112,000
American
soldiers were
killed in
action in
Europe
1919 – race riots in 23
cities, blacks discriminated
in white communities
Prices doubled
between 1914-19
Wages hardly rose
250,000 to 3
million employed
in the army
Economic
All immigration from Europe was stopped.
Blacks moved to north where wages were
higher = increased racial tension resulted
4 million soldiers were demobbed
in 1919 = unemployment high
American banks profited from lending
money to the Allies during the war, in the
1920s this was being paid back with interest
War-torn Europe became reliant on
American grain export = more money
Income tax rose to 6% and a
surtax of 77% was placed on
incomes of over 1 million per year
Allies supplied with food and
munitions = industry and
agriculture prospered
Advances in technology
e.g. mechanisation and new
materials like plastics =
better and more industry
Political
Espionage Act (1917)
made it a crime to criticise
the government for its
conduct in the war
Immigration (1917-1929)
Reasons for Immigration Policies:
Factor 1: WWI
Rise of socialists and anarchists;
began organising strikes and
demands for higher wages
Immigrants workers were being drawn to urban
areas for work, 500,000 African Americans
moved to big cities = increased racial tension
Factor 2: Fear of
Communism/The Red
Scare
Emerged because democratic states
feared the spread of Communism
sparked by the Bolshevik revolution in
1917, resulting in Lenin taking over
Russia and introducing Socialism
Palmer Raids; General Palmer felt he
needed to “purge the land of the
foreign-born subversives and agitators.”
He ordered raids on magazine offices,
union headquarters and public meetings.
Factor 3: Attitudes of
White Protestant
America
White Protestant males were able to
influence governments and in Congress.
Many were fundamentalist, believing the
Bible is literal truth. Mainly in Southern
states or backward, small communities.
Scopes Monkey Trial; man prosecuted for
teaching evolution in a school when it was
banned, had to pay a fine of $100
Factor 4: Trial of
Sacco and Vanzetti
Robbed and murdered two
men, conservative judge
wanted them executed.
Were Italian immigrant
anarchists = racially
discriminated against and denied
rights
Coolidge: “America must
be kept American”
Acts to Limit Immigration:
1921, The Emergency Quota Act; reduced
and restricted number of immigrants to
357,000 per year, 3% quota of population
1924, National Origins Act;
150,000 per year, 2% quota
Consequently, immigration
fell from 2,000,000 to
350,000 from 1920-1930
Influence of the KKK:
Factor 1: Yes
40,000-strong parade in
Washington = showing support
In Denver, Dallas and Detriot, not just Southern states;
elected Congressmen. Al Smith (ran for Congressman)
faced a vicious campaign of anti-Catholicism, causing
him to lose the presidential campaign
Factor 2: Yes
100,000 members in 1921
to 5,000,000 in 1925
Was difficult for the government to change
the attitudes of the whites in the south - and
politicians were scared of losing votes
Factor 3: No
David Stevenson raped a
woman, committed suicide,
charged with 2nd degree murder
Support dropped to
200,000 members by 1929
Factor 4: No
Hiram Wesley-Evans decided to organise
camping trips to reduce radical methods
e.g. lynching = lost radical members
Financial scandals, people not agreeing
with radical methods e.g. women
The Golden Twenties
Causes of the Boom:
Factor 1: Motor
Manufacturing Industry
Henry Ford started mass-production, and wanted
everyone to be able to afford a car. Mass production
enabled 1 Model-T car to be produced every 60
seconds by 192 and every 10 seconds by 1925
Due to the roads being
constructed, an increase of 23
million cars began, making it the
biggest industry in the USA. Ford
produced 1,250,000 cars per year
Ford’s production improved
transportation and gave new opportunities
for industry e.g. easier to move goods
Factor 2:
Laissez-Faire
Attitude
MOST IMPORTANT
REASON FOR THE BOOM
Lack of business regulations enabled
mass production to take place
If not for the laissez-faire attitude, then
easy credit would’ve been less popular, and
the 75% of cars bought on easy credit
would’ve been far less = less boom
Factor 3: Technical
Advances
Demand from easy credit
pushed through tech advances
and mass production
Built roads at the rate of 10,000
miles per year by 1929 (highways)
By the end of the 20s
everyone who could
afford it had electricity
Petrol stations and motels
Factor 4: Easy Credit
Enabled people to afford
things they previously couldn’t
By 1929, 75% of cars on easy credit
However, was not regulated, causing
problems in the future, did not check if
borrowers could afford to pay back loans etc.
If not for the laissez-faire attitude,
easy credit would be less popular =
less of an economic boom
Were the 20s really roaring?
Factor 1: Yes
(motor
manufacturing
industry)
Motor manufacturing
industry produced 1
Model-T car every 10
seconds by 1925
Produced
1,250,000 cars
per year
75% of cars bought on easy credit by 1929
Factor 2: Yes
(technical advances)
10,000 miles per year
by 1929 (highways)
Everyone who could afford it had
electricity by the end of the 20s
Factor 3: No
(uneven
distribution of
wealth)
Women received less
pay than men
Women made up
24% of the working
population
Poor conditions for
factory workers
Lack of stability in
employment, 72% had been
unemployed at some point
Factor 4: No
(lack of
economic
stability)
Fordney-Mccumber Act
1922; high tariffs on
foreign export = farmers
could not sell aroad
66% of farms operated on a loss
Prohibition cut
grain demand
Problems in the Economy:
Factor 1: Uneven
Distribution of Wealth
Industry was uneven throughout
the US, meaning many areas
missed out on the prosperity
Women received
less pay than men
Women made up 24% of
the working population
Lack of stability in
employment, 72% had been
unemployed at some point
Factor 2: Rural
Poverty
Fordney-Mccumber Act 1922;
high tariffs on foreign export =
farmers could not sell abroad
66% of farms
operated on a loss
Prohibition cut grain demand
Technical advances like
tractors decreased need for
as many farm workers
Overproduction
Factor 3: The
Banking System
FRB (Federal Reserve Board) was a
centralised system that allowed banks to
run their own affairs with only limited
government interference
Small banks were unable to
cope with financial problems
75% of cars
bought on easy
credit by 1929
50,000 shares by
1928 were bought
on the margin
Factor 4:
Slowing of the
Boom
Boom was dependent on
continuing domestic
consumption
Small businesses failed
Domestic demand fell
leading to
overproduction
Prohibition
Outcomes of Prohibition:
Factor 1: The Illegal
Liquor Business
1925 more
speakeasies
than saloons
in 1919.
‘Medicinal whiskey.’
Izzy Einstein was in a taxi for 35
seconds and got offered a bottle of
whiskey. Prohibition agents seized over
15,000 distilleries. Al Capone made $60
million from speakeasies
Factor 2:
Corruption and
Bribery
1/12 agents were
dismissed for corruption
Breweries stayed open by bribing
government officials
Hoover himself had
parties with ‘every type
of liquor imaginable’
Factor 3: Reduced
Alcohol
Consumption
Consumption fell by 30%
Izzy Einstein and Moe Smith
were really successful
Factor 4: Growth of the
soft drinks industry
Coca Cola increased from an output
of 17 million cases to 182 million by
1933