The changing quality of life Flashcards
why did farms struggle in the post war depression
-many farmers were producing a lot more during the war and after the war they continued producing high yield which meant prices fell
-cotton farmers suffered with the boll weevil
why did industry struggle in the post war depression
-there were many strikes during 1919 and 1920 due to poor working conditions
-old industries declined like the coal industry in 1900 coal had produced 90% of energy supplies in the USA by 1930 it was 30%
what was the government reaction to the post war depression
-the government believed in laissez-faire and didn’t try to stop the depression
-isolationist tariffs put on foreign goods meant other countries introduced these do us exports fell
what were some reasons for the economic boom after the post war depression
-mass production
-new management techniques
-federal policies
-hire and purchase loans
-changing industry
why did mass production increase economic boom
mass production allowed workers to become skilled in a specific area which increased the efficiency of working
-in 1917 there 4 million registered passenger cars in the USA by 1929 there were 23 million
why did new management techniques increase economic boom
‘scientific management’ techniques grew where each worker was trained in a specific set of tasks this improved efficiency, scientific management techniques only worked if employees stayed at the same workplace therefore working conditions and paying good wages became the norm
how did federal policies increase economic boom
-kept some wartime subsidies for farmers
-cut taxes for businesses to encourage buying American
when was the post war depression
early 1920s
how did hire and purchase loans increase economic boom
-as a sense of prosperity rose more people bought homes on mortgages
-between 1920-1929 consumer debt rose for $3.3 billion to $7.6 billion
how did changing industry increase economic boom
-new industries were more efficient and used higher levels of mechanisation
-in 1930 there were 24 million homes wired to electricity
why did people historically buy shares
for the dividends they paid out
what decade did share prices start rising rapidly
1920s
why did ordinary people begin to buy and sell shares
they were egged on by the media
what is the boom cycle of the stock market called
bull market
what is it called when people borrowed money to buy shares
buying on the margin
when did the Wall Street crash happen
1929
why was unemployment rising in 1927
most people who could afford consumer goods had already bought them so demanding began to fall meaning employers cute wages and working hours
why did stock prices originally begin to fall
investors sold there shares as share prices were incredibly high
why did fall of stock prices not stabilise why was it catastrophic
the media began to talk about a crash and too many people had invested heavily on credit and were scared prices would fall more so sold
what us a bear market
when the price of shares fall and people expect the fall to continue
when did the stock exchange close
29th October 1929
how many banks were bankrupt by 1933
one third of all banks that were in operation before the crash were bankrupt
what were Roosevelts initial things he did in order to stimulate recovery
-closed all the banks and got federal officials to inspect them and only reopen the ‘healthy’ ones
-used federal agencies to reduce unemployment
what was the boom after the Second World War fuelled by
-huge demand for consumer goods which kept unemployment at a low
-business boom encouraged higher waged and larger workforces
-‘baby boom’
-government spending
how much did production increase between 1945 and 1950
form $213 billion worth of goods in 1945 to $284 billion in 1950
how did Truman take control of strikes
when both miners and railway workers went on strike Truman took over both railways and mines and when railway strikers walked out he asked congress to draft them into the army the strikers backed down and there were little to no strikes after this
how much had nappy sales increased between 1947 and 1957
1947 nappy sales were $32 million
in 1957 nappy sales were $50 million
