usa topic 1 - boom and crash 1920-29

1920s economic boom - Key points

-Changes in industry
-Advertising
-tech advances
-automobile

1920s economic boom - changes in industry

-mass production: moving assembly lines
-henry ford: 1,250,000 cars made/ year
-price of t-model fell from $950 1914 to $250 1925

1920s economic boom - advertising

-targeted specific groups
-'lucky strike cigarettes' targeted young women
-companies spend $3b each year

1920s economic boom - tech advances

between 1912 and 1929, electrical goods sold per year rose from 1.4m to 160m

1920s economic boom - automobile

number of cars rose from 7.5m to 27m, leading to increased road building

laissez-faire economics

-tax reductions
-fewer regulations
-advantageous foreign markets
-high tariffs

laissez-faire economics - tax reductions

-1924,26,28 tax cuts by gov
-mellon gave tax reduction of $3.5b to large businesses
-these favoured the wealthy

laissez-faire economics - fewer regulations

-minimal gov interference led to unfair practices
-labour rights unprotected, children largely employed in southern states with 56 hr weeks

laissez-faire economics - advantageous foreign markets

laissez-faire economics - advantageous foreign markets

-gov encouraged foreign investment to enable technological advances, united fruit had a bigger budget in costa rica than its own gov did

laissez-faire economics - high tariffs

1922 fordney-mccumber tariff, 38.5% tax on imported goods, made goods cheaper to buy in usa rather than abroad

limits to the boom - key points

-farmers
-reasons for declining demand
-black americans
-unequal distribution

limits to the boom - farmers

-during ww1 there was high agriculture demand, prices rose by over 25%
-at the end of ww1, falling demand, prices fell from $2.5 to $1 per bushel

limits to the boom - reasons for declining demand

-prohibition, reduced demand for grain used in alcohol
-machinery, more production on less land
-high foreign tariffs, reduced demand for usa produce

limits to the boom - black american

-85% still lived in poor south
-some moved up north to industrial cities like chicago, faced discrimination in employment and housing
-population in harlem 50k in 1914 to 165k in 1930

limits to the boom - unequal distribution

-per capita income in north was $921 and south $365
-60% families had income of less than $2000

causes of the wall st crash - key points

-overproduction
-land speculation
-bull market
-weaknesses to the banking system

causes of the wall st crash - overproduction

-by 1920s more goods produced than sold
-workers laid off, people couldn't afford to buy goods
-1920 80% americans lived close to subsistence

causes of the wall st crash - land speculation

-florida became more accessible, land values soared and people invested in development
-but demand & values fell, 1926 hurricane

causes of the wall st crash - bull market

-many bought shares on credit, if market collapsed left valueless but still have to pay it off
-market unregulated, insider dealing (illegal selling)

causes of the wall st crash - weaknesses to the banking system

causes of the wall st crash - weaknesses to the banking system

-1913 federal reserve system, banks given power to monitor themselves, operated in own interests
-30,000 banks issued own currency, often collapsed

immigration laws

-1921 emergency immigration law, limited immigration from european countries to 3% nationals living in us
-1924 johnson-reed act banned immigration from japan

the red scare

-mitchell palmer (attorney general) warned of communist revolution
-threats of violent revolution were blamed on 'new immigrants' from southern and eastern europe
-'palmer raids' 6000 arrested on suspicion

immigration and the red scare - extent of communist support

-some commentators put communist membership as high as 600k whilst others put it 100k
-many confused industrial action with communism

kkk

Ku Klux Klan

kkk - beliefs and methods

-advocated white supremacy
-rallies and marches
-committed acts of brutality including murder

kkk - influence

-100k followers by 1921
-50k marched on washington in 1926

kkk - impact on black americans

-led to migration to the north
-extreme violence, sympathy for victims
-many joined separationist organisations eg unia

kkk - collapse

-by 1929 membership fallen to 20k
-leadership scandals, corruption and criminal charges
-many felt it had gone soft with less focus on politics

changing role of women - key points

-politics
-employment
-womens' issues
-flappers

changing role of women - politics

-19th amendment, given right to vote in 1920
-1928 women held 145 seats on state legislators
-2 of 435 delegates in house of representatives women

changing role of women - employment

-film and fashion industry, though numbers were small
-plentiful opportunity in office work, clerks and typists
-rare to move to managerial positions, sacrifice of caring for family

changing role of women - womens' issues

-american birth control league raised attention
-found gov/conservative voices unsympathetic
-1921 sheppard towner act, federal aid for pregnant women like infant care and prenatal care

changing role of women - flappers

-media interest, liberated young women, shocked people
-attended public places unchaperoned, dancing, smoking
-confined to large towns/cities, temporary phase

prohibition and crime - key points

-support for prohibition
-crime and gangsterism
-successes & failures

support for prohibition

-womens groups, male drunkenness problem
-big businesses, drunkenness in workplace
-religious groups, alcohol immoral

prohibition - crime and gangsterism

-prohibition led to organised crime and gang wars
-al capone, leading gangster in chicago, made $70m

prohibition successes

-rural and small-town areas stayed 'dry'
-fall in number of road deaths, better safety in workplace

prohibition failures

-turned millions into criminals
-working class saw it as an attack on them

1920s cultural change - key points

-jazz age
-harlem renaissance
-the new negro
-american literature

cultural change - the jazz age

-jazz became mainstream, heard on radio and records
-nightclubs attracted young people, especially flappers
-older people felt it was immoral due to black culture

cultural change - harlem renaissance

-town in new york, explosion of culture
-nightclubs like cotton club became popular
-home of black intellectuals eg fauset, a campaigner

cultural change - the new negro

-linked to harlem renaissance
-marcus garvey, argued in favour of black separatism and migration to usa, opposed by naacp

cultural change - american literature

Became very popular eg 'great gatsby' by scott fitzgerald, 'the sun also rises' by ernest hemingway

popular entertainment - key points

-radio
-cinema
-moral corruption
-sport

popular entertainment - radio

-500 local stations 1922 led to rise of advertisement
-50m people listened to boxing match in 1927
-$60m spent on radio 1923 vs $842m 1929

popular entertainment - cinema

-'household names' became a thing
-1920s, hollywood was 4th largest investment in usa
-10m cinema-goers each day, especially with sound in 1927

popular entertainment - moral corruption

-growth in cinema, conservatives feared moral corruption
-sex scandals among stars led to censorship

popular entertainment - sport

-mass spectator entertainment led to professionals becoming millionaires, boxer jack dempsey made $10m
-baseball became widespread but remained segregated, led to creation of negro national baseball league 1920