US Economy and Society in the 1920s

Question 1

What evidence is there that there was an economic boom in the 1920s?

Answer 1

→GNP rose from $836 billion to $103 billion
→Households with radios rose from 60,000 to 1 million
→Airline passengers rose from 6,000 in 1926 to 73,000 in 1929

Question 2

Identify 7 reasons for the economic boom

Answer 2

→Mass production 
→Assembly line 
→Hire purchase 
→Republican policies 
→WW1 
→New industries/goods introduced 
→US wealth (natural resources)

Question 3

Which raw materials did the US possess? Why did this contribute to boom?

Answer 3

→Coal, oil, iron was brought off USA from other European countries for high prices as none of them had them

Question 4

How did WW1 help US economy?

Answer 4

→US joined war late so no actual fighting took place there meaning there were no costs for anything being damaged
→US were in good position to sell goods to European countries because of this
→The US made a rule to only send out exports instead of import them, so they gained more income

Question 5

What did the Republican government do to encourage the boom?

Answer 5

→Low taxation (the less money Americans had to pay towards the gov the more they would spend on goods)
→-Laissez-faire (the less the gov interfered with businesses the more money the businesses would make)
→High tariffs (money for exports from USA increased(Fordney Mcumber tariff))

Question 6

How many people attended the cinema in the 1920s?

Answer 6

95 million by 1929.

Question 7

Who were the most famous actors at the time? How did their behavior concern conservative America?

Answer 7

The most famous actors were Clara Bow, Charlie Chaplin and Rudolph Valentino.

Question 8

What was the name of the first talkie film? When was it released?

Answer 8

The first talkie was released in 1927 and was called The Jazz Singer, which starred Al Johnson.

Question 9

What was the Hays Code? Why was it introduced?

Answer 9

It set strict rules about what could be shown on the screen. i.e amount of kissing. This was introduced because some people, especially religious people, were very concerned about a lack of morals and the influence of the films on young people.

Question 10

What sports became popular during the 1920s? What is an example of a sporting hero for each one?

Answer 10

Baseball- Babe Ruth- Earning $80,000 a year by 1930.
Boxing- Jack Dempsy
Golf- Bobby Jones.

Question 11

What was a flapper?

Answer 11

The ‘party girl’ of the cites who appeared to rebel against the way the woman was expeced to dress and behave e.g. dating without a chaperon!

Question 12

What style of music became popular during the period and why?

Answer 12

The 1920s was known as Jazz age. It was now easy to access music through the radio. People also had more money to spend and more time to listen to the music of the time. Jazz music also provided excitement due to it’s black roots; it was the music of speakeasies.

Question 13

What is hire purchase and how did it encourage the boom?

Answer 13

Buy now, pay later scheme. It encouraged the boom because it meant more people were spending more money at one time instead of smaller amounts over a longer period of time

Question 14

What was mass production?

Answer 14

Mass production was the increased production of American goods which were made using the assembly line

Question 15

What evidence is there of the popularity of the radio?

Answer 15

→Record sales fell as radio listening increased

→In 1920, $2 million worth of radios were purchased but by 1929 it was $600 million.

Question 16

By how much did the price of a motor car fall by in the 1920s?

Answer 16

From $860 to just $260 by 1924

Question 17

How many motor cars were manufactured in 1929?

Answer 17

4.5 million cars

Question 18

What evidence is there that women made progress in the 1920s?

Answer 18

→WW1 brought a change in attitude as they filled jobs that men normally filled when they went to war.
→In 1920 women got the right to vote
→They became financially independent
→More contraception and divorce rate rose
→More washing machines and vacuum cleaners helped women.
→More women speculated on the market.

Question 19

What evidence is there that women’s lives didn’t change?

Answer 19

→Women in rural areas were still poor.
→Most women were still housewives and were not as free as their men.
→the number of women in the workforce declined during the 1920s and there was discrimination in employment.

Question 20

What style of music became popular during the period and why?

Answer 20

The 1920s was known as Jazz age. It was now easy to access music through the radio. People also had more money to spend and more time to listen to the music of the time.

Question 21

What was the irony surrounding the Cotton Club?

Answer 21

It was ironic because the club was a whites-only establishment even though it featured many of the best Black entertainers

Question 22

What were some of the dance crazes that occured during the time? How did conservative Americans react to them, and why?

Answer 22

The Charleston and the Black Bottom.

Question 23

What evidence is there that women DID and DID NOT have better employment opportunities in the 1920s?

Answer 23

DID
→New office jobs provided employment for many women
→Women were encouraged to gain economic independence-some learned a trade or trained as typists or secretaries.

DID NOT-
→There was still discrimination in employment
→The vast majority of working class women continues in low skilled, low paid jobs.

Question 24

Why did many Americans want to limit immigration in the 1920s?

Answer 24

The american society reacted harshly to the new immigrants, for the most part. many of the people already in the country felt the new immigrants were dragging the country down both economically and morally. They were upset because the new immigrants were taking their jobs for less money and making it harder for those already in america to find jobs.

There were also moral and religious differences. many of the new immigrants were from italy, eastern europe and ireland and many of them were catholic. most of the current citizens in america were protestant.

Question 25

What happened to fashion at the time?

Answer 25

Women:
→clothing took a dramatic turn in the 1920s. Hems rose, waistlines dropped, corsets disappeared and elaborate bead work became popular on dresses.

Men
→Middle-class men still wore suits, ties and waistcoats during the day, and the better-off would often change into a formal suit for dinner in the evening.

Question 26

Were most women flappers?

Answer 26

Yeah- they were generally the younger generation; they were often frowned upon by the older generation.

Question 27

What evidence is there that women made progress in the 1920s?

Answer 27

→WW1 brought a change in attitude as they filled jobs that men normally filled when they went to war.
→In 1920 women got the right to vote
→They became financially independent
→More contraception and divorce rate rose
→More washing machines and vacuum cleaners helped women.

Question 28

What evidence is there that women’s lives didn’t change?

Answer 28

• Women in rural areas were still poor.

* Most women were still housewives and were not as free as their men.

Question 29

When did women win the right to vote? What was the name of the law?

Answer 29

They won the right to vote in 1920. This law was called the Nineteenth Amendment.

Question 30

What happened to the divorce rate during the decade?

Answer 30

Divorce rate increased, while marriage rate decreased.

Question 31

How did domestic/home life change for women?

Answer 31

Devices such as the vacuum cleaner and the washing machine became more available, especially using hire purchase.

Question 32

What evidence is there that women DID and DID NOT have better employment opportunities in the 1920s?

Answer 32

DID
→New office jobs provided employment for many women
→Women were encouraged to gain economic independence-some learned a trade or trained as typists or secretaries.

DID NOT-
→There was still discrimination in employment
→The vast majority of working class women continues in low skilled, low paid jobs.

Question 33

Why did many Americans want to limit immigration in the 1920s?

Answer 33

The american society reacted harshly to the new immigrants, for the most part. many of the people already in the country felt the new immigrants were dragging the country down both economically and morally. They were upset because the new immigrants were taking their jobs for less money and making it harder for those already in america to find jobs.

There were also moral and religious differences. many of the new immigrants were from italy, eastern europe and ireland and many of them were catholic. most of the current citizens in america were protestant.

Question 34

What was the Red Scare?

Answer 34

The Red Scare was a nationwide fear of communists, socialists, anarchists, and other dissidents suddenly grabbed the American psyche in 1919 following a series of anarchist bombings. The nation was gripped in fear. Innocent people were jailed for expressing their views,

Question 35

What were the causes behind the Red Scare?

Answer 35

→World War I, which led many to embrace strong nationalistic and anti-immigrant sympathies

→The Bolshevik Revolution in Russis, which led many to fear that immigrants, intended to overthorw the United States government.

→The end of World War I, which caused production needs to decline and unemployment to rise. Many workers joined labor unions. Labor strikes, including the Boston Police Strike in September 1919, contributed to fears that redicals intended to spark a revolution;

→Self-proclaimed anarchists’ mailing bombs to prominent Americans

Question 36

How was immigration limited in the 1920s?

Answer 36

Before the First World War, America had an ‘Open Door’ policy, which allowed anyone to move the USA, but this was quickly changed after Americans demanded for the ‘door’ to be closed.
In 1924, Congress passed an act which introduced a quota system. Annual immigration was reduced from over one million to about 150,000 in 1929.

Question 37

Who were the most famous examples of the red scare?

Answer 37

Sacco and Venzetti.

Question 38

Describe the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Where were they? What were they accused of? Who was the judge? What happened to them?

Answer 38

Two italian immigrants were executed for an alleged robbery. Many thought that they had been convicted due to the fact that they were foreign and had radical beliefs. There was little evidence and the judge was biased. They became the scape goats for the bombings during the red scare.

Question 39

How did immigration become an increasing concern for Americans by 1920?

Answer 39

High numbers of immigrants in the cities, hatred of Germans after WW1, Russian revolution in 1917.

Question 40

How many Americans were members of the KKK by 1925?

Answer 40

5 million.

Question 41

How many lynchings were there a year?

Answer 41

50.

Question 42

Why were Sacco and Venzetti executed?

Answer 42

For alleged robbery.

Question 43

Why did some believe that Sacco and Vanzetti were innocent?

Answer 43

There was little evidence;the two were Italian anarchists;the judge was openly biased;America needed a scape goat for the red scare.

Question 44

What were the Jim Crow laws?

Answer 44

Laws that ensured blacks lived in separate areas and went to separate schools.

Question 45

What evidence is there for the popularity of the KKK?

Answer 45

→By 1925 they had 5 million members, largely due to the increase in immigration, includingabout 15% of the nation’s eligible population

Question 46

Why did so many Americans join the KKK in the 1920s?

Answer 46

→1920’s was a time of change: women had gotten the right to vote and cities in the north were growing rapidly with an influx of blacks coming from farms in the south and immigrants coming from Europe.

→Most of these cities were extremely segregated by race and class. Labor unions were becoming powerful and threatened the traditional relationship between labor and capitol.

→Violence between the owners strongmen and union organizers was alarming.

→Many white Americans were afraid of these dynamic changes.

→The KKK was seen as an organization that stood for traditional values and moral righteousness, a
group that would keep America safe from radicals and lesser beings. With the investigations by Congress in the early 20’s, the KKK got a lot of press that made them look noble and Americans flocked to the KKK.

Question 47

Why did KKK membership decline by 1929?

Answer 47

There were a series of scandals including the conviction of one Klan leader for the rape and murder of a woman on a train.

Question 48

What problems did black Americans face at the time?

Answer 48

There was segregation which forced black people to be educated at the worst schools, only use the worst facilities, under the threat of the KKK, with higher unemployment rates and discrimination on a daily basis.

Question 49

When was prohibition introduced? What was the name of the law?

Answer 49

The noble experiment of Prohibition was introduced by the 18th Amendment, which became effective in January 1920.

Question 50

Why was prohibition introduced?

Answer 50

It was introduced for many reasons:
→National mood - when America entered the war in 1917 the national mood also turned against drinking alcohol. -The Anti-Saloon League argued that drinking alcohol was damaging American society.

→Practical - a ban on alcohol would boost supplies of important grains such as barley.

→Religious - the consumption of alcohol went against God’s will.

→Moral - many agreed that it was wrong for some Americans to enjoy alcohol while the country’s young men were at war.

→Patriotic- Most brewers were German so it was considered patriotic to close them down.

Question 51

Why was prohibition hard to enforce?

Answer 51

→There weren’t enough Prohibition agents to enforce the law - only 1,500 in 1920.
→The size of America’s boundaries made it hard for these agents to control smuggling by bootleggers.
→The low salary paid to the agents made it easy to bribe them.
→Many Americans never gave their support to Prohibition and were willing to drink in speakeasies - bars that -claimed to sell soft drinks, but served alcohol behind the scenes.
Gangsters such as Al Capone made money from organised crime.
→Protection rackets, organised crime and gangland murders were more common during Prohibition than when alcohol could be bought legally.

Question 52

How did people go against prohibition?

Answer 52

→By attending speakeasies- there were thousands in New York openly operating.

Question 53

Why did prohibition fail?

Answer 53

→There weren’t enough Prohibition agents to enforce the law - only 1,500 in 1920.
→The size of America’s boundaries made it hard for these agents to control smuggling by bootleggers.
→The low salary paid to the agents made it easy to bribe them.
→Many Americans never gave their support to Prohibition and were willing to drink in speakeasies - bars that claimed to sell soft drinks, but served alcohol behind the scenes.
→Gangsters such as Al Capone made money from organised crime.
→Protection rackets, organised crime and gangland murders were more common during Prohibition than when alcohol could be bought legally.

Question 54

What was moonshine? How was it made?

Answer 54

Moonshine was the illegal manufacture of alcohol in distilleries- there were not enough Treasury agents to close them down.

Question 55

How much smuggling went on at the time?

Answer 55

→William McCoy smuggled $70 million worth of whisky from Canada. Rum was also smuggled from the west indies.
→Al Capone was earning over $100 million per year.

Question 56

How did the influence of gangsters grow?

Answer 56

→Al Capone was earning over $100 million per year.

→Over 200 gang members were murderer from 1927-1931.

Question 57

Name and describe a famous massacre during the prohibition era.

Answer 57

The St Valentine’s Day Massacre- 7 members of a rival gang to Capone were machine gunned.

Question 58

Who repealed Prohibition, when and why?

Answer 58

Roosevelt in 1933- he believed money was better spent creating jobs than enforcing prohibition. This also meant alcohol could now be taxed.

Question 59

What was the scopes trial? What does this tell you about 1920 America?

Answer 59

The Scopes Trial American legal case in 1925 in which a substitute high school teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee’s Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school.[1] The trial was deliberately staged to attract publicity to the small town of Dayton, Tennessee, where it was held. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he purposely incriminated himself so that the case could have a defendant.

This tells you that 1920 America was very intolerant to new ideas.