AMERICA

long term: 

• Laissez faire attitudes- little regulation so it could easily go opver the top
• overproduction of agriculture and consumer goods 
• Nature of the bull market : buying shares on the margin; buying of stocks and shares went out of control and value was higher than real worth; lack of credit control meant reliance on share prices rising 
• lowering of US interest rates led to an increase of speculation

Short term:

• strong confidence in share prices due to boom of the 1920s
• september 1929 prices down
• shares owned were worth less than what they were bought for 
• everyone started worrying and tries to sell their shares for less and less 
• Black Tuesday 29th October 1929 share prices collapsed                                                                                                                      

• 1933
• 100,00 companies had become bankrupt and so business confidence reduced and consumer spending decreased.
• Those who did survive cut production due to the decrease in consumer spending; this led to less jobs, less working hours and lower wages. 
• Business closures such as the car industry industrial workers became unemployed.
• Unemployment then led to failure to paying mortgages. unemployment reached almost 25% in 1933 and there was stagnation.
• Banks repossessed homes which led to homelessness.  
• Farm prices dropped to less than half of the price of 1920 by 1929.
• Agricultural Banking Act did not sort the international food price drop 

• USA possessed almost unlimited natural resources in both the energy and raw materials for industry.
• Huge increase in manpower and markets that came with immigration.
• The impact of technology enabled rapid development of transatlantic steamship companies and the mechanisation of industry.
• The rise of big business due to natural resources, railways and communications improved.
• High tariffs kept out foreign goods such as the Mckinley tariff 1890.
• Iron and steel production rose from 920,000 tons in 1860 to 10.3m tons in 1900.
• By 1919 the US production two-thirds of the world's oil.
• Investors like Edison and Ford controlled all stages in the production and marketing of their product "vertical integration".
• Trusts were formed when companies worked together to control manufacture supplies and process to ensure other firms couldn't compete.
• Monopolies formed when one company had control of one particular business area

• Aimed to keep Chinas free of colonial control and preserving free trade.
• The collapse of imperial rule in China led to instability and extensive foreign interference.
• USA was keen to see free trade in China and to avoid china being divided up by European powers as America would benefit.
• The boxer rebellion 1900 led to foreign embassies in Beijing being seiged.
• The USA joined the interenational force that was sent to break the seige and restore order
• USA saw this as a threat to American trade interests . This resulted in the Open Door policy to prevent China being carved up and to keep the principle of free trade in China.

• The cubans had tries to get rid of Spanish rule in their country but had so far failed. USA had sympathy for these Cubans in trying to overthrow Spainish rule.
• Two New York newpapers used the Cuban revolt to gain readers by printing ever more sensational stories.
• Known as "yellow journalism"-stories were all strongly anti-spanish and many were clearly untrue.
• In February 1898 the American warship USS maine exploded in Havana in Cuba, 266 US soldiers died, the Spanish were blamed for planting mines even though the sedond investigation blamed sparks ignightng the ammunition hold.
•  A letter from the Spanish ambassador to his government fell into the hands of the Cuban rebels, the letter was highly critical of President Mckinley this once again inflamed public opinion.
• Congress and Mckinley were both reluctant to go to war but the mid terms in 1898 meant they sided with the public as they wantd to remain in congress.