America 1919-1929

• League of Nations was the idea of American President Widrow Wilson
• However, america never joined the League of Nations.
• Most Americans wanted to live by Isolationism, to remain isolated to Europes affairs, meaning he did not get the approval of Congress.
• Introduced the Fordeny-McCumber Tariff which raised taxes on imported European goods so people wil be more likely to buy American goods.

The 1920's was known as the Boom

• More consumer products avaliable such as radios, refrigerators, telephones and cars.
• advertising became more popular, by billboards and the new radios
• Hire purchasing was introduced- 'buy now, pay later' scheme
• People could buy on credit

The Car Industry boomed due to Hernry Ford

• In 1920 1.9 million cars were made each year but by 1929 it had risen to 4.5 million.
• Workers earnt $5 a day which was good payment
• Used the assembly line making production far more efficent
• On average 6000 cars were made each day.

• 25% of wealth was owned by the richest 5%
• 16% was owned by the richest 1%
• Under 5% was owned by the poorest 60%

Agriculture suffered a lot due to the new technologies

• Farmers had overporduced meaning no-one was buying their products
• Taxes and morgagaes rose
• There products had falling prices and lead to smaller profits

Prejudice lead to the Red Scare

• America was worried about people from other countries bringing communism into America
• Introduced Acts to limit the amount of immagrints allowed into the country such the National Origions act of 1924 that limited the amount of people allowed in to 5% of what it was 1920.
• Innocent people were murdered as prejudice, for example Sacco and Vanzetti in 1927.

Ku Klux Klan

• WASPs- White anglo Saxon Protestants.
• Opposed African Americans, Jews, Catholics and immagrints.
• They used intimidation and violence to scare and enforce there authority.
• Had 4 million members in 1925.
• The Grand Dragin was then convicted of **** and murder and then the organisation lost support.

Some Laws were racist, such as the Jim Crow Laws that discriminated agaisnt African Americans

Prohibition was introduced for four reasosn

1. National mood- when America entered the war in 1917 the national mood also turned against drinking alcohol. The Anti-Saloon League argued that drinking alcohol was damaging American society.
2. Practical- a ban on alcohol would boost supplies of important grains such as barley.
3. Religious- the consumption of alcohol went against God's will.
4. Moral- many agreed that it was wrong for some Americans to enjoy alcohol while the country's young men were at war

Speakeises were introduced where people culd drink illegally. Prohibition failed as there were not enough agents, the borders were too big and many people supported the end of prohibition and so risked drinking in Speakisies.

Prohibition lead to the creation of many gangs all competing for the control of the business of ealing illegal alcohol.

• Millions of dollars was spent in the trading of alcohol
• In Chicago, 1300 murders took place

Al Capone was one of the most famous gang leaders in the time.

He was fierce rivals with Bugs Moran and on Valantines Day 1927, 7 members of Moran's gang were shot dead. This was known as the St Valantines Day Massacre.

Prohibition ended in 1933 as it was clear it was impossible to enforce it on people.

People had more money to spend on lesiure items.

• The film industry boomed with cinemas that could seat 4000 people being built
• Radio demand grew as in 1923 there were 08 radio stations in comparison to 1921, where there was just one.

Women gained more freedom and interpendance

• The number of working women rose by 25%
• Women became known as the flappers, who wore lipstick, shorter skirts and high heels and became more sexually liberated.
• Divorce rate increased
• Magazines changed the new fashions for women at the time