how did it negatively influence farmers?
Imposed import duties of up to 40% on foreign goods. Foreign powers retaliated and refused to buy American goods, leading to overproduction.
What was one of the fads that came out the age of fads?
The crossword; dance marathons, flagpole sitting and most famously jazz music and dancing
In one day as many as how many Americans could be going to the cinema?
10 million (!)
Who was the longest serving president of the 1920’s?
Calvin Coolidge.
What was the assembly line?
A method of production using a moving conveyor belt. A product is gradually built as it moves along the line. Each person working on the assembly line completes one step of the production.
What was the approach of the government towards the economy?
Laissez Faire
Who was Andrew Mellon and what did he introduce throughout the 1920s?
Secretary of the Treasury - introduced significant tax cuts.
When was slavery abolished in the USA?
1865 - 13th Amendment
What made prohibition inconsistent with other Republican policy?
Republican economic policy was to leave things alone with minimal regulation - whereas with prohibition they had no issues getting involved.
By how much had Andrew Mellon cut taxes by 1929?
$3.5 billion
What is a stock market/stock exchange?
The market on which stocks and shares of companies are bought and sold. Lots of this happens in a building called the stock exchange where brokers bid and trade huge amounts of money.
What did it mean to ‘buy on the margin’?
To borrow money that is used to buy stocks and shares.
What did banker J.P Morgan do to try and stabilise the market?
Pooled resources to buy back shares, hoping to reassure investors. It did not work.
What was Black Tuesday?
29th October 1929 - the worst day of the Wall Street Crash - the market crashed by 12% in a single day.
How much was bought on the margin?
By 1929, speculators had borrowed $9 bn for guessing and hoping that prices would go up and they’d make a quick profit. They would pay it back with the profit that they made
How did the culture of “get-rich-quick” impact the stock exchange?
By 1929, 600,000 Americans had become “speculators”, professional guessers
How was there corruption on the stock exchange?
On the stock exchange there was also corruption: for years before the crash there was “insider dealing” between banks and brokers, set the price of shares at the wrong value
What was the bull pool?
Brokers worked together to artificially force up prices of shares by buying them quickly and selling them nce naive investors had joined in. Brokers made a quick profit but shares were left to drop and people lost out
What happened in March 1929?
March 1929, prices dropped, but banks mass bought shares to help the stock exchange look healthy
What happened on 24th October 1929?
24th October, market dropped by 11%, prices dropped, brokers panicked they’d be left with worthless stock
How did major financial institutions try to fix the problem?
J.P. Morgan, Rockefeller and other financial businesses pumped money into the stock market by buying up loads of stock to try and stabilise it and increase confidence. Each pumped $40 million into it - they then withdrew that money once trading looked more stable
How did the panic continue on Monday?
But selling kept increasing as brokers tried to get rid of their stock, and on Monday the market dropped by 13%
How did the market crash on Tuesday 29th October?
On Tuesday 29th, 16 million shares sold and market dropped a further 12%
Which constitutional amendment banned the sale and production of alcohol?
18th
Give one reason for the failure of prohibition and explain it.
Geographical Difficulties; Bootleggers; Industrial Alcohol; Corrupt Agents; Popularity of ‘speakeasies’; Division among supporters; Government
What were the yellow dog contracts / clauses?
Clauses in an employees contract which forbade them from joining a trade union
How was wealth distributed geographically across the USA?
Wages in the North Eastern Industrial cities: average $921 a month
Wages in rural South: average $361 a month
How did the USA emerge from WW1?
Powerful, they had bank rolled Britain and were economically stronger
What was the Great Migration?
The movement of millions of African Americans from the rural South to the industrialised North and West. It took place in the first half of the 20th century.
