Who didn't benefit from the boom?

Traditional Industries
1. Grew less quickly or even declined
  1. Already mature industries with developed markets so they were limited in growth
2. Textiles
  1. Many factories closed
  2. North-east faced competition from factories in south and other areas
    1. Competition due to new artificial fibres
    2. Labour was cheaper
3. Coalmining
  1. Least profitable mines forced to shut down
  2. Greater competition for heating
    1. Oil
    2. Electricity
    3. Demand fell for coal
4. Shipbuilding
  1. Mass-production was quicker
Agriculture
1. Workers in south, generally black, were badly paid
  1. Workers paid starvation wages
  2. Employed as basic labour (sharecroppers)
    1. Not paid cash but given a share of crop to sell
      1. Became dependent on employers
        Employers provided housing
        Employers made loans to workers against their share of the crops
2. Farmers suffered
  1. South suffered worse
    1. Changing market brought more competition and the cotton and tobacco market suffered
  2. Hardship
  3. Falling prices
  4. Farms did not enjoy modern amenities that were standard in main towns and cities
    1. Less than 10% had mains water or electricity
  5. In poorer states (South Carolina) farmers earned 1/3 of average earned by other workers
  6. Prices collapsed along with incomes
  7. Low yields
    1. Crops damaged by disease and pests
  8. Benefited from high prices in war-time and were ill-prepared to cope with changes after
    1. Overproduction and over supply alongside poor forward planning
      1. Too much for the internal market to cope with
        Lack of international market options
        Politicians didn't understand issues until too late
        International competition and trade tariffs prevented exporting surplus
  9. Farmers borrowed money hoping prices would recover
    1. Farmers couldn't pay debts so banks repossessed land
3. 1/3 of US population (1920) was in farming industry
  1. By 1929 this was down to 1/3
Mainly rich and middle classes benefited
1. In 1929 1/3 of all income was earned by 5% of workforce
Urban populations in industrialised USA
1. The W and NE industrial states benefited most, whereas S and agricultural states suffered
  1. However certain products in the agricultural industry did better than others
    1. Fruit farmers benefited from the growing demand for fresh produce
    2. Wheat farmers of the Great Plains suffered a decade of low yields and prices
      1. Due to falling demands and stiff international competition
2. Not all wealth was equally distributed
  1. 1929- 60% of all families lived below poverty line
3. Native Americans suffered worse then everyone else
  1. Government admitted the land of the reservations was very poor quality
4. The black poluation suffered discrimination
  1. The blacks in the south suffered more than in urban areas and lived in extreme poverty
  2. Most lived in south but during WW1 families moved to northern cities
    1. After war the job competition increased, many whites resented the black newcomers
      1. By 1919 race riots occurred in many cities
    2. Attracted by work available in factories

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Who didn't benefit from the boom?

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