US1 Inequalities Of Wealth In 1920s

Question 1

How much of the wealth did the richest 5% own?

Answer 1

33%

Question 2

How many millionaires were there in 1927?

Answer 2

15,000

Question 3

In 1927, 6 million families, 42%, only earned how much per year? How did this affect them?

Answer 3

Less than $1000
Meaning they couldn’t afford basic necessities such as decent food and good quality housing.

Question 4

How did many large industrial firms use their workers to help keep their profits up?

Answer 4

By paying them low wages

Question 5

How much had farmers income dropped between 1920 and 1930?

Answer 5

By 1930 they only earned a third of what they did in 1920

Question 6

Why did farmers earn so much less by 1930?

Answer 6

• After WWI less demand in Europe for American imports
• Some countries taxed US products making it hard to sell them overseas
• Hi-tech farming equipment meant more food was produced lowering prices
• many farmers borrowed money from banks but couldn’t afford to pay the loans back

Question 7

In 1924 how many farmers lost their farms?

Answer 7

600,000

Question 8

Name two industries that became less prosperous in the 1920s and why?

Answer 8

• coal miners - mines closed as other forms of fuel (oil, gas, electricity) were increasingly used to heat homes and cook food
• cotton and wool factory workers - less demand because of the popularity of man made fibres, and fashions for shorter dresses that required less material. The price of cotton and woollen cloth fell and many factories shut down.

Question 9

Where did most African Americans live?

Answer 9

The southern states - Mississippi, South Carolina

Question 10

How did the farming industry collapse affect African Americans?

Answer 10

• Many worked as labourers on farms or as sharecroppers who rented land from a landowner
• as farming industry struggled, African Americans were hit particularly hard as they were already poor
• many moved to cities but could only get low paid jobs

Question 11

Why did the American Indians struggle in the 1920s?

Answer 11

• Large amounts of their land had been seized by mining companies
• many American Indians had been forced to live on reservations where the soil was poor so they couldn’t grow crops
• most lived in extreme poverty, were poorly educated and had lower life expectancy than other ethnic groups