Topic 1.1 - The 1920s Economic Boom Flashcards
(90 cards)
1
Q
Explain the economic standings before the Great Depression?
A
- Unemployment never grew over 3.7%
- Inflation never above 1%
- Working week = 47 hours - This decreased to 44 hours in 1929
- Real wages rose 14%
- Real wages 2/3 times higher than Europe
- Production grows 50%
- GNP 1920 - $73 million to 1929 - $104 million
- Electrical consumption doubled
2
Q
In 1927 ____ $ worth of radios were sold
A
$852 million
3
Q
Date - 18th Amendment
A
January 1919 - introduction of prohibition
4
Q
Date - Red scare and Palmer Raids
A
January - May 1920
5
Q
Date - 19th Amendment
A
August 1920 - Women could vote in federal election
6
Q
Date - Fordney-Mccumber act
A
September 1922
7
Q
Date - Johnson-Reed Immigration Act
A
1924
8
Q
Date - The new Negro anthology published
A
December 1925
9
Q
Date - End of the Florida land boom
A
September 1926
10
Q
Date - The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway published
A
October 1926
11
Q
Date - Execution of Saccho and Vanzetti
A
August 1927
12
Q
Date - Charles Lindbergh’s first solo flight across the Atlantic
A
May 1927
13
Q
Date - Wall street crash
A
October 1929
14
Q
State three reasons the world looked up to the USA after WW1
A
- Its emphasis on technological development
- Economic efficiency
- Minimal government interference in business.
15
Q
Give an example of a new manufacturing technique
A
Mass Production
16
Q
What is management science?
A
Applying technology and science to running a company
- time and motion - monitor how long a process should take.
17
Q
Give two examples of new mass media
A
radios and cinema
18
Q
Give two reasons for Americans having more leisure time and money
A
- labour-saving devices - vacuum cleaners and washing machines
- Motor cars eased travel both to and from work and for leisure pursuits.
19
Q
Explain what life was like for the different americans
A
- The industrial sector boomed
- Agriculture faced difficulties - falling prices and over production.
Some other groups like women and black Americans were largely excluded from the growing economic opportunities
20
Q
State 5 reasons for prosperity in the 1920s
A
- Government policies
- Technological Advances
- New business methods
- Easy Credit
- Advantageous foreign markets
21
Q
What was Andrew Mellons beliefs?
A
- Treasury Secretary
- wealth filtered down naturally to all classes in society
- best way to ensure increased living standards for all was to allow the rich to continue to make money to invest in industrial development.
22
Q
What was the government attitudes during 1920s?
A
Laissez-Faire
Little intervened - allowing the free market to operate with minimal restrictions.
23
Q
What three main ways did the government support businesses?
A
- High Tariffs
- Tax Reductions
- Fewer regulations
24
Q
What act rose tariffs 1922?
A
The Fordney-McCumber Act
- Raised tariffs on imported goods to cover the difference between domestic and foreign production costs.
25
Why was the Fordney-Mccumber act a cause for prosperity?
Cheaper for the American consumer to buy goods produced within the USA than abroad. - Domestic markets
26
Give an example of a tax the government put in place
**Federal Taxes**
* reduced significantly in 1924, 1926 and 1928.
27
How much did Mellon reduce taxes by?
In 8 years, **$3.5 Billion worth of tax reductions** to large-scale industrialist and corporations.
28
What did President Coolidge do to taxes?
His government operated at a **surplus**.
**1925 - $677 million**
**1927 - $607 million**
29
What laws were ignored to help prosperity?
* **Price fixing** between companies
* Where the government did prosecute the offenders usually won on appeal
30
Why were fewer regulations important?
* contributor to a **company's profit**
* **Public support** for less government interventions
* No organisation to stop child labour in the textile mills of the southern states
31
How many hours did people work in the textile mills of the southern states?
56 hour weeks were common
Compared to average 47 hours
32
What were wages like in the textile mills of the southern states?
They rarely rose to more than 18 cents an hour.
33
State three technological advances in the 1920s
* Mass production
* Mass access to electricity
* Transport developments - increases in the quality and variety of products on sale.
34
What leisure activities became increasingly popular in the 1920s?
* cinema
* spectator sport
* excursions to the countryside
All made possible by the growth of motor vehicles
35
Outline the causes of the wall street crash
* Underlying problems in the economy
* International cycle of debt
* uneven distribution of wealth
* Economic problems linked to prosperity
36
Explain how underlying problems in the USA's economy helped cause the wall street crash.
* **THE BANKING SYSTEM**- 1920 - 30,000 banks
* **THE FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD**- 7 members appointed by the president meant banks could regulate themselves without Gov involvement. - work for bankers not nation to keep the market buoyant - favoured low interest rates which fuelled easy credits
* **GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES**- People invested in hugely speculative ventures and lost or gained money.
37
How many banks were there in the US during 1920s?
Around 30,000 banks
38
What was the federal reserve board?
7 members appointed by the president meant banks could regulate themselves without Gov involvement.
39
State two examples of get rich quick schemes
1. Florida Land Boom
2. The Bull Market
40
Explain what happened during the Florida land boom.
**Land speculation**
* land more desirable for profit
* Florida population increased drastically however some cat-fished land and emerged lots of tricksters and crooks.
41
Why did Florida seen good to many investors?
The year round sun was interesting as a paradise for vacations and retirement leading to a land boom.
42
Give specifics of Floridas population during the land boom
from 968,000 to 1.2 million
43
Give an example of how rich people made a profit during the Florida land boom
Brought for $25,900 and sold for $150,000 in just 1hr25.
44
Where was the first assembly line?
**Henry Ford**
* Highland Park factory in 1913
45
Give an example other than ford who used moving assembly lines
* - **Westinghouse**
* - producing electrical equipment
46
What made the mass production of clothes possible?
The **standard clothing size** introduced during **WW1**
* Copyrighting clothes designs started in 1960s
47
How did automobile sales change over the 1920s?
* 1920 - 7.5 million automobiles
* 1929 - 27 million (1 in 5 people)
The largest market for commodities. - Helped by feeder industries of steel and rubber
48
Who made up the 'big three' automobile firms?
- Ford
- General Motors
- Chrysler
49
What proportion of workers was working to pay for a car?
**65**%
* 1/2 paying though credit.
* contrast only 1/3 had bathtubs
50
How much of the automobile industry did Henry Ford control by 1924?
50%
* Adapted mass production in 1913
* Price of Model T reduced from $900 to $400 due to the mass production.
51
State the famous Ford car during the 1920s
Model T - from 1908
* Cost went from $900 to $500 due to mass production techniques
* Could produce one every 60 seconds in 1920
* And 1 every 10 seconds by 1925
52
How much did Ford pay his workers?
A fair $5 per day
53
When did Fords production start to fall?
Between 1923 - 1926
* Production fell by 400,000
54
Explain how Ford combatted a fall in production?
1927
* **Closed his factory for 5 months**
* **Layoff** 60,000 workers
* Retooled the factory for the new **Model A** vehicle
55
What proportion of the work force did the motor industry employ?
7%
56
How much of USA's wages are paid in the motor industry?
9% of all wages
57
How much did the centre of motor manufacture expand 1910-1920?
120%
1. Centre = Detroit
58
Tell me about Goodyear
* Tire and rubber company
* 1924
* 100 acres floor space
* Sales $115 million
59
What is the Federal Highway Act 1921?
10,000 miles a year by 1929
60
What did Chief Designer in the Bureau of Public Roads say in 1936?
**25-50%** of roads were unfit for use due to the traffic wearing them out
61
What places became tourist attractions due to the impact of technology?
* Yellow stone national park
* Grand Canyon
People could now travel and go on holiday and camping became popular
62
In 1920, how many people went camping in the US?
**1 million**
* 160 acres in Denver made of campsites
* 2,000 campsites across US
63
What is a tourist court?
A one bedded cabin where motorists could rest at night
64
How many movie theatres are there in USA in 1920s?
20,000
65
Why did huge corporations become popular?
* New mass media
* To make as efficient as possible
* Making everything cheaper for the everyday person
66
Give an example of a huge feeder company
Finestone - Rubber
67
How many manufacturing and mining enterprises where in the US?
1,200
This was triple the previous amount
68
Who was the 1st billion dollar corporation?
Andrew Carnegie Steel Corporation
* Sold to JP Morgan in 1901
* Producing 67% of global steel.
69
In what ways could large corporations dominate an industry?
* **Cartel** (illegal) - fix prices and exploit raw materials
* **Holding companies** - Meant one controlled/owned all so it would look like competition but in theory was all one place.
Acted against the wishes of small companies.
Loved businessmen as they made the Boom possible.
70
How many business schools were there by 1928?
* 89 business schools
* 1928 - 67,000 students
71
How did advertising and salesmanship develop in 1920s?
* Companies hired **psychologists** to make new products desirable to specific individuals.
* Slogans and branding became huge.
* **1929**, companies spent **$3 billion annually on ads**
* 5 times more than 1914
* Eg. Promote women smoking in public using slogan of 'torches of freedom' to attract.
72
Why did easy credit become popular in 1920s?
As people could pay a deposit then pay in regular instalments
* $7 billion worth of goods in 1929
* 75% on cars - $35 a month
* 50% telephones and fridges
73
On average how much were men paid every week?
$35 a week
74
Define - Repossession
If after the second month credit could not be paid back then the item would be taken away.
75
What places were oil concessions brought?
- Canada
- Iraq
- Venezuela
76
What did Guggenheim invest in?
South America for Nitrates, copper and lead
77
What effect did WW1 have on agricultural industries?
* **Prices rose 25%** and more land was taken into cultivation-
* After WW1 a fall in demand led to a fall in prices
78
What was the change of price of wheat after WW1?
Wheat $2.5 to $1 per bushel
79
What was the reason for farmers decline in popularity?
* **Prohibitions cut demand** for grain
* Growth in **synthetic fibres** meant less natural cottons
* **technological advances** meant 13 million acres taken out + farm production fell by 5%.
* **More tractors** reduced the need for horses and so animals to feed
* **Better efficiency and new techniques** (fertilisers and animal husbandry) meant they produced less.
80
How much land was taken out due to technological advances?
13 million acres
81
What proportion of farms were operating at a lose?
66%
82
What did overproduction do to American farmers?
* Reduced overall prices and even selling surplus abroad didn't help.
* Small business' worse couldn't sell in comparison to large companies
* **Agricultural credits act 1923** - 12 intermediate credit banks would help with low interest however small farms could afford more debt so only helped the large
* There was many **mortgage foreclosures** 1920 - 3.2/1000 and 1926 - 17.4/1000
83
What did the Agricultural credits act do?
**1923**
* 12 intermediate credit banks would help with low interest however small farms could afford more debt so only helped the large
84
Give specific examples of women in the workplace
* Less than 2% of lawyers
* 150 female dentists
* fewer than 100 female accountants
* 700,000 in domestic service
* 5% women had degrees
85
When did women get the vote in USA?
August 1920
86
How many women have seats in the state legislative by 1928?
145 seats
87
How many women are delegates in the house of representatives by 1928?
2/435
88
What proportion of America was Black?
10%
* 85% lived in south
89
Give an example of a Guetto area
Harlem in New York
50,000 - 1914
165,000 - 1930
The hill district, Pittsburgh
90
What was life like for Black American?
* Lots of discrimination in housing and employment
* Overcrowding
* Poor living conditions
* Lynchings were still not illegal
* Jim crow laws - separate but equal
* 80,000 in northern migration
