History revision notes:
America:
“boom” in 1920s.
- The Republican party was in control from 1920 – 32, with the policies of
“laissez faire”, Tariffs and low taxation.
- USA had vast natural resources which provide material for its industry.
Eg, US industrial production was higher than the sum of all other
countries.
- Motor industry develop extremely fast. In 1900 only 4000 cars were
made whereas between 1908 and 1925 over 15 million cars were
produced.
- Henry Ford set up the first moving production line in 1913 which
largely improve the efficiency of car production. 1 in every 10 seconds.
- Automobiles used up 75 percent of US glass production in 1920s.
- 1 car to 5 people in USA, 1 car to 43 in Britain, 1 to 7000 in Russia.
- 60K radios in 1920, 10M in 1929.
There were people who didn’t benefit from the “boom”
- Immigrants and African American remained in breadline whereas
others like Rockefeller family and Henry Ford became billionaires.
- Farmers did not benefit from the boom as the total farm income fall
from 22 billion in 1919 to 13 billion in 1928, with a main problem of
overproduction.
- For workers in old industries, though the profit of company increased,
the average earnings didn’t rise with the same scale.
- The unemployment rate of 5% was the same at the peak of boom
(1929) as in 1920. Yet the amount of goods produced had doubled.
Why was there an economic boom in 1920s?
- During WW1 America stayed out of the war and exported weapons and
food to Europe. They made a huge amount of money, so they were
very rich by 1919.
- The republican government established a series of policies to help the
domestic industries.
- 1. They give the least restriction to the local business so they could
grow freely.
- 2. They charge high tariff which secures the position of local businesses
, in the competition with foreign businesses.
- 3. They lower the taxes, so the ordinary people had more to spend
which help the market to boom.
- The increase on sales helped the economy to boom. As for the reasons,
apart from lowering the tax, they were 3 other reasons:
- 1. As machinery were gradually replacing artificial workers, the
production rose dramatically (data are above) which made the
consumer goods very cheap. Besides, the vast natural source in
America gave a strong back up of large industrial production.
- 2. Owing to the large-scale advertising, consumers were convinced to
spend money.
- 3. Businesses established the systems of ‘credit’ or ‘hire purchase’ so
consumer won’t need to pay immediately after they purchase
something. (consumerism)
- The market seemed promising, so more people invested in stock
market which almost necessarily led to the rise on stock price.
Social and cultural developments in 1920s:
- 1920s was called the roaring 20s due to the massive social and cultural
changes.
- People had more time and money to spend of leisure activities thanks
to the economic boom – average wages rose by 11.1% and average
work hours fell by 5 hours a week.
- However, in rural areas, traditional values still rules. Only those in cities
rejected the traditional values.
- Mass production made cars more affordable. Car affected US society in
various ways.
- 1. Mass production of the car created large amount of jobs. more road
was built for cars which create job opportunity, make delivery easier,
connecting the US and giving convenience to all industry.
- 2. It boomed industrial growth – automobile used up 75% of US glass
production
and 90% of US petrol.
- 3. It provided more choices and freedom. Widely owned car gave
people more opportunities to travel around which boost tourism. It also
allowed women and children to have more freedom. It also allowed the
workers to live further to their workplace, resulting in the urban sprawl
as cities spread in all direction.
- New forms of entertainment become widely available:
- Register radio stations rose from 1 in 1921 to 508 in 1922.
- Hollywood produced 800 films a year and 100 million tickets were sold
per year.
- Jazz was popular among the young and it was performed by African
, Americans.
- Professional sports boomed such as baseball.
Role of women changed largely:
Before the 1920s:
- Women wore restrictive clothing, no make-up, no smoking, no
attending sports feature. If they were unmarried and wanted to spend
time with men, a chaperone will follow to make sure they behave
appropriately.
- Their jobs are low-paid and married women were expected to stay in
house.
- They didn’t have the right to vote.
In the 1920s:
- Flappers were group of young women that were known for their
energetic freedom. They smoked, wore daring clothes in public.
- Women could go out with men as they will, more sexual freedom.
- During the first world war, women’s performance in munitions factories
had earned respect, rising the employment of women to 10 million
women in paid job (24% more than in 1920s)
- Labour-saving devices such as washing machines saved more free time
for women.
- In 1920 women won the right to vote.
women still faced inequalities:
- Traditional views of women’s role continued in rural area.
- Women were still paid less than men.
- There were few female politicians.
1920s America and the immigrant:
- In late 1910s, the campaign to ban alcohol gathered pace by 1916. 21
states had banned saloons.
- Argument from the supporters include: 3000 infants smothered yearly
in bed by drunken parents.
- The prohibition became a law in 1920, known as the “Volstead Act”.
- Al Capone made $60 million yearly from bootlegging.
- People can find alcohol in every city within half an hour.
- In 1919 the 14th of February, St Valentine’s Day massacre happened. 6
gangsters were shot.
- Though slavery had been abolished in 1863, African Americans still
, suffered from prejudice and discrimination.
- Many of them move to north for the better condition. Eg, African
American population doubled in both Chicago and New York.
- The KKK (a white supremacy movement) was founded in 1866 and
expanded in 1915 due the film “the birth of a nation”
- Between 1919 and 1925 over 300 African American were murdered by
lynching.
- From 1901 to 1910 immigration was at all-time high, a million a year.
- Social status: Irish Americans, German Americans – recent eastern
European and Italian immigrants – African American and Mexican
(bottom of the scale)
- As Russia became communist country after revolution in 1917, fear of
communism spread in America.
- In 1919 America was hit by a wave of strike and riots mainly due to the
economic hardship after the war as wartime production fell. US
attributed these to communism and this reaction was called “Red
Scare”
- In April 1919 a bomb planted in a church in Milwaukee killed 10 people,
followed by more bombs went off in 7 other cities in June.
- The investigator had 60,000 suspects with 10,000 of them being
deported. However, it later emerged that only 556 of them were
accused based on facts.
- The Sacco and Vanzetti case significantly showed the how the America
had moved away from the open society of pre-1914.
- In 1917 the government introduced the literacy test to limit the
number of immigrants.
- In 1921 US brought in a system of immigration quotas, with further
restrictions in 1924, limited the number to 150000 per year.
The Great Depression and Roosevelt’s New Deal:
Before the wall street crashed:
- Investment into the stock market was at all-time high.
- Speculators borrowed money from the bank to buy shares they could
not afford. They hoped for quick profit.
After the wall street crash:
- In October 1929, the wall street stock market crashed.
- Banks started to recall loans
- business who could not repay it went bankrupt (Between 1929 and
1933, 10000 banks closed and over 100000 businesses went
bankrupt.)
- bankrupt business laid off workers so unemployment soared.
- unemployment led to less consumption – less sale – less profit – less
America:
“boom” in 1920s.
- The Republican party was in control from 1920 – 32, with the policies of
“laissez faire”, Tariffs and low taxation.
- USA had vast natural resources which provide material for its industry.
Eg, US industrial production was higher than the sum of all other
countries.
- Motor industry develop extremely fast. In 1900 only 4000 cars were
made whereas between 1908 and 1925 over 15 million cars were
produced.
- Henry Ford set up the first moving production line in 1913 which
largely improve the efficiency of car production. 1 in every 10 seconds.
- Automobiles used up 75 percent of US glass production in 1920s.
- 1 car to 5 people in USA, 1 car to 43 in Britain, 1 to 7000 in Russia.
- 60K radios in 1920, 10M in 1929.
There were people who didn’t benefit from the “boom”
- Immigrants and African American remained in breadline whereas
others like Rockefeller family and Henry Ford became billionaires.
- Farmers did not benefit from the boom as the total farm income fall
from 22 billion in 1919 to 13 billion in 1928, with a main problem of
overproduction.
- For workers in old industries, though the profit of company increased,
the average earnings didn’t rise with the same scale.
- The unemployment rate of 5% was the same at the peak of boom
(1929) as in 1920. Yet the amount of goods produced had doubled.
Why was there an economic boom in 1920s?
- During WW1 America stayed out of the war and exported weapons and
food to Europe. They made a huge amount of money, so they were
very rich by 1919.
- The republican government established a series of policies to help the
domestic industries.
- 1. They give the least restriction to the local business so they could
grow freely.
- 2. They charge high tariff which secures the position of local businesses
, in the competition with foreign businesses.
- 3. They lower the taxes, so the ordinary people had more to spend
which help the market to boom.
- The increase on sales helped the economy to boom. As for the reasons,
apart from lowering the tax, they were 3 other reasons:
- 1. As machinery were gradually replacing artificial workers, the
production rose dramatically (data are above) which made the
consumer goods very cheap. Besides, the vast natural source in
America gave a strong back up of large industrial production.
- 2. Owing to the large-scale advertising, consumers were convinced to
spend money.
- 3. Businesses established the systems of ‘credit’ or ‘hire purchase’ so
consumer won’t need to pay immediately after they purchase
something. (consumerism)
- The market seemed promising, so more people invested in stock
market which almost necessarily led to the rise on stock price.
Social and cultural developments in 1920s:
- 1920s was called the roaring 20s due to the massive social and cultural
changes.
- People had more time and money to spend of leisure activities thanks
to the economic boom – average wages rose by 11.1% and average
work hours fell by 5 hours a week.
- However, in rural areas, traditional values still rules. Only those in cities
rejected the traditional values.
- Mass production made cars more affordable. Car affected US society in
various ways.
- 1. Mass production of the car created large amount of jobs. more road
was built for cars which create job opportunity, make delivery easier,
connecting the US and giving convenience to all industry.
- 2. It boomed industrial growth – automobile used up 75% of US glass
production
and 90% of US petrol.
- 3. It provided more choices and freedom. Widely owned car gave
people more opportunities to travel around which boost tourism. It also
allowed women and children to have more freedom. It also allowed the
workers to live further to their workplace, resulting in the urban sprawl
as cities spread in all direction.
- New forms of entertainment become widely available:
- Register radio stations rose from 1 in 1921 to 508 in 1922.
- Hollywood produced 800 films a year and 100 million tickets were sold
per year.
- Jazz was popular among the young and it was performed by African
, Americans.
- Professional sports boomed such as baseball.
Role of women changed largely:
Before the 1920s:
- Women wore restrictive clothing, no make-up, no smoking, no
attending sports feature. If they were unmarried and wanted to spend
time with men, a chaperone will follow to make sure they behave
appropriately.
- Their jobs are low-paid and married women were expected to stay in
house.
- They didn’t have the right to vote.
In the 1920s:
- Flappers were group of young women that were known for their
energetic freedom. They smoked, wore daring clothes in public.
- Women could go out with men as they will, more sexual freedom.
- During the first world war, women’s performance in munitions factories
had earned respect, rising the employment of women to 10 million
women in paid job (24% more than in 1920s)
- Labour-saving devices such as washing machines saved more free time
for women.
- In 1920 women won the right to vote.
women still faced inequalities:
- Traditional views of women’s role continued in rural area.
- Women were still paid less than men.
- There were few female politicians.
1920s America and the immigrant:
- In late 1910s, the campaign to ban alcohol gathered pace by 1916. 21
states had banned saloons.
- Argument from the supporters include: 3000 infants smothered yearly
in bed by drunken parents.
- The prohibition became a law in 1920, known as the “Volstead Act”.
- Al Capone made $60 million yearly from bootlegging.
- People can find alcohol in every city within half an hour.
- In 1919 the 14th of February, St Valentine’s Day massacre happened. 6
gangsters were shot.
- Though slavery had been abolished in 1863, African Americans still
, suffered from prejudice and discrimination.
- Many of them move to north for the better condition. Eg, African
American population doubled in both Chicago and New York.
- The KKK (a white supremacy movement) was founded in 1866 and
expanded in 1915 due the film “the birth of a nation”
- Between 1919 and 1925 over 300 African American were murdered by
lynching.
- From 1901 to 1910 immigration was at all-time high, a million a year.
- Social status: Irish Americans, German Americans – recent eastern
European and Italian immigrants – African American and Mexican
(bottom of the scale)
- As Russia became communist country after revolution in 1917, fear of
communism spread in America.
- In 1919 America was hit by a wave of strike and riots mainly due to the
economic hardship after the war as wartime production fell. US
attributed these to communism and this reaction was called “Red
Scare”
- In April 1919 a bomb planted in a church in Milwaukee killed 10 people,
followed by more bombs went off in 7 other cities in June.
- The investigator had 60,000 suspects with 10,000 of them being
deported. However, it later emerged that only 556 of them were
accused based on facts.
- The Sacco and Vanzetti case significantly showed the how the America
had moved away from the open society of pre-1914.
- In 1917 the government introduced the literacy test to limit the
number of immigrants.
- In 1921 US brought in a system of immigration quotas, with further
restrictions in 1924, limited the number to 150000 per year.
The Great Depression and Roosevelt’s New Deal:
Before the wall street crashed:
- Investment into the stock market was at all-time high.
- Speculators borrowed money from the bank to buy shares they could
not afford. They hoped for quick profit.
After the wall street crash:
- In October 1929, the wall street stock market crashed.
- Banks started to recall loans
- business who could not repay it went bankrupt (Between 1929 and
1933, 10000 banks closed and over 100000 businesses went
bankrupt.)
- bankrupt business laid off workers so unemployment soared.
- unemployment led to less consumption – less sale – less profit – less
