The USA's Boom in the 1920's

Question 1

What does LACKPANTS stand for?

Answer 1

L - laissez-faire 
A - assembly line
C - credit
K - knowledge
P - policy of isolation (position of USA)
A - advertisement
N - new industries
T - tariffs
S - share confidence

Question 2

What other factors helped the USA boom?

Answer 2

• The USA’s wealth - the USA was rich in coal, iron ore, oil and it had a lot of fertile land.
• New industries - these were things such as radios, refrigerators and washing machines.
• Rising wages and stable prices - this was mainly due to the assembly line
• Government policies - the Fordney McCumber tariff set high prices on imports from other countries.
• Hire purchase - this enabled consumers to take out a small deposit, buy their goods and it pay in monthly installments.
• Weak unions - this allowed employers to hold down wages and keep working hours long.

Question 3

What was the Cycle of Prosperity?

Answer 3

Increased demands in consumer goods -> increased production -> increased employment -> more money to spend on consumer goods -> increased demands in consumer goods (and so on..)

Question 4

What was the Model T Ford?

Answer 4

The Model T Ford cost less than $300 and was the first car to be product using mass production on the assembly line.

Question 5

What are two facts about the production of motor vehicles?

Answer 5

In 1929, 1/5 of people had a car.

In 1929, 5,622,000 cars had been produced.

Question 6

What other industries did the car industry benefit?

Answer 6

• The steel industry
• The petrol industry
• The chemical industry
• The glass industry
• The rubber industry

Question 7

What social impacts did cars have?

Answer 7

Cars > roads > drive further > gas stations > motels and service stations > garages > mechanics

Cars > roads > construction > traffic jams > accidents > pollution

Cars > roads > build suburb towns

Question 8

Who didn’t have a share in the boom?

Answer 8

• Farmers
• Black Americans
• Native Americans
• Poor white Americans
• Miners/old industries

Question 9

Why didn’t farmers have a share of the boom?

Answer 9

• Imports
• Income
• Competition
• Overproduction and improved machinery
• Falling prices
• Standard of living
• Fruit farmers

Question 10

How did income affect farmers?

Answer 10

Income dropped from $22 billion in 1919 to $13 billion in 1928.

Question 11

How did imports affect farmers?

Answer 11

Farmers imported less food from the USA due to the USA’s tariffs.

Question 12

How did competition affect farmers?

Answer 12

Canada’s wheat was cheaper than the USA’s.

Question 13

How did overproduction and improved machinery affect farmers?

Answer 13

The combine harvester and improved fertilizers made US agriculture extremely efficient.

Question 14

How did falling prices affect farmers?

Answer 14

In the 1920’s, 100’s of rural banks collapsed. Also, in 1921, farmers prices fell by 50%.

Question 15

How did standard of living affect farmers?

Answer 15

Less than 10% of farmers had electric lights or mains water supplies.

Question 16

How were fruit farmers affected?

Answer 16

Shipment of lettuce went from 14,000 in 1920 to 52,000 in 1928.

Question 17

Who were the old industries who were affected?

Answer 17

• The textile industry

- The coal industry

Question 18

How was the textile industry affected?

Answer 18

They faced competition from other parts of the country where labor was much cheaper.

Question 19

How were the coal industry affected?

Answer 19

The greater use of electric and oil for heating meant that demand for coal dropped.

Question 20

Why didn’t native Americans benefit from the boom?

Answer 20

Native Americans suffered extreme discrimination so they found it hard to find jobs. Their children were sent to boarding schools which destroy traditions.

Question 21

Why didn’t black Americans benefit from the boom?

Answer 21

The KKK prosecuted black Americans, many were employed as slaves, many of them lived in poverty and also when they moved to cities, they found it hard to find jobs as they didn’t have many necessary skills.

Question 22

Why didn’t poor white Americans benefit from the boom?

Answer 22

42% of poor white Americans lived below the poverty line and 1 million of them lost jobs in the 1920’s.