Topic 1 - 1920s U.S. Economy (Knowledge) Flashcards
How much did American industry grow in the 1920s?
It doubled
What proportion of the American workforce was unemployed in 1921 (%)?
11.9%
What proportion of the American workforce was unemployed in 1926 (%)?
1.9%
What were the main natural resources America possessed?
Oil, coal, iron, gas
How did America help Britain and France’s war effort during the early part of WWI (1914-17)?
Lent money to the Allies, and sold arms and munitions to GB and France.
In which industry did America overtake Germany after WWI?
Chemicals
Name three Republican government policies.
- Laissez-faire
- Tariffs
- Low taxation
Which Act was introduced in 1922, which increased tariffs higher than ever before?
The Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act.
What allowed Americans to get consumer goods and pay for them later in regular weekly and monthly instalments (“buy now, pay later”)?
Hire purchase.
What proportion of radios was bought on credit?
8/10
What was the name of Ford’s most famous car in this period?
The Model T
What was the price of a Model T when it was first produced in 1908?
$850
What had the price of a Model T fallen to by 1925?
$290
By 1924, what had happened to the time it took to build a Model T?
Fell from 12.5 hours to 1.5 hours
By 1927, how often did a Ford car come off a production line?
Every 10 seconds
How many cars were produced in 1929?
4.8 million
How many workers were employed by the car industry in 1929?
500,000
What proportion of Americans owned a car by 1929?
1 in 5
Which other industries benefitted from the growth of the motor car industry?
Glass production (75% was used by the car industry) Leather Steel Rubber Petrol and petrol stations Road-building House-building in suburbs Motels and holiday resorts
Give 5 examples of new consumer products mass produced in the 1920s.
Washing machines, telephones, vacuum cleaners, radios and motor cars.
How many radios were sold by 1929?
10 million (up from 60,000 in 1920)
What three sales and marketing methods were used to encourage Americans to spend?
Poster and radio advertisements
Travelling salesmen
Mail-order catalogues
What is the term for part of a company bought and sold on the stock market?
Share
What was the term used for borrowing money to buy shares?
“Buying on the margin” (90% of the share price was borrowed)
How did shareholders make money?
- Gaining a percentage of the company’s profits.
2. Selling their shares for a higher price.
What happened to the value of shares during the 1920s?
They rose
What was the term for shareholders who “bought on the margin” and then hoped to sell their shares for a quick profit?
Speculators
How did the buying of shares help companies?
It gave them more money to invest so they could expand.
What happened to total farm income between 1919 and 1928?
Fell from $22 billion to $13 billion.
How many farmers went bankrupt?
500,000
What was the major cause of famers’ financial difficulties in the 1920s?
Overproduction
What led to Europe importing far less food from America after the war?
- Tariffs
2. Poor economy
How much did most farm prices fall by in 1921?
50%
Which pest destroyed cotton crops in the southern states?
Boll-weevil
What was the name of farmers given a proportion of the crop to sell rather than a cash wage?
Sharecroppers
How many black farm workers lost their jobs in the 1920s?
Approximately 1 million.
What happened to many farmers who couldn’t pay back money they had borrowed (i.e. mortgage repayments)?
Their land was repossessed (taken away from them).
Name two other industries which did not benefit from the boom.
Coal and traditional textiles.
What did coal suffer competition from?
Oil and electricity.
How much did a coal miner earn compared to the national average?
1/3
What did leather and textiles suffer competition from (x2)?
- Man-made materials e.g. nylon.
2. Cheap labour in the southern states.
What proportion of American families lived below the poverty line in 1929 (%)?
60%
What was Republican policy towards unemployment and poverty?
Not to interfere (‘rugged individualism’)
