The standard of living, 1917-41 Flashcards
Life expectancy of a white man in 1915:
48 years
Life expectancy of a non-white man in 1915:
33 years
Life expectancy of a white man in 1980:
74.4 years
Life expectancy of a non-white man in 1980
69.5 years
Car ownership in 1919 and 1929:
1919 - 9 million
1929 - 26 million
Radio ownership in 1920 and 1929:
1920 - 60,000
1929 - 10 million
Telephone ownership in 1920 and 1930:
1920 - 15.3 million
1930 - 20 million
Refrigerator ownership in 1920 and 1930:
1920 - 1% of households
1930 - 8% of households
Who did not experience these increases in living standards?
Many of the 30 million who worked on farms did not
How many rural American homes had electricity?
1/2
Unemployment rate in the 1920s:
4-9%
What did a 1928 report find?
60% of families had less than the $2,000/year income necessary to buy the basic necessities
Social welfare programmes in the 1920s:
There were no social welfare programmes - no pensions, no unemployment pay and no free medical care
In 1920, how many people owned homes?
6.7 million people
In 1920, how many people rented?
12.9 million people
In 1940, how many people owned homes?
15.2 million people
In 1940, how many people had electric light?
78.7%
Difference in cooking methods in 1940 and 1960:
1940 - 48.8% cooked with gas & only 5.4% with electricity
1960 - 30% of homes cooked with electricity
People who did not have heating in 1940 and 1960:
1940 - 11%
1960 - 1.7%
Radio ownership in 1940 & 1960:
1940 - 82.8% of homes
1960 - 92% of homes
By 1929 what percentage of goods were brought from retail chains?
21.9%
USA retail chain that grew:
J.C. Penney
In the 1940s, what percentage on income was spent on going out?
15.1%
Rural Electrification Administration (REA):
Roosevelt set up in 1935 to get electricity to rural areas
In 1939 how many miles of new power lines did the REA create?
Over 100,000
What percentage of homes had a washing machine, a fridge and a toaster?
over 50%
Government spending on healthcare in 1917, 1930 and 1940:
1917 - $3 million
1930 - $11 million
1940 - $32 million
Number of children aged 14-17 going to school in 1917, 1929 and 1940:
1917 - 27%
1929 - 51%
1940 - 73%
In 1929, what percentage of national income in the top 5% of the population have, compared to when the New Deal ended in 1938?
1929 - 30%
1938 - 26%
Who suffered the most during the depression?
Rural communities
New Deal’s Home Owners’ Loan Corporation:
By 1936, the agency had refinanced over 1 million mortgages, preventing an estimated 800,000 foreclosures.
National Labor Relations Act:
Roosevelt passed in 1935 and it established the legal right of private-sector workers to form and join labor unions, engage in collective bargaining, and strike.
Statistic that shown unionised workers gained more income that non-unionised workers dur to the National Labor Relations Act:
Unionized workers earn an average of 11.2% more than non-unionized workers
