Boom Time? 10 Facts that say YES!

- America experienced an economic boom

during the 1920’s. We’ll look at the

reasons for this in a minute, but the evidence is there for all to see:

1) In 1919 there were 9 million cars.

In 1929 there were 26 million (1 in

5 Americans owned a car, 1 in 43

British and 1 in 7,000 Russians!)

2) By 1927 one Ford car was built every 10 seconds.

3) In 1920 there were 60,000 radios

in 1929 there were 10,000,000

4) In 1915 there were 10 million

telephones. In 1930 there were 20 million.

5) For every one fridge that was

around in 1921 there were 167 in

1929.

6) New York doubled in size during the 1920’s

7) Silk Stockings had been a luxury

item in 1900 with only 12,000 pairs

sold. In 1920’s a cheaper substitute

for silk was created (rayon). In 1930

300 million pairs of stocking were

sold.

8) There were no civilian airlines in

1918, but 1930 new companies flew 162,000 flights each year.

9) Buy 1929 nearly all American

homes were on the electricity grid.

10) During the 1920’s the American road network doubled.

Boom Time? 10 Facts that say NO!

1) FARMING

2) Total US farm income dropped from

$22 billion in 1919 to just $13 billion

in 1928.

3) Less food was being imported by Europe after the war.

4) Canadian wheat was being produced cheaper.

5) The population of the US was actually

falling. 6) More efficiency increased the quantity

of food produced which meant that

there was too much available (driving prices down)

7) In the 1920’s the average farmer would

produce enough to feed his family and

14 others. 8) 1921 saw farm prices fall by 50%

9) In the 1920’s there were 5 times as

many bankruptcies in farming than

there had been in the 1900’s and

1910’s. 10) 6 million rural Americas were forced off

their land. The African Americans were

particularly badly hit (750,000 made

unemployed)

BUT

- Fruit and vegetable farmers did well,

since rich Americans wanted their

produce. Lettuce shipments to the

city rose from 14,000 crates in 1920

to 52,000 crates in 1928.

Boom Time? 10 Facts that say NO!

1) FARMING - Total US farm income

dropped from $22 billion in 1919 to just

$13 billion in 1928.

2) Less food was being imported by

Europe after the war.

3) Canadian wheat was being produced

cheaper.

4) The population of the US was actually

falling.

5) More efficiency increased the quantity

of food produced which meant that

there was too much available (driving

prices down).

6) In the 1920’s the average farmer would

produce enough to feed his family and

14 others.

7) 1921 saw farm prices fall by 50%.

8) In the 1920’s there were 5 times as

many bankruptcies in farming than

there had been in the 1900’s and

1910’s.

9) 6 million rural Americas were forced off

their land. The African Americans were

particularly badly hit (750,000 made

unemployed).

10) Traditional industries were selling

older, established products (that fewer

people wanted – see silk stockings as an

example). They relied on manpower

rather than mass production and were

more expensive than the newer mass

produced products.

BUT

- Fruit and vegetable farmers did well, since

rich Americans wanted their produce.

Lettuce shipments to the city rose from

14,000 crates in 1920 to 52,000 crates in

1928.

1. America’s wealth. America was rich in raw materials

eg. Oi l , coal and iron ore, this

gave i t the ability to manufacture

lots of different goods. WWI

helped them too, selling to the

a l lies. The American Chemical

Industry became the world leader

as a result of this.

2. New Industries

Total production in American

industry increased by 50%

during the 1920’s. This was

driven by the demand for new

products including radios,

vacuum cleaners and the car. 3. Rising Wages and Stable Prices - Wages went up but prices

became the same. The Reasons for

assembly line, made famous the Boom

by Ford was one reason that

prices stayed low.

4. Hire Purchase (credit)

- This allowed people to buy

new products (eg radio) with

a small deposit and then

weekly instalments. 8/10 cars

and 6/10 radio were

purchased on hire credit.

- Mail order catalogues also provided this.

5. Republican (Government) policies

- ‘Laissez-faire; the president left it to the businessmen to make money.

- Tariffs; 1922 saw the Fordney-McCumber tariff which made

imported food expensive to buy. This helped American producers

(farmers in this case) sell their products more easily.

- Low Taxes; the Republicans kept taxes low which left people with more money to spend.

- Trusts; Republicans allowed big trusts to be created where one

company dominated an industry eg. Rockefller (oil) and Carnegie

(steel)

Average wages:

1919 = $1,158

1927 = $1, 304

Number of Millionaires:

1914 = 7,000

1928 = 35,000

August 1921 saw only 1 li cenced radio station in America , but

by the end of 1922 there were 508 of them. This goes to show why

so many people bought me – I was a new invention and frankly, I

was the best! Although, I wasn’t everywhere. By 1930 there was

one radio for every 2 to 3 households, but in poor districts people

would go to shops, or neighbours houses to listen!

It’s all about the jazz man. In

fact the 1920’s was named after

me – ‘the Jazz age’. New dances

like the Charleston and those

new flappers were all brought

about by my groovy rhythms.

Brrrrrm brrrrm brrrrrm, sorry, nearly didn’t see

you there, you see I’m the new car and I ROCK! I

allowed Americans to get wherever they Phew, you’ve heard

wanted (and the young ones wanted to get of the New York

away from their parents!) In fact by 1929 4.8 Yankies right? Well

million cars had been built. Gotta baseball and boxing

go…..Brrrrrrrrrrrrm (Although only 3% of semi skilled wokers owned

me, compared to richer areas where 29% of people did… became really

popular

Ah yes , the silver screen, that’s me. 100 mi llion tickets were being sold

each week by 1930! The first talkie was released in

1927…wow, times move so fast. I was busy shocking people with some provocative (for the time!) movies like A Shocking

Night s tarring Clara Bow (the first ‘It’ girl. I ’ll s till remember the women

fa inting at the sight of a Rudolf Valentino naked torso in The Sheik in

1921!

Smoked and drank in

Wore restrictive

clothes and behaved public, went about

appropriately without chaperones.

Very few paid jobs

Although there were

1920’s – the rise of the flapper….

were open to women some high profile

women (Eleanor

Roosevelt), few women

had been elected by

1929.

1914; only 100,000

divorces (women

remained in unhappy

By 1929 200,000

marriages)

women got divorced

each year.

The Johnson –Reid Act (1924)

Considering the problems being caused by immigration at the moment;

specifically the way in which different groups are looking down on each

other (Irish American, French Canadians and German Americans in pole

position, followed by the Eastern European and Italian immigrants with the

African Americans and Mexicans at the bottom of the pile., we are

proposing:

- A QUOTA of 150,000 immigrants each year, who are likely to be

entirely European. - Asian immigration is to stop immediately.

Sacco and Vanzetti

These were two high profile victims of the Red Scare. They were Italian Americans who were self -confessed

anarchists. Their trial was one of racial slurs and very dodgy evidence. However the judge of the trial hated anarchists

and said:

Although Vanzetti ‘may not have actually

committed the crime attributed to him, he is

Those nevertheless morally culpable (to blame)

anarchist because he is the enemy of our existing

B******s institutions’

Although this might seem a bit biased to you, it was carried through and both Sacco and Vanzetti were sentenced to

death. This was what the fear of the Red Scare did to some Americans. Despite massive protests Sacco and Vanzetti

were both eventually executed in 1927. The Red Scare also caused a clampdown on immigration (already noted). By

1929 the number of immigrants arriving each year had dropped from over a million in 1919 to 150,000 (see the

Johnson – Reid Act of 1924).

Commonplace.

The Klu Klux Klan

- This organisation became very

popular again in the 1920’s after

the release of the film ‘Birth of a

Nation’ - At their height they had around 4.5

million members (1924). - The governors of both Oregon and

Oklahoma were both members of

the Klan. - Methods included parades,

beatings and lynching.

The Scopes Trial (aka the monkey trial)

- In Tennessee teaching the theory

of evolution had been banned.

- One teacher (Scopes ) taught it anyway.

- He was put on trial, this was the

conservatives vs the modernists.

- He was found guilty and fined $100.

- However, the war was won by the

modernists, who were able to

expose the stupidity of this

intolerance and the fact that it

contradicter the right to freedom

of speech. The law was never used

again.

- Supporters of Prohibition were also known as ‘dries’.

- The Anti-Saloon League and Women’s Christian Temperance Union were the two big anti drinking groups that wanted to see prohibition introduced.

- By 1916 21 states had already banned saloons, this shows us that prohibition had support from leaders and politicians.

- The ‘dries’ claimed that every year 3000 infants were smothered in their beds by drunken parents.

- USA’s entry into WWI boosted the prohibition campaign since many big breweries were run by German’s and anti-German feeling was encouraged by the war.

- The eighteenth amendment was proposed in 1917 and became law in January 1920. It was

known as the ‘Volstead Act’ and ‘prohibited the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors’.

- It was repealed by the new Democratic President Franklin D Roosevelt who put it on his campaign promises.

- The majority of

Americans weren’t willing to obey the law.

- Maryland never even

introduced prohibition.

- Al Capone made $60

million each year from

his speakeasies.

- William McKoy made

$70 million from his

importing of illegal

whiskey ‘the real

Mckoy’

1921 1925 1929

Illegal 9,746 12,023 15,794 distilleries

seized

Gallons of 414,000 11,030,000 11,860,000 spirit seized

Arrests 34,175 62,747 66,878

Don’t forget he positives,

levels of alcohol consumption

fell by about 30% during the

1920’s.

- This caused corruption to become rife and led

to gang warfare over the lucrative trade in

i l legal alcohol.

- Organised gangs made over $2 billion from the sale of i l legal alcohol.

- George Remus bribed officials to allow him to

carry out his i l legal practise. He was so rich

that at one party he gave a car to all of the

female guests and a $25,000 pair of cufflinks

to all of the men.

- New York FBI boss Don Chaplin: “Put your

hands on the table, both of them. Every son of a bitch wearing a diamond is fired”.

- Al Capone was based in Chicago where there were 130 gangland murders in 1926 and 1927 but not one

arrest – the criminals were in control! - He was a well-known figure in the city since he was bribing nearly all of the officials, he even had the

mayor on his payroll! - - He was well known for being generous eg.$100 to waiters and spent $30,000 on a soup kitchen for the

unemployed. - Capone was in complete control of Chicago after 1929 when he carried out the St Valentine’s Day

Massacre murdering 7 members of his rivals (Bugsy Moran) gang using a false police car and two

gangsters in police uniforms. - He committed (or his gang did at least!) over 300 murders during his time in control.

Hi, I’m Issy Einstein and with my deputy Moe Smith I tried to clamp

down on the illegal sale of alcohol in so called speakeasies. In fact, by

1925 there were more speakeasies in American cities than there had

been saloons in 1919. It was pretty easy to find people selling alcohol,

despite it being illegal. In fact it too me just 21 minutes in Chicago, 17

minutes in Atlanta, 11 minutes in Pittsburgh and my personal

favourite, 35 seconds in New Orleans (the taxi driver offered me

a bottle of whiskey)!

This showed that Prohibition wasn’t working, but also shows that

we were successfully catching the law breakers. You could use this

evidence to support either side of the argument!

Ask Yourself:

1) Can you give two facts to support the idea that America was booming during the

1920’s? 2) Can you give two facts to support the argument that America was not booming in

the 1920’s 3) Which Republican policies helped the boom? 4) What were the new inventions created in the 1920’s? 5) How many Ford Model T cars were being produced during 1925? 6) What evidence is there for the importance of credit during the boom? 7) Give one film star of the 1920’s. 8) How many tickets were being sold each week by 1930? 9) Give two examples of how life had changed for women by the 1920’s. 10) Which immigrants were at the bottom of the pile? 11) What was the immigration quota act called? 12) When was it introduced? 13) What was the quota set to? 14) What was the Red Scare? 15) Where did these ideas come from? 16) Give one example that shows why people were so worried. 17) How many people were arrested during the Red Scare? 18) How many pof those cases actually had a basis in fact? 19) What was the important about the Sacco and Vanzetti case? 20) What was the Scopes Trial? 21) What happened to Scopes? 22) What was the long term result of the trial? 23) Who were the Ku Klux Klan? 24) Which film restarted their popularity? Why? 25) When did their membership peak? How many people had joined? 26) Give one governor who was also a clan member. 27) Which groups campaigned for prohibition. 28) What ‘evidence’ did they use to push their case? 29) When was Prohibition introduced? What was the act called? 30) What evidence was there that Prohibition worked? (give at least 2 examples 31) How many murders were there in Chicago in 1926/7? 32) Name one prohibition agent. 33) How quickly could he find alcohol? 34) How much did Al Capone make from illegal speakeasies? 35) What was ‘the real McKoy?’

- Occurred in October 1929. - Caused by a crash in the Stock Markets. - People had been investing in the Stock

Market because the value of shares kept

rising. - This made them borrow money to buy even

more shares. Before selling these shares for

a profit (not keeping them for very long). This was called speculation.

- When people started to sell shares

their value decreased. - This meant that the people who had

borrowed money were left in massive debt. - Unemployment started to rise as companies

Key Facts:

In 1920 there had been only 4 mi llion share

owners in America. By 1929 there were 20 million. There were 600,000 speculators Banks lent $9 bi llion for speculating in 1929

Union Carbide shares increased by $268 in 7

months (1928)

Impacts of the Wall Street Crash:

1) The Wealthy: Rockefeller lost 80% of wealth – left with $40 million

2) The Banks: 1929 – 659 banks went bankrupt, 1930 – 1,352 went bankrupt, 1931 – 2,294 banks

went bankrupt, and overall $1 billion have been removed from these banks by investors.

3) Industry and Farming: Industrial and farm production fell by 40% and wages by 60% between 1928 and 1933. Farm income had dropped to $5 billion per year.

4) Unemployment: By 1933 14 million workers had been made unemployed. Unemployment

in the steel city of Cleveland hit 50% and Toledo 80%

5) The Human Cost: New slums were created and caused ‘Hoovervilles’ and in New York in 1932 238 people were admitted to hospital for malnutrition. 45 died?

6) WWI Veterans: WWI veterans marched on Washington to ask for their war bonus to be

paid early. Hoover asks General MacArthur to deal with them, but to treat them with

respect. MacArthur ignored these orders and burnt their camp down. Hoover refused to

condemn MacArthur, instead he stood by him.

The Campaign: - Unlike Hoover (Republican), Roosevelt (Democrat) wanted to do something. - He carried out a campaign of some 20,800km giving 16 major speeches and a further 60 from the back

of the train. He promised a ‘New Deal’. - Hoover, on the other hand, blocked the Garner-Wagner relief bill which would have allowed Congress to

provide $2.1 billion to create jobs. Hoover believed in ‘Rugged Individualism’.

1) The Emergency Banking Act – Roosevelt shut down

the banks for two days and had them all checked out.

5000 trustworthy banks were reopened; they were to

be backed by the government if necessary. Saved

20% of homeowners and farmers from repossession. 2) The Federal Emergency Relief Administration – this

acted on the needs of the poor. A sum of $500

million was spent on soup kitchens, blankets,

employment schemes and nursery schools. 3) The Civilian Conservation Corps – aimed at young

unemployed men in particular. They could sign up

for periods of six months which could be

renewed. Most of their work was done on

environmental projects in national parks. 2.5

million young men were helped by this scheme. 4) The Agricultural Adjustment Administration – set

quotas to reduce farm production in order to

increase prices. Helped modernise farms,

however this put farm labourers out of work.

Farmers 50% better off by 1936 5) The National Industrial Recovery Act:

- Public Works Administration – used

government money to build schools, roads,

dams, bridges and airports. Created 600,000

jobs.

- The National Recovery Administration –

improved working conditions in industry and

outlawed child labour. It also set fair wages and

sensible levels of production. It was voluntary,

but firms which joined used the blue eagle as a

symbol of presidential approval. Over 2 million

employers joined the scheme. 6) The Tennessee Valley Authority – this cut across an

area of seven states which were particularly poor.

The authority built dams which irrigated dried out

land, created electricity to those who had none, and

created thousands of jobs in the area.

Despite his achievements, by May 1935 Roosevelt was

facing severe criticism from all sides. People like Senator

Huey Long, for example, thought that he wasn’t doing

enough. Roosevelt met with his ‘brains trust’ and decided

to take even further action.

1) The Wagner Act – forced all employers to allow

trade unions to operate in their companies and

to let them negotiate with employers for better

pay and conditions. The act made it illegal to

sack workers for being in a union.

2) The Social Security Act – provided state pensions

for the elderly and for widows and allowed state

and federal governments to work together to

help the sick and disabled. It also set up

unemployment insurance for workers.

3) The Works Progress Administration – later

renamed the Works Project Administration

united all of the projects put together to create

jobs. Also extended to unemployed actors etc.

For example 80,000 photos of farming were

taken and displayed locally as part of the Federal

Arts Project.

4) The Resettlement Administration – helped

smallholders and tenant farmers who had not

been helped by the AAA. It moved over 500,000

families to better quality housing. The Farm

Security Administration replaced the RA in 1937.

It gave special loans to small farmers to help

them buy their land. It also built camps to help

migrant workers.

Women

-The New Deal saw many women

achieve prominent positions

including Eleanor Roosevelt.

-The National Youth Administration

was a woman, Mary Macleod

Bethune. She was also African

American.

-Frances Perkins was the Secretary

of Labour and a key New Deal figure.

-Most of the New Deal programmes

were aimed at men, only 8,000

women benefited from the CCC.

-Local governments sought to avoid

paying women social security by

introducing special qualifications and

conditions.

Bethune. She was also African American. a

Problems in the Supreme Court:

- Although he won a huge victory in 1936,

Roosevelt’s problems were far from over.

- He now faced the most powerful enemy of

the New Deal – The Supreme Court, which

was controlled by the Republicans.

- In May 1935 the case highlighted to the

right came to the Supreme Court (The

Schechter Poultry Corporation).

- The company appealed to the Supreme

Court, who overturned the prosecution,

claiming that the federal government had

no right to prosecute the company. In fact,

the Supreme Court (Republican controlled)

claimed that the NRA was unconstitutional

(illegal) because it took too much power

away from the local states.

- Roosevelt was furious. He asked Congress

to give him power to appoint six more

Supreme Court judges who were

sympathetic to the New Deal and would

overturn this ruling (by changing the

balance of power in the Supreme Court.

- However, the American public were scared

by this behaviour. They saw it as Roosevelt

attacking the American style of government

and behaving like a dictator. Roosevelt had

to abandon his plans.

- However, the Supreme Court were also

shaken by Roosevelt’s threats and were

much less obstructive in the future. Most of

Roosevelt’s Second New Deal was approved

after 1937.

Schechter Poultry Corporation vs NRA

The Schechter Poultry Corporation had

been found guilty of:

1) Selling diseased chickens for

human consumption.

2) Filing false sales claims (to

make the company worth

more)

3) Exploiting its workers

4) Threatening government

inspectors.

Opposition to the New Deal:

1) It’s not doing enough – Huey Long,

Governor of Louisiana in 1928 (and

senator 1932) believed in taxing big

business and giving to the poor. He

proposed ‘Share Our Wealth’

(personal fortunes no more than $3

million and maximum earning $1

million a year). Free washing

machines and radios for the over

60s! Assassinated 1935. Dr Francis

Townsend (founder of Townsend

Clubs) campaigned for a pension of

$200 per month for the over 60s.

Father Coughlin set up the National

Union for Social Justice.

2) It’s doing too much – Republicans

and section of the business

community claimed that: there were

too many codes and regulations, the

free market should deal with the

issues, Roosevelt was behaving like a

dictator. There was even a smear

campaign against Roosevelt claiming

that he was disabled due to an STD

rather than Polio.

The outcome? Roosevelt won the

1936 election with 27 million votes!!

A New Society?

- The New Deal restored the faith of

the American people in their government.

- It handled billions of dollars of public

money with no corruption. For

example, Harold Hopkins distributed

$10 billion but never drew more

than his salary of $15,000. The

Secretary of the Interior, Harold

Ickes, actually tapped the phones of

his employees to ensure there was

no corruption. There was none.

- However, others accused Ickes and

Hopkins of being Communist and

anti-business (because they

supported trade unions).

Industrial Workers - The NRA and second new Deal

strengthened the position of

the labour unions. - Some labour unions joined

forces in 1935 to form the

Committee for Industrial

Organisation (CIO). - The Union of Automobile

Workers (UAW) was recognised

by two very anti-union

organisations: General Motors in

1936 and Ford in 1941. - However, many strikes

continued to be broken up with

violence and companies such as

Ford and Chrysler employed

their own thugs or controlled

the local police.

Unemployment and the Economy: - The New Deal created millions of jobs, stabilised the banking system and

reduced the number of business failures. - Projects, eg. The TVA improved the standard of living for thousands of people. - Valuable resources including schools, roads and power stations were built. - The New Deal never solved the underlying economic problems. - Confidence remained low – throughout the 1930s America only spent and

invested about 75% of what they had before 1929 - When Roosevelt cut the New Deal budget in 1937 America went back into

recession. - There were 6 million unemployed in 1941

African Americans:

- Around 200,000 African Americans

gained benefits from the CCC and other New Deal agencies.

- They benefited from the

slums clearances etc.

- However, many New Deal agencies

still discriminated against African

Americans.

Native Americans - The Indian Reorganisation Act in

1934 provided money to help

Native Americans to buy and

improve land. - The Indian Reservation Act

(1934) helped the Native

Americans to preserve and

practise their traditions laws

and cultures. - Native Americans remained a

poor and excluded group of

society.

Ask Yourself:

1) When was the Wall Street Crash? 2) What was it? 3) Why did it happen? 4) What were speculators? How many of them were there? 5) How many people owned shares by 1929? 6) How many banks shut in 1929? 7) What was Hoover’s solution to the crisis? 8) What were Hoovervilles? 9) What happened to the WWI veterans? Why was this bad for Hoover? 10) How many KM did Roosevelt travel during his election campaign? 11) Wich party did Roosevelt represent? 12) What was the New Deal? 13) How many agencies can you remember? 14) Who did the CCC help? 15) What did the TVA do? 16) How much did farm profits increase by as a result of the AAA? 17) Which two agencies made up the NIRA? 18) Who didn’t like the New Deal? Explain why. 19) Who did? (think votes!) 20) Who did Roosevelt consult before creating the Second New Deal? 21) Do you know all these agencies? 22) Who benefited from the SSA? 23) What was good about the RA? 24) Who benefited from the New Deal? 25) Who didn’t? 26) What was unemployment in 1941?

27) Give two key New Deal supporters from Roosevelt’s government; what did they

do that made them important? 28) Give an example of an important woman? 29) Who were the CIO and UAW? 30) Make sure that you know all of the above, go through the questions again!

With Reference To: Ben Walsh: Modern World History OCR Modern World History Google Images