The Roaring 20s / prosperity

Question 1

How did the radio affect 1920s America?

Answer 1

Mass production allowed radios in every home.

Jazz music - encouraged a social revolution. Black musicians gained respect.

New dances (Charleston) broke with tradition. New dance halls - electric lights.

New fashion Flappers. Girls willing to have fun (own £ / jobs and away from families)

Question 2

How did the car allow 1920 America more fun?

Answer 2

Mass production made cars affordable (Henry Ford).

Allowed cities to grow into suburbs because people could travel to work.

Rise in travel, beach holidays, visiting, travelled to dances and sporting events - more money to spend on mechanise.

Question 3

How did sport help 1920s America have fun?

Answer 3

People heard games on the radio ( rise in Baseball and boxing).

Started to support teams - brought mechanise.

Had cars to travel to events.

Question 4

How did the cinema affect 1920s America?

Answer 4

Films spread the American Dream

1. Created sex symbols
2. Encouraged the consumer society
3. Allowed advertising and propaganda
4. Changed people’s way of thinking
5. Everyone wanted a nice house, car, clothes, cigarettes, romance - BUY don’t SAVE

Life should be good like the movies….very popular.

Question 5

Explain why the 1920s were consider to be fun?

Answer 5

1. Industry = growth of cities
2. Social change - post-war - people wanted fun. Life too short, moved away from families to cities - more free.
3. More jobs / higher wages - growth in prosperity. Had more cash.
4. New products (ie fridges, washing machines, cleaners) - gave people more free time.
5. Allowed for the growth of the entertainment industry.

Question 6

Why were 1920s boom time?

Answer 6

1. Income rose and standards of living.
2. Low inflation, low unemployment, low interest rates (allowed cheap borrowing of £).
3. Construction - cities built with skyscrapers and roads, suburbs created.
4. Consumer boom - more people could afford luxury goods.
5. Advertising - encouraged spending and entertainment industry.
6. Hire-purchase (buying by instalments) made borrowing easy and people could afford luxury goods.
7. Republican Govt contributed to prosperity - reductive do tax, more money to spend, promoted cheap credit through the Federal Reserve Board (central banking system). Encouraged banks to lend money on easy terms to encourage the consumer boom.

Question 7

What is the stock market boom?

Answer 7

In the 1920s - 1.5 million Americans brought shares in In the early 1920s this was sensible - people were investing in real boom and consumption.

In 1928 - it started to go bad. People started to buy shares on credit in a hope to sell them on and make a profit. This led to shares to rocket unrealistically…. Eventually leading to the Wall Street Crash in 1929.