,• Why did the USA experience an economic boom?
• How far did the American people benefit from the boom?
• Source Analysis.
• Consumerism.
• Laissez – Faire.
• Protectionism (Tariffs).
• Rugged Individualism.
• Isolationism.
• Mass Production.
• Stock Market.
• Credit.
• New Industries.
For Topic 1 you need to understand the extent of economic prosperity during the 1920s
and the impact this had on both social and cultural change. In studying technological
change, you should specifically consider the automobile and its significance.
, Knowledge Organiser: Boom and Crash 1920-1929
Key issue: How and why did the USA achieve prosperity in the 1920s?:
• Isolationism and its effects: American rejection of the TofV and refusal to Join the
LofN; consequences for USA
• Tariff policy: Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922
• Mass Production (Ford); consumer industries and advertising
• Hire Purchase; purchase of stocks and shares; the stock market boom; Republican
policies
• Developments in the entertainment industries – cinema, jazz.
Key issue: How far was the USA a divided society in the 1920s?:
• Rich v poor: continuation of poverty – farmers
• Race: immigration controls, quota system 1921; National Origins Act of 1924; Ku
Klux Klan and its activities.
• didn’t
Why Prohibition: groups forjoin
the Americans andthe
against it; organised
League crime; the impact on society.
of Nations?
• Young people: fashion and flappers
Isolationism American Soldiers German Immigrants
Money Empires
Isolationism:
• America regarded itself as the 'New World' and did not want anything to do with the 'Old
World' – disagreed with views such as communism.
• When Wilson went to the Versailles Conference, he was the first US President EVER to
visit Europe.
• Most Americans thought that America should stay out of Europe's affairs, and Europe
should stay out of America's.
Money:
• American businessmen were worried about the COST of the League - paying taxes to
pay for its organisation and losing trade if it decided to impose sanctions.
American soldiers:
• 100,000 soldiers had died in the First World War, and many Americans couldn't see why
American soldiers should die keeping peace elsewhere in the world.
German immigrants:
• Many Americans were immigrants from Europe and they still had ties there.
• German immigrants HATED the Treaty of Versailles just as much as the Germans in
Germany.
, Empires:
• The American colonies had once been part of an empire, but the American revolution
was about freedom from empire.
• The Treaty of Versailles hadn't abolished the British Empires and many Americans did
not want to be part of a Treaty or a League with upheld the British Empire.
However,…:
• America was happy to loan money to other nations: The Dawes Plan of 1924, American
Charles Dawes loaned Germany $200 million.
• Between 1924 and 1928 the USA loaned $5757 million to other countries around the
world.
• American representatives were sent to the Geneva Peace conference 1932 and the
World Economic Conference 1933.
Obviously their absence from the League of Nations weakened it greatly. It also fuelled
racism – fear of immigrants (Red Scare) and the desire to keep America exclusively for
WASPS -> immigration control.
Source Analysis:
Nature – What is it?
Origin – Who created it?
Purpose – What was it for?
Audience – Who was it aimed at?
Analyse Following Source:
Source F - The attitude of the Republican Party in the USA towards the League of
Nations, 1919. It is taken from a speech by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, 12 August
1919.
The League of Nations is mainly a political organisation. I object strongly to American
politicians wasting time discussing disputes in which we have no direct interest. I wish to
limit our involvement in the arguments of Europe. We have interests of our own in Asia
and in the Pacific. The less we get involved in Europe, the better it is for the United
States.
Key Points :
• Discusses popular American Opinion.
• Would appeal to most Americans at the time.
• True that people saw more economic possibilities in Asia and The Pacific as opposed to
those in Britain. – Monroe doctrine
• Senator speaks for the whole of the Nation, doesn’t show any other views – stereotypes
the whole Country – Limitation of source.
• Aimed at the whole of America – trying to influence them into thinking certain ideas.
• How far did the American people benefit from the boom?
• Source Analysis.
• Consumerism.
• Laissez – Faire.
• Protectionism (Tariffs).
• Rugged Individualism.
• Isolationism.
• Mass Production.
• Stock Market.
• Credit.
• New Industries.
For Topic 1 you need to understand the extent of economic prosperity during the 1920s
and the impact this had on both social and cultural change. In studying technological
change, you should specifically consider the automobile and its significance.
, Knowledge Organiser: Boom and Crash 1920-1929
Key issue: How and why did the USA achieve prosperity in the 1920s?:
• Isolationism and its effects: American rejection of the TofV and refusal to Join the
LofN; consequences for USA
• Tariff policy: Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922
• Mass Production (Ford); consumer industries and advertising
• Hire Purchase; purchase of stocks and shares; the stock market boom; Republican
policies
• Developments in the entertainment industries – cinema, jazz.
Key issue: How far was the USA a divided society in the 1920s?:
• Rich v poor: continuation of poverty – farmers
• Race: immigration controls, quota system 1921; National Origins Act of 1924; Ku
Klux Klan and its activities.
• didn’t
Why Prohibition: groups forjoin
the Americans andthe
against it; organised
League crime; the impact on society.
of Nations?
• Young people: fashion and flappers
Isolationism American Soldiers German Immigrants
Money Empires
Isolationism:
• America regarded itself as the 'New World' and did not want anything to do with the 'Old
World' – disagreed with views such as communism.
• When Wilson went to the Versailles Conference, he was the first US President EVER to
visit Europe.
• Most Americans thought that America should stay out of Europe's affairs, and Europe
should stay out of America's.
Money:
• American businessmen were worried about the COST of the League - paying taxes to
pay for its organisation and losing trade if it decided to impose sanctions.
American soldiers:
• 100,000 soldiers had died in the First World War, and many Americans couldn't see why
American soldiers should die keeping peace elsewhere in the world.
German immigrants:
• Many Americans were immigrants from Europe and they still had ties there.
• German immigrants HATED the Treaty of Versailles just as much as the Germans in
Germany.
, Empires:
• The American colonies had once been part of an empire, but the American revolution
was about freedom from empire.
• The Treaty of Versailles hadn't abolished the British Empires and many Americans did
not want to be part of a Treaty or a League with upheld the British Empire.
However,…:
• America was happy to loan money to other nations: The Dawes Plan of 1924, American
Charles Dawes loaned Germany $200 million.
• Between 1924 and 1928 the USA loaned $5757 million to other countries around the
world.
• American representatives were sent to the Geneva Peace conference 1932 and the
World Economic Conference 1933.
Obviously their absence from the League of Nations weakened it greatly. It also fuelled
racism – fear of immigrants (Red Scare) and the desire to keep America exclusively for
WASPS -> immigration control.
Source Analysis:
Nature – What is it?
Origin – Who created it?
Purpose – What was it for?
Audience – Who was it aimed at?
Analyse Following Source:
Source F - The attitude of the Republican Party in the USA towards the League of
Nations, 1919. It is taken from a speech by Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, 12 August
1919.
The League of Nations is mainly a political organisation. I object strongly to American
politicians wasting time discussing disputes in which we have no direct interest. I wish to
limit our involvement in the arguments of Europe. We have interests of our own in Asia
and in the Pacific. The less we get involved in Europe, the better it is for the United
States.
Key Points :
• Discusses popular American Opinion.
• Would appeal to most Americans at the time.
• True that people saw more economic possibilities in Asia and The Pacific as opposed to
those in Britain. – Monroe doctrine
• Senator speaks for the whole of the Nation, doesn’t show any other views – stereotypes
the whole Country – Limitation of source.
• Aimed at the whole of America – trying to influence them into thinking certain ideas.
