USA-the roaring twenties Flashcards
Which groups faced persecution in 1918?
- African Americans, just received freedom from slavery
- Native Americans, their ancestral land had been taken by US settlers
- New immigrants, introduced laws to reduce immigration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
What was the role of the president?
-sets policy
What was the role of the supreme court?
-checks laws are in keeping with the constitution
What was the role of the congress?
-makes laws
When did America declare war on Germany?
-2nd April, 1917
How did the war in Europe effect the US economy?
- created demand for American goods as Europeans did not have time to grow enough food + produce steel etc
- farms and workers benefited from the overseas demand
How much did factory production rise during WW1 and what was the change in production of steel?
- 35%
- in 1910, =26.1 million tonnes of steel
- increased to 42.1 million by 1920
What other industries experienced expansion during WW1?
- natural resources
- transport, shipbuilding increased to replace ships destroyed by subs and railroads were modernised to transport goods and soldiers around the USA efficiently
- consumer goods e.g cigarettes
How much cotton and wheat did America supply to the world?
- 30% wheat
- 55% cotton
How did the lives of farmers change during WW1?
- prices of their goods rose by 25%
- income rose by 30%
- began to use machines=increased production
- more took loans to expand their farms
How did workers benefit from WW1?
- more workers needed due to increased need for goods
- no of people increased by 1.3 mill=reduced unemployment
- wages increased
- more opportunities for e.g women joined workforce + black Americans moved to industrial parts in the North
What were some problems after the war?
- European farming recovered by 1920=demand dropped
- returning soldiers re-entered workforce=new workers lost jobs
- increased no of black ppl in industrial cities=race riots
- farmers struggled to pay back their loans
How many more people were in work during WW1?
-1.3 million more
Why were America experiencing an economic boom?
- new production methods=factories produced goods at faster rate
- availability of credit
- advertising=more people bought new consumer goods
- increased popularity of investing in stocks and shares
What were the results of Henry Ford’s mass production?
-12 hours to produce model T car>one every 10 seconds on the 31st of October 1925
