USA 1920-73 Flashcards
Where did families move to in the 50’s?
-what were these places nicknamed?
Suburbs
-levittowns
Name 2 music idols from the 50’s
Elvis Presley
Little Richard
What decade was McCarthyism and the second red scare?
1950’s
Who did McCarthy accuse, which cost him trust and popularity?
US army
What % of managers said women were their best workers?
60%
How much did Truman’s fair deal increase minimum wage?
From 45 to 75 cents
Why did cinemas decline in the 50’s?
Popularisation of TV’s
What happened to NAACP membership during WW2?
Went from 50,000 to 500,000
How many more women joined the workforce in WW2?
7 million more
What happened to women’s wages after WW2?
Womens’ wages dropped to half of men’s wages
During WW2, what did factories convert to producing?
Weapons and artillery
During WW2, what happened to GDP?
More than doubled
During WW2, what % did unemployment drop to?
1.9%
In what year did unemployment decrease to 6 million?
1937
What was the title of the book about okies?
Grapes of wrath
Who did Roosevelt threaten to ‘pack’ ?
Supreme court
What was the job of federal examiners?
Register voters in areas of very low levels of black voter registration
Did selma and the voting rights act fully end discrimination?
No
When were the watts riots?
-how many died?
1965
-34 deaths
When was the civil rights act?
1964
When was the voting rights act?
1965
What 2 things did the voting rights act do?
Banned unfair literacy tests and set up federal examiners
What did the march on washington lead to?
Civil rights act
What year was selma?
1965
Which governor opposed desegregation?
Governor George Wallace
What did selma lead to?
Voting rights act
When was the march on washington?
-was it televised?
1963
-yes
How many people attended the march on washington?
-how many of those were white people?
250,000 total
-50,000 white
What 2 things were the freedom riders met with?
Attacks by KKK,
Their buses were firebombed
Which president sent in the army to support freedom riders in 1961?
Eisenhower
What 2 groups helped with sit ins?
NAACP, CORE
When were the freedom riders?
-what student group helped?
1961
-SNCC
What did the freedom riders prove?
Proved that desegregation laws were not being followed
What did the MBB highlight the effectiveness of?
Non-violence
When were the sit ins?
1960
What group of people did sit ins increase support from?
White people
Why did the MBB impact bus companies?
60-70% of commuters were african american
The supreme court ruled that segregated buses were _______
Unconstitutional
When did the supreme court ruled that schools had to be desegregated?
1954
When was the MBB?
1955
What does MIA stand for?
Montgomery improvement association
When were the little rock 9 accepted into high school?
1957
Who used the local army to block the little rock 9?
Governor Orval Faubas
Which president supported the little rock 9?
Eisenhower
What was the CCC, what did they do?
Civilian Conservation Corps, provided jobs to young men in conservation schemes in the countryside
How many AA benefitted from the CCC?
200,000
How many women benefitted from the CCC?
8000
Name 2 cinema stars from the 20’s
Charlie Chaplin, Clara Bow
Name 2 jazz stars from the 20’s
Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong
Name 4 groups of people who were targeted by the KKK
Black people, catholics, immigrants, communists
How many a week went to the cinema?
50 million
When was the first ‘talkie’ ?
-what was it called?
1927
-the jazz singer
What did Hoover believe in?(leaving the economy alone)
Lassiez-faire
What did Hoover do that made the economy worse?
Introduced tariffs
Who won the 1932 election?
Roosevelt
What significant event happened in 1929?
Wall street crash
What year was the height of the depression?
-how many were left unemployed?
1933
-14 million
How much did the tin lizzie cost in 1911?
-by what year did it cost $295?
$800
-1925
How many people bought the tin lizzie by 1929?
15 million
How many banks had gone bankrupt during the depression?
5000
What 2 things caused the first red scare?
Bombs on wall street, russian revolution
What did the first red scare lead to?
-how many immigrants were deported?
Palmer raids
-6000
Name 4 things that happened in the first 100 days
-Roosevelt closed banks, reopened trustworthy ones
-ended prohibition
-cut wages by 15% to make $1 billion
-fireside chats
What did the TVA do?
Built dams, provided electricity and thousands of jobs
What happened to average income during the great depression?
Fell by 60%
When did women gain the vote?
1920
What % increase of women workforce was there in the 20’s?
25% increase
What was KKK membership by 1925?
5 million members
What 2 unions were a cause of prohibition?
Anti-saloon league, women’s christian temperance union
Why was prohibition so hard to enforce?
Few prohibition agents, they were often bribed
What were alphabet agencies?
Organisations/charities created to help achieve the 3 R’s (relief, recovery, reform)
What was the AAA?
Agricultural adjustment act - paid farmers to produce less
How many had a radio set by the end of the 20’s?
50 million
What happened to divorce rates in the 20’s?
Doubled
What act limited migration to the USA?
-when was this act?
Immigration act
-1924
Name 3 groups of women who did not experience positive change during the roaring 20’s
Rural women, bible belt women, black women
What 2 things turned farms into ‘dust bowls’ ?
Drought, over-farming
What was the nickname given to jobless americans looking for work?
Okies
Give 3 causes of the 20’s boom
Low taxes, tariffs, mass production, hire purchase
What % americans were beloe the poverty line in the 20’s?
60%
What % farmers were below the poverty line in the 20’s?
50%
How much did Truman’s fair deal spend to help 9 million veterans with education and jobs?
$13 billion
Which president lowered taxes and funded highway projects?
-how much did he spend?
Eisenhower
-$25 billion
How many miles of highway did Eisenhower construct?
40,000 miles
What % was unemployment at post WW2?
4.4%
What % had a TV by the end of the 1950’s?
83.2%
What caused a witch hunt in the 50’s?
China (1948) and Korea (1950-3) falling to communism
As a result of the 50’s witch hunt, what was set up?
House Committee of Un-American Activities
What did the House Committee of Un-American Activities investigate?
Government, film industry and education
What decade was McCarthyism and the second red scare?
1950’s
Who refused to give evidence to the House Committee of Un-American Activities?
The Hollywood 10
What people were often accused of being secret communists?
Civil rights leaders
What did Huey Long want Roosevelt to do?
Do more and share more wealth
What event caused the decline of Jazz clubs?
Great depression
What was the name given for americans making goods for other countries?
Lend-Lease
During what did unemployment drop to 1.9%?
WW2
How many AA were in the army during WW2?
-what type of places did they experience? (such as Britain)
Over 1 million
-desegregated places
What 3 things did JFK’s New Frontier and LBJ’s Great Society impact? (Hint: HEP)
-health
-education
-poverty
How did JFK’s new frontier impact health?
Congress defeated his Medicare proposals
How did JFK’s new frontier impact education?
Gave more money to schools and improved training schemes to reduce crime
How did JFK’s new frontier impact poverty?
Increased minimum wage from $1 to $1.25, improved benefits for elderly and unemployed
How did LBJ’s great society impact health?
Medical aid given to the poor and elderly
How did LBJ’s great society impact education?
Gave money to schools in cities to help the poor
How did LBJ’s great society impact poverty?
Increased minimum wage from $1.25 to $1.40, declared a ‘war on poverty’
What year was the equal pay act?
1963
When did NOW form?
-who was a leader?
1966
-Betty Friedan
What year was the equal pay amendment act?
-how much less were women still paid than men on average?
1972
-70% less
What did Roe vs Wade make legal?
-when?
Abortion
-1973
In the 20’s, AA were ‘last to be _____, first to be _____’
Last to be hired, first to be fired
Name 2 reasons why KKK membership declined in the 20’s
-1924 immigration act
-Grand Dragon David Stephenson convicted of rape and murder
Which president believed in lassiez faire?
Hoover
What did Hoover try to do in 1930-31?
Cut taxes, persuade businesses not to cut workers’ wages
What did Hoover introduce which made things worse?
Tariffs
What year were veterans tear gassed?
1932
What happened on Bloody Sunday 1965?
MLK and protestors attacked by local police on the outskirts of Selma
How many marchers were there at Selma?
-who did LBJ order to protect them?
2000
-US army
What was Black Power?
Groups which supported tactics away from non violence
Name 3 Black Power groups
-Black Panthers
-SNCC
-Malcolm X
Which black power group stated ‘any means necessary’?
Malcolm X
Which 2 people did the black power salute at the 1968 olympics?
-what did this gain?
Tommie Smith, John Carlos
-global attention
Who did black power scare off?
-what did it increase the appeal of?
White voters
-non violence
What did MLK and black power have in common?
Wanted to support local issues and tackle poverty
