igcse usa

Economics of WW1 feature 1

american industry grew

• factory production grew by 35% → higher demand for products in war-torn countries

• 1.3mil more people in work and higher wages

• natural resource and transport companies grew rapidly

Economics of WW1 feature 2

Agriculture benefitted

• america supplied 30% of europes wheat → farmers income rose proportionally

• farmers took out loans before the war for farm expansion → struggled to pay them back after the war

Henry Ford and mass production Feature 1

created assembly line

• each worker was specialized to generate same looking cars and sizes → reduced training and material costs

• by 1921 Model T car made every 10 seconds → faster production

Henry Ford and mass production Feature 2

Higher demand for cars

• 1925 Model T costed $290 (affordable)

• glass, rubber and steel industry grew

• 1926 26 mil cars and 400k roads built → better infastructure and more jobs

• 7% in the motor industry

Hire Purchase Feature 1

People bought more things

• customers could get credit and pay in installments → didnt need to save → could afford more products

• 1929 75% of cars bought via hire purchase

Hire Purchase Feature 2

Rise in profits

• more sales → more profit

• increase production of cars and boom in the industry

• 1929 50% electrical products bought via hire purchase

Advertising and consumerism feature 1

people exposed to more products

• advertising on the radio (1929 10mil sold) and in cinema

• encouraged consumerism → shopping was a leisure time as there was a variety of products

Advertising and consumerism feature 2

more money spent

• 1929 1 mil fridges sold helped by credit avalibility → more economic growth

• 850mil spent on radio equipment

• 2bil spent on advertising → society was more materialistic

Popularity of stock market feature 1

people bought shares in company

• 1.5mil bought shares which helped business grow

• via selling shares they earned more money and could buy more shares → ecnomic growth

Popularity of stock market feature 2

Share prices rose

• more people invested → share prices of car/radio companies increased as they sold more shares

• 1929 1 mil shares and more people were hired

Problems in farming feature 1

over production

• prohibition (less wheat needed for alcohol production), increases tariffs and europe economies recovered → lower demand

• 2/3 of farmers operated at a loss → decrease in demand and lower prices (cotton)

Problems in farming feature 2

mechanisation changed farms

• 10x more tractors in 1920 than 1915

• farmhands decreased in 1 mil → less labour needed

decline of older industries feature 1

faced competition to newer industries

• coal mining fell as 550k homes fueled by oil 1929

• cotton and wool challenged by silk and rayon → fashion industry

• rail faced competition from cars 26mil in 1929

decline of older industries feature 2

jobs were lost

• to combat decreasing demand, wages were slashed and employees sacked

• led to violent strikes and economic decline → more unemployment

Cinema feature 1

used for entertainment

• 1924 40 mil tickets sold each week for leisure after work

• hollywood/film industry made big profits → charlie chaplin became stars

Cinema feature 2

new entertainment technology created

• 1922 films shown in colour increasing their appeal → 2bil made annualy thru tickets

• 1927 films released in sound (jazz singer) → more immersive

Jazz and dancing feature 1

popualr w the youth

• cotton club in NY and stars *eg louis amrstrong jazz became popular

• charleston performed along with jazz at speakeasies by couples

Jazz and dancing feature 2

very controversial

• older generation disliked jazz as they were associated with black culture

• alcohol at speakeasies (illegal)

• christians disliked intimacy of charleston between unmarried couples → challanged traditional views

Sports, radio and advertising feature 1

people spent leisure time listening/watching them

• 1929 10mil radios sold airing popular sporting commentaries

• people influenced via radio and spent money on tickets

Sports, radio and advertising feature 2

people and bands became famous

• bobby jones (golfer) became sporting hero → many tickets sold to see him play

• influeced by adverts makeup and cameras were bought thru famous brands *eg Colgate

Motoring feature 1

car ownership increased

• due to mass production, credit and cheap prices → ford model T became popular

• 26mil cars sold by 1929

• ford competitors made other models → motoring was a hobby

Motoring feature 2

longer distances covered quickly

• due to 400k roads built → easier to go on holidays

• 2.7mil to national parks in 1930

• shopping centres became popular → easier to travel and tourism industry boom

changing role of women feature 1

women given more freedom

• 2 mil women joined the workforce (earned less than men)

• 19th ammendent 1920 allowed them to vote after the sufferage movement

• divorce increased 7% and birth rate decreased

changing role of women feature 2

some women became flappers

• women challenged social norms : wore makeup, wore short skirts, drank and smoked at speakeaises

• flirted with men without chaparones → liberal idea

• Clara bow (actress) was a role model

attitudes/policies towords immigration feature 1

people feared immigrants

• fear that eastern europeans/christians/jews were radicalized and took american jobs

• immigrants were poor and unable to speak english

• 1921 emergency quota act restrictied immigrants to 357k anually

attitudes/policies towords immigration feature 2

number of immigrants reduced

• 1924 national origins act allowed 2% of amount of immigrants allowed in 1890

• border control meant number of immigrants reduced from 1 mil in 1914 to 280k in 1929

Palmer raids and red scare feature 1

communists were feared

• 1917 russian revolution unsettled americans and worried communist immigrants would do the same

• 1919 3.6k strikes by workers and 40 mail bombs sent to politicians

Palmer raids and red scare feature 2

raids on radical groups

• general intelligence division spied on and arrested radicals between 1919-20 → deported 600 and arrested many

• increases support for immigration restrictions → weakened trade unions with communist members

The sacco and vanzetti case feature 1

2 immigrants feared

• 1920 : after picking up a car associated with the shooting of a guard and paymaster , they were both arrested

• links to anarchism and mail bombs → feared as anti capitalists

The sacco and vanzetti case feature 2

both executed

• despite both alibies they were proven guilty and sentenced to death via electrocution

• after execution in 1927 worldwide protests → judge was anti-anarchist

attitudes towords black americans features 1

jim crow laws segregated them from society

• black people had diff toilets/restaurants/oppurtunities at school → especially in southern states

• more risk at racist violence and beating and lynching were normalized

attitudes towords black americans features 2

lower quality of life

• black people were seen as second classed citizens (many worked in unskilled labour) despite slavery abolishments

• many moved to northern states and settled in harlem → escaped race riots

KlU Klux Klan feature 1

believed in white supremacy

• inspired by 1915 film -birth of nation'‘ : blacks displayed as evil and klan members as heros

• encouraged racial violence

• angelo-saxon protestents were superior and fought jews/immigrants

KlU Klux Klan feature 2

grew in political power

• 1923 klan had 23 mil members (supported by middle class) → police, politics and courts followed

• 1925 protest in washington and argued against equality

Monkey trial feature 1

differences between fundamentalists and darwinists

• fundamentalists beloeved everything in the bible and chritsian evangelists preached traditional values

• modernists reinterpreted the bible by teaching evolution → teaching of evoluion was banned in tennesse (butler act)

Monkey trial feature 2

johns scopes trial raised awareness of religious debate

• after teaching evolution in 1925 scopes was put on trial

• his lawyer darrow challenged the law → creationism vs modernism in courts

• scopes was fined and found guilty but fundamentalism was mocked in national newspapers as it was broadcasted globally via radio

Prohibition and gangsters feature 1

harder to get alcohol

• 18th ammendment : many jobs were lost bc it stopped manufacturing alcohol → hoped it led to better lifestyle and heath

• people got alcohol illegal via speakeasies or created moonshine or smuggled it from canadian gangs (bootlegging)

Prohibition and gangsters feature 2

organised crime grew

• gangs grew to produce/smuggle alcohol → Al capone earned 105 mil from brothels, gambling and alcohol

• violence increased → 200 murderd in chicago by 1924

• ordinary people took part of illegal activities

Wall street crash feature 1

share prices dropped

• 1924 $64bil shares on the stock market as people bought/sold shares

• loss of confidence in the stock caused many to sell their shares quickly

• black thursday prices fell and shares lost 26bil

• banks had to call loans as they didnt have enough money

Wall street crash feature 2

deflation

• credit reduced , businesses failed, overproduction → workers sacked as wages couldnt be paid

• banks failed so many didnt have savings and couldnt afford food :europe cut trade with US

intervention and volunteerism feature 1

hoover believed volunteerism would help US

• beloeved gov shouldnt interfere and the ecnomy would fix itself (laissez-faire approach)

• emphasized rugged indivisualism → handouts shouldnt be handed out to people, no reliance on gov

intervention and volunteerism feature 2

used intervention to help depression

• 1930 hawley-smoot tariff raised import tarrifs by 40% so americans bought local food → prices increased

• 1932 emergency relief and construction act gave loans to promote building (hoover dam)→ increased employment

Unemployment and hoovervilles feature 1

people lost jobs and industries struggled

• 9000 banks closed 1930-33 (2.5bil lost in savings)

• farming income fell to 2bil in 1932 (third of what it was in 1929)

• dust bowl made farmers loose land

• wages fell by 50%

Unemployment and hoovervilles feature 2

many moved too hoovervilles (hoover didnt do much to help

• 24.9% workforce unemployed 1933

• birth rate fell

• immigrants/blacks likely to loose their jobs

• those who couldnt pay rent stayed in shanty towns (hoovervilles) funded from charities

Bonus marches feature 1

WW1 veterans had been promised bonuses

• to make up for lsot wages during the war , veterans were promised 625$ bonus in 1945

• wanted the bonus immedietly to feed their families

Bonus marches feature 2

marched into washington

• 1932 20k bonus marchers marched to pressure hoover (after congress rejected their proposal)

• they set up camp in washington

• hoover called US army who teargassed them injuring 100 and some dying

• destroyed hoovers reputation

The hundred days feature 1

roosevelt wanted to restore economic activity

• wanted to prime the pump : use money to make jobs

• closed banks for 4 days with emergency banking act

• helped reopen financially secure banks rebuilidng confidence in banks ending banking crisis

The hundred days feature 2

increase ssupport in fireside chats

• via radio roosevelt explained simply the new laws and alphabet agencies to american people

• did it 30 times increasing support for him and new deal and encouraged to put savings in banks to stabalize economy

Tennesse valley authority (TVA) feature 1

federally controlled

• southern states not doing enough for the poor , tva helped 7 states recover

• part of new deal plan to redevelop of tennesse valley → create employment and reduce dustbowl effects

Tennesse valley authority (TVA) feature 2

revived economy by producing electricity

• 20 dams built creating jobs and flooding was controlled for farmers

• generate hydro-electricity for local farmers → boosted productivity and revived economy

Policies for agriculture feature 1

roosevelt stopped overproduction

• agriculture adjustment administration paid farmers to keep areas of land empty and limit number of crops/animals kept

• 6mil pigs killed

• reduced in what production meant higher prices

Policies for agriculture feature 2

farmers were helped if they struggled with mortages

• farm credit administration improved mortages arrangements for 20% of farmers

• numbers of farms increased as many could afford maintaining farms

policies for industry feature 1

businesses encouraged to join national recovery administration

• NRA popular → it controlled prices, wages and working hours

• 2.3mil businesses took part with blue eagle sign to show they joined it

• improved conditions across america

policies for industry feature 2

workers could join unions

• National indutrial recovery act allowed workers to join unions

• 3.9 mil joined in 1939

• could fight for better pay/hours/conditions and improve economy

policies for unemployment feature 1

roosevelt provided baic income for unemployed

• federal emergency releif act gave 500mil to states to help unemployed

• allowed unemployed to support their families while looking for a job

policies for unemployment feature 2

people encouraged to return to work

• roosevelt set up civilian conservation cops which gave men outdoor jobs → 500k joined by 1935

• public works administration given 3.3bil to build structrues → creating jobs

works progress administration feature 1

provided work relief for unemployed

• spent 11bil to employ 8mil americans in short-term work → provided work and exprience as part of 2nd new deal

• helped families with incomes during winter

works progress administration feature 2

invested in variety of projects

• supplied workers for manual construction projects and organised training programmes for the young

• helped arts industry and gave women sewing and writing programmes

national labour relations act feature 1

workers entitled to join a union

• wagner act banned unions which were funded by companies and firing members bc they were part of a union

• union membership rose to 9mil by 1940 allowed factory workers to campaign for better pay

national labour relations act feature 2

protection given to workers and unions

• national labour relations board supervised union negotiations

• defended workers who were fired due to being part of a union → hiring 226 lawyers to decrease unemployment and help families

social security act feature 1

created federal pension system

• employees paid 1% of their income into pension scheme alongside tax (later rose to 3%)

• paid back in retirement which increased incentives to work

social security act feature 2

created unemployment insurance and grants to help the unemployed

• employers of over 8 people paid a tax that provided unemployment pay to feed families

• matching grants given by federal gov to money provided for dependent children → helped 7k people

welfare for farmers feature 1

farm security administration helped financially unstable farmers

• FSA helped rural people buy land for farming rather than working as tenants on wealthy farms

• 1941 gave 1bil loans to resettle families

welfare for farmers feature 2

roosevelt helped increased prices

• AAA continued to limit production of crops by taxing farmers who grew more products than they were allowed to

• gov controlled quantities grown which increases prices → profit for farmers helping during the dustbowl

Banking act feature 1

created board of financial powers

• board of governers of federal reserve system created 1935 chosen by the president

• had financial powers (setting ineterest rates) so powerful banks had less power

Banking act feature 2

strengthened banking system

• increasing central powers meant banks were more stable and none closed in 1936

• interest carefully monitored and controlled by gov so stock crash wont happen

rural electrification feature 1

farmers moderinized farms with loans

• electrical appliances installed in houses of farmers from the electric home and farm authority

• farmers used modern methods of farming (electric brooders for chickens) making farming quicker/efficient

rural electrification feature 2

number of farms with electricity increased

• farms were rural meaning utility companies couldnt profit to supply electricity (1930 10% of farmers had electricity)

• rural electrification administration gave loans to give farms electricity

• 1945 40% farms had it

Roosevelts aims and the new deal 1

recovery

• farm income rose, banks reopened, unemployment fell by 3mil

• unemplpyment wasnt the same as in 1929 (3.2% in 1929) and 17.2% in 1939

Roosevelts aims and the new deal 2

relief

• WPA, social security act, 35% people recived gov releif

• varied state to state

• stil needed money and houses to live in

Roosevelts aims and the new deal 3

reform

• social security act , unions, rural electrification , financial regulation

• large disparity between rich and poor

• wages for men and women

• wages for black and whites

Supreme court opposition feature 1

supreme court closed alphabet agencies

• judges were against roosevelt and claimed alphabet agencies were unconstitutional → it took away state gov power (federal gov was too powerful)

• agreed NRA had no control over trade

• AAA couldnt be forced on state as it was against the constitution

Supreme court opposition feature 2

roosevelt tried to get a majority in the court

• judges appointed by president

• 1937 he asked congress to add 6 more judges to enable majority of supporters in supreme court

• called court-packing but refused → 2 judges backed him up giving him the majority

republican opposition feature 1

republicans disagreed fundamentally with democrats

• republicans disliked roosevelt and federal gov immense power

• hated that he spent a lot of money (*eg construction programmes) → often borrowing it or raising taxes

republican opposition feature 2

republicans gained power in congress

• 1938 due to recession they gained more seats in congress and formed a coalition with southern democrats

• voted to cut spending on work relief programmes (*eg CCC), block any new deal measures and investigate alphabet agencies

business opposition and liberty league feature 1

businessmen disagreed with new deal

• disliked gov powerful with high taxes (to fund new deal programmes) : preferred laissez-faire approach

• hated NRA setting working hours and pay and wagner act allowing unions to challenge businesses → granted workers too much power

business opposition and liberty league feature 2

liberty league set tup paint roosevelt as anti-business

• american liberty league founded in 1934 distributed leaflets/speeches to show new deal is threat to individual states

• 150k joined and closed in 1940 after supreme court backed roosevelt

Huey Long and share our wealth feature 1

long believed new deal didnt go far enough

• huey (a senator) said NRA was controlled by big business

• AAA left poor farmers homeless and disparity between rich and poor

• felt that social security act (created unemployment insurance) didnt go far enough as many were still poor

Huey Long and share our wealth feature 2

set up share our wealth organisation

• founded 1934

• aimed to take part of wealthy americans income and give poor 2.5k anually

• 8mil joined share our wealth clubs; his proposals were radical

• shot in 1935

Father coughlins social justice campaign feature 1

spread his messages on the new deal

• was a catholic priest near detroit → his sermons broadcasted via radio to 30mil

• his political opinion taken seriously by politicians and initially supported roosevelt → gained roosevelt support

Father coughlins social justice campaign feature 2

set up national union for social justice

• claimed depression caused by wall street financers and wanted banking reforms and fair taxes

• campaigned 1934 to nationalize US economy by setting national union for social justice → his ideas realized in second new deal so his influenced declined