History

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USA after WW1

  • Europe supported by USA.
  • Huge demand from Europe for products and grain.
  • More export for USA.
  • Laissez-Faire helped businesses, meant leave it be, no wage limits, treat workers how they like,set prices how they want.
  • New industries, technology and productions-mass production.
  • Isolationism effected international polices, didn't want anymore Europe wars, didn't join League of Nations, tariffs boosted US home sales, 1921-Emergency Quota Act-3% new immigrants only,prejudiced, May 1921: Emergency Tariff act- imports cost more than american goods, September 1922:Fordney and McCumber Tariff act- US goods only, foreign put tariffs on US exports, sold less abroad. 
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Economic Boom 1920's

  • Causes include huge demand, mass production, advertising and stock market devlopment.
  • Consumerism, boom in consumer goods, advertising inticed people, more workers+higher wages= more wages spent+ more free time=more items bought=more goods made=more wokers.
  • Hire purchase meant expensive products bought in intallments.
  • Mass Production developed by Ford, when divided production process, one worker=one step, using standard parts is an assembly line.
  • Stock market boom, buy shares of a business, more succsess=more share was worth, bought shares to sell of more, USA growing businesses worth more each year, borrow money for shares. not ashamed to be in debt, laisse-faire was know to be the best, isolationism dont share economic succsess, millions invested in shared.
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Problems

  • Older industries- coal mines, ship building, railways- didn't boom.
  • Not consumer goods,couldnt mass produce, not as much demand for ships after the war, electrisity not coal, cars made no more rail travel. connected, train used coal, warships used coal.
  • Farming didn't boom, during war and immidetly after boom.
  • US farms took loans to expand+machienes, European farming recovered, other countries incease export, prohibitation less barley and grapes,new materials for clothes less cotton, overproduction prices fell.
  • Poverty, unequal society, small number of people very rich a lot poor,1929 many americans very poor.
  • Government could have acted but laissez-faire. farming problems=rural poverty, South vs North=wages lower in south+bigger businesses in north, Black had lowest pay.
  • Skilled and semi-skilled workers and women saw wages increase a lot in 1920's.
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Roaring 20's

  • More money more leisure time. Movie industry at large.
  • America over took England.
  • Less repect for authority and more freedom and wildness.
  • Could afford luxuries for the first time.
  • Jazz of black musicians became large exept for conervitive americans.
  • Hollywood glamourous with new fashion and celebrity dream life.
  • Woman had more freedom, Flappers were new doing things on their own without men.
  • Women took up mens jobs to help in the war and when they came back didn't want to leave them.
  • Women got paid better than before, more development meant less housework and better lifestyle.
  • Most Americans didnt go wild and it was frightening in 1930 Hays Code stopped movies showing wild or ba actions.
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Prohibitation and gangsters

  • Aims, reduce crime, improve morals.
  • what happened, increased organised crime, millions of breaking the laws and disrespect, gangsters got money out of selling so numbers increased, courts and police bribed, speakeasies illegal clubs, illegal poisonois alochol like moonshine made.
  • Making, transporting and selling alcohol made illegal.
  • Started January 1920 ended December 1933.
  • Made law by 18th amendment to the constetution.
  • Church groups said it had bad influence. immigrants were said to be dangerous drunk.
  • some states already didnt drink.
  • Probitation-illegal activites-money making-gang wars to protect money,plenty of bribes, reduced respect for law, gangs took over areas and made bussinesses pay protection money.
  • Al Capone was the most well know.
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Racism and intolerance

  • Segregation was legal racism in the south.
  • In southern states the jim crow laws in place, seperate schools and facilities, worse facilities, jobs and pay, could vote but often tricked or stopped, Ku Klux Klan beat up and murdered black people.
  • Many moved to North, no segregation but loads of rasism, lower paid or unemployed, poor areas to live and generally not near black.
  • Sacco and Vanzetti, italian immigrants, thought guilty of murder and robbery in April 1920 because of carrying guns when arrested, vansetti had robbed in the past, eyewitnesses but for somewhere else, Judge wanted them guilty, prostest about intolerance(unwilling to accept race) executed in 1927.
  • Scopes Monkey trial 1925, in tennessee banned evolution teaching or anything exept bible teaching, john scopes taught evolution, media intrest, found guilty and fined 100 dollars.
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Wall street Crash

  • Before crash problems were, overconfidence that boom never ends, almost anyone can get loan not enough credit control, too many loans to buy shares, no control on business, unemployment rising, tarrifs abroad reducing US exports, overproduction, inequlity some rich some not, machienes replace workers, big businesses wages low.
  • 1929 wall street crash, september-investors saw the problems started selling shares, september/october- expected shares prices to go up again and they didn't, thursday 24 october- panic selling meant shares went for any price, friday 25 october- group of bankers bought 250million dollars of shares to stop panic selling, monday 28 october- more panic selling, thursday 29 october- group that bought 250million shares tried to sell them, wed 30 october panic selling stops.
  • 500 banks went bankrupt, people lost money, banks needed loans foreign, Eurpoean countries relied on loans so exporting market collapsed.
  • US businesses had to pay back loans no credit.
  • Businesses shut down and lay off workers loss in jobs.
  • lost savings,no morgages or hire purchase, lost homes and possetions.
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Government reaction

  • Herbert Hoover, depression should be solved through volentary help not government, before president he organised fod supplies WW1 and food relief after.
  • Put shacks up when lost jobs and homes, shantytowns nicknamed Hoovervilles.
  • Veterans of WW1 camping for early bonus payment, May 1932 15000 bonus marchers to Washington D.C. protest set up hooverville, troops drove then away in july 1932. 
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Policies

  • Hoover known for too little too late but this is what he did: 
  • Federal Farm Board policy 1929- bought overproduction of farmers to push up prices. They spent 500million dollars by 1932 then disbaned it, poor people thought it only helped rich farmers.
  • Tax cuts 1930- cut taxes means more money to spend. Goverentment ran out too, revenue act 1932 put them up again.
  • Smoot-Hawly tariff june 1930 imports more expensive to buy american products. US business hated it for making it harder, caused a drop in imports and exports.
  • President's Organisation for unempolyed relief (POUR) 1931- encouraged charities to help people and businesses. not enough to make a difference.
  • National credit corporation (NCC) 1931-secure private banks lent money to less secure bussinesses and banks. very little money got lent.
  • Reconstruction Finance corporation (RFC) january 1932- governtment controlled NCC so loans were paid. many people thought it only helped rich.
  • Federal home loan bank act july 1932- government loaned money to banks so people could keep houses.damage was done however did succseed a bit.
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Impact of depression

  • The dust bowl, 1920's US ploughed grassland to intense farm, drought 1931 soil dried wind blew it, dust bowl, farmers leave farms and find new jobs, symbol of depression hollowed US caused by over production.
  • Dust bowl farmers moved to California for work.
  • Thousands of people looking for work in cities, charities couldnt cope.
  • Help poorest first.
  • humilliating as loads of qustions were asked.
  • scavenged on garbage heaps families spilt to look for work.
  • bank closing, farms lost. farm prices fell, over production.
  • dustbowl ruined farm land.
  • left rural area to pay for work to cities.
  • factories and businesses closed.
  • Bankclose meant people lost their homes.
  • unemployment and homelessness in the cities.
  • Hate hoover, tax cuts helped only rich, RFC only going to rich businesses, Charities felt they needed government, bonus marchers upset by use of troops, wanted work from government.
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The New Deal

  • Rooservelt new president, spent billions to help US.
  • Hundered days, a period in 1933 when a lot of USA emergency laws were past.
  • The Alphabet agencies agencies to help perticular problems.
  • Aims relief for those in need, rebuild confidence in banks and shares, get people working again.
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The new deal actions

  • Emergency Banking Act March 1933- only safe banks can rebuild to gain confidence. 5000 banks reopened and confidence built.
  • Reforestation relief act March 1933- set up Civilian conservation corps (CCC) work for unemployed young men. Critics said it want real work but millions volenteered by 1941, very popular.
  • Agricultural Adjustment Act may 1933- AAA paid farmers to not produce certain crops. stoped overproduction, farmers accepted the deal ,prices rose, confidence gained, helped rich more.
  • Federal Emergency Relief Administration Act may 1933- FERA set up CWA (civil works administration) organises public projects to get jobs and improve country. created jobs for 20milion, doing the work help confidence instead of benefits.
  • Tennessee valley authority act may 1933- TVA re-enginered the dust bowl, aimed to modernise farming and provide power for the dams, relocating thousands of families loads of jobs made.
  • National Industrial Relief Act june 1933-NRA (national recovery administraition) reform industry, better working conditions less hard competition. NRA made production more expensive and increased too many rules, public suport finished may 1935.
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Opposition and The Second New Deal

  • Senator Huey Long fighting for government to do more. should nationalise banks and businesses. Needs to protect workers. pay pensions and unemployment benifits.
  • Repulicans and  supporters of laissez-faire were opposed. gone too far. federal government too powerful. involvement leads to comunism (big fear at this point). business works best without government interference. put USA in too much debt.
  • 1935 the supreme court ruled some new deal acts and agencies that were against the law, AAA, NRA. anti-rooservelt. repulican. older men.
  • Rooservelt wanted more on his side, packed the court with own supporters. this was defeted however when judges died or retierd he replaced them with supporters.
  • Second New deal 1935, governtment involvment further.
  • Social Security Act 1935-old pensioners and unmenployment benifits.
  • Wagner Act 1935-replaced NRA employees could join trade union.
  • Works Progress Administration (WPA) 1935- funing for programs.
  • Resettlement Act may 1935- built housing for homeless in towns and countryside.
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New Deal succsess

  • Achievements, Emergency banking act- confidence in banks rose, some great things were built due to work prodjects, unemployment rates stopped rising and even dropped by 1935, consumer goods bought and productivity went up thought not as much as 1928, Over countries like germany turned to facism (government lead by one leader) following the depression but USA stayed democratic.
  • problems, unemployment stayed high, jobs created were only temperary, new deal saw rasims grow through favour of white americans, expensive and a lot wasted, another mini-depresssion in 1937-38 ended by War not new deal policies. 
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