USA 1919 1941

Causes of the Boom - ACCESS

KEY TERM

Automobiles (1919 = 9m, 1929 = 26m)

Cycle of prosperity (more sales = more production = more wages = more spending)
Consumer goods/Credit (fridges, radios, telephones etc)
Entertainment (Hollywood, cinemas, jazz clubs, speakeasies)

Boom - an economic state of

growth with rising profits
and full employment

Stock market (Wall Street)

Sky scrapers
Plus
WWI During WWI the USA had made a lot of money through loans to Europe and by selling weapons and
exporting food to European countries.
Republican economic policies
Laissez-faire literally meaning leave alone. The Republicans believed that businessmen should be left alone
by the government to get on with making money and so they made as few restrictive laws as possible.
Tariffs in order to encourage consumers to buy American goods the government put a tax on foreign goods
that entered the USA so that they would be more expensive than domestic products.
Low taxation The Republicans believed that if people were able to keep more money then they would spend it
on American goods and wealthy people would reinvest their money in industries.
Trusts These were super-corporations which dominated certain industries (Carnegie steel, Rockefeller oil).
The Republicans allowed the trusts to do what they wanted as they believed that the captains of industry knew
better than politicians what was good for America.
Henry Ford and the car
Henry Ford had a dream of producing a cheap car which could be afforded by ordinary Americans.

He

pioneered the development of the assembly line. This reduced the time it took to make a car from 13 hours to
1 hour and 33 minutes. The assembly line meant that the cost of the car decreased. 1908 = $850 by 1925 =
$290. To make up for the boredom of the work Ford doubled workers wages to $5 a day. That meant they
could buy more consumer goods.
Advertising
The 1920s saw a massive increase in advertising,
including a massive growth in advertising on the radio
and in the cinema.
Adverts were aimed at men and women and showed
people what new consumer goods were available for
them.
Credit
Many people did not have the money
needed to buy the many new
consumer goods that they saw advertised. They got around this problem by spending on
credit and by buying things from catalogues on credit. This meant they paid for consumer
goods bit by bit but would eventually pay for the whole amount and some more in interest.
It was also known as instalment plan buying.

This led to many Americans being in debt. It wasnt

seen as a problem by many people, however, because
the economy was booming and people had jobs and so
could make the repayments.

The Building Boom

The 1920s was also a decade of building and construction. By 1929 the amount of roads had doubled. There
was a demand for new factories, offices and shops. As towns grew in size then they needed public buildings
such as schools and hospitals. The 1920s were the decade of the skyscraper and companies competed with
each other to have the grandest and largest.
Hollywood and the rise of cinema
Cinema was the main form of entertainment in America by the end of the 1920s. Many Americans went to the
cinema a few times every week. Until 1927 all of the movies were silent and the sound came from a piano
accompaniment. The movies were made in Hollywood. Comedies, romance, westerns and slapstick comedies
were all popular. Mass market advertising built up the reputations of movie stars. They came to symbolize
the roaring twenties.
Why was the cinema so popular?

Advertising made heroes of actors and actresses like Gloria

Swanson, Rudolph Valentino and Charlie Chaplin.

Advertising was used by the emerging companies like MGM and

Warner.

America was quite prosperous and going to the cinema was

cheap.

The motion
picture
industry is
already the
fourth largest
in the country

People had more leisure time because of the new consumer goods.

Talkies were invented in 1929 and this made cinema even more for people.

Joseph Kennedy
writing in 1927

Did everyone approve?

A celebrity culture developed in the 1920s and stars had their whole lives under scrutiny. Some people were
shocked by the films and thought they lowered moral standards. The public expected very high standards
from their movie stars and scandals had to be covered up and the real lives of the stars censored as well as
the movies.
One of the rules about kisses on screen was they could not last for more than 10 feet of film. This meant quite
a short kiss

Case Study
Charlie Chaplin became one of the greatest comedians in cinema history and one of its
most famous stars. He was a living example of the American Dream. The idea that
anyone can make it in America if they have talent and work hard enough. He was born
in London to a very poor family but moved to the USA to make his fortune.
His famous films include The kid, The Great Dictator and The Vagabond. His
films and characters were influenced by other cultural developments in America,
including the economic boom and the impact it had on the lives of ordinary people.
The Jazz Age
Louis Armstrong was the first
important soloist in jazz, and
he became the most influential
musician in the music's history.
He was a talented trumpet
player and was famous for his
distinctive voice and fun
personality.

Women in the 1920s

Flappers these were fashionable women. They usually came from the cities or from the
suburbs. Flappers usually cut their hair short, wore heavy make-up and shorter dresses.
They shocked many older Americans and people that were religious or lived in rural areas.
This was because they were far more independent than had traditionally been the case.
Flappers usually had jobs which gave them more freedom because they had more money.
They then used their money and free time to socialise by going to the cinema and jazz
clubs where they would drink and apply their make-up in public! Flappers could also play
sports in public.
In addition to the social changes, women were also given the vote for the first time in
1920, so this also helped them to gain more power in society.
HOWEVER not all women benefitted from these changes. Life only really changed for white, middle or upper
class women. Poor people could not afford to live the lifestyle or a flapper and neither could women from
ethnic minorities.

Prohibition
What does prohibition mean?
Prohibition was introduced to the USA in January 1920 it banned the sale and production of alcohol.
What

were

the

names

of

the

two

main

movements

that

wanted

prohibition?
The Anti-Saloon League and the Womens Christian Temperance Union.
What were the illegal bars and illegal drinks called?
Speakeasies and moonshine.
In what areas were the temperance (anti-alcohol) movements strongest?
In rural areas. The movement also had a great deal of support among women.
What were supporters of prohibition known as?
Dries.
What arguments did prohibition supporters use against alcohol?

3000 infants a year were smothered in bed by drunk parents.

WWI drinkers were accused of being unpatriotic cowards. Most big breweries were run by German
immigrants who were portrayed as the enemy.

Dries claimed that drink caused lawlessness.

Drinking was said to encourage the spread of communism after the Russian revolution.

Saloons were seen as dens of vice that destroyed family life.

Success argument ALE

Alcohol destroyed:

in 1929, 50 million litres of illegal alcohol were discovered

and destroyed.
Legacy: the actual consumption of alcohol fell, not just during prohibition, but
for many years after - did not reach pre-1914 levels until 1971.
Einstein and Smith (Izzy and Moe): became famous as examples of the high
standards police SHOULD achieve.

Failure Argument - DAMAGE

Drinking continued: impossible to enforce (not enough police - only 4000 agents, many of whom were sacked
for taking bribes).
Available:

the liquor trade just 'went underground'.

speakeasies (illegal bars), moonshine (illegally-made

alcohol), bootlegging (smuggling alcohol to sell).

Made criminals of ordinary people
Adverse effects: moonshine was poor quality and sometimes killed people.

'Jackass brandy' caused internal

bleeding, 'Soda Pop Moon' contained poisonous alcohol.

Gangsterism flourished running the illegal trade: It became hugely profitable, and led to a growth of violence,
protection rackets etc. associated with the illegal trade. The general flouting brought the rule of law in general
into disrepute as police 'turned a blind eye. Corruption grew due to famous gangsters like Al Capone.
End: in 1933 the 21st Amendment abolished Prohibition (= 'proved' that it failed).

Who didnt benefit from the boom?

African Americans faced racism and discrimination. These

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

many African Americans moved to the north where the situation

Formed in the 1850s

after the American Civil
War.
Used parades, beatings,

was slightly better the black population of both Chicago and New

Lynchings and other violent methods to

York doubled during the 1920s.

intimidate black people.

problems were particularly bad in the south and thousands of black

Americans were murdered by lynching in this period. As a result

Also attacked Jews, Catholics and

In the north there was a better chance of receiving a better
education and better paid jobs. There were also internationally

immigrants.
Strongest in the mid-west and rural

famous black Americans thanks to the new entertainment

south.

industries such as Louis Armstrong. Black Americans also became

By 1924 had 4.5 million members.

increasingly involved in politics with new organisations being

In the 1920s the KKK managed to get

founded that sought to improve black rights and create more

some of their members elected into

opportunities for black businessmen W.E.B. DuBois founded the

NAACP and Marcus Garvey founded the UNIA.

positions of political power.

However by 1925 the KKK started to

Despite these improvements life expectancy remained far lower

go into decline.

for African Americans than for white Americans and discrimination continued. Many black Americans in the
north lived in extreme poverty and were often forced to live in ghettos.
Poor women could not afford to lead flapper lifestyles. Many of them had been working for a long time
already because they had to support their families. This meant that they did not share in the new
freedoms that middle class women enjoyed at this time.
Native Americans were discriminated against. Numbers had decline from 1.5million to 250,000 in 1920. Those
that survived were forced to leave their traditional way of life and live on reservations in the mid-west. Most
were forced to live in extreme poverty with lower life expectancy than white Americans. They had poor health,
poor education and low paid jobs. Their children were also sent to boarding school in an attempt to assimilate
them into American culture. This was done in an attempt to destroy Native Americans traditions, dances and
languages.
However, in some ways the 1920s was a turning point for the Native Americans as in 1924 they
were granted US citizenship and given the vote. Life then improved for them even further in
the 1930s as a result of Roosevelts New Deal.
Old industries like cotton suffered due to competition from new synthetic materials like nylon. Flapper
fashions also meant that less fabric was required for clothing. Coal suffered because of competition
from the oil and electricity industries. New machinery also meant that old industries needed fewer
workers and so unemployment became a problem in areas where these were the main source of work.
Farmers suffered from overproduction following the end of WWI- European countries were no longer
exporting American food. There was also fierce competition from Canadian wheat farmers. This
caused prices to fall and so wages were cut too, then unskilled labourers started to leave rural areas
to go to cities in search of better paid work.
The Red Scare
Following the Russian Revolution in 1917 Communism terrified Americans; a number of bombs were planted in
1919-21, one by an immigrant Italian. Immigrants were suspected of being communists and anarchists.
Workers involved in strikes and trade unions were also accused of being communists. Americans believed that

communism went against the ideas of the American Dream, which

celebrated and encouraged capitalism and the pursuit of wealth.
The courts clamped down harshly on political crimes by immigrants at
this time.
The case you MUST know about is the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti - two
immigrants from Italy who were anarchists - who in 1920 were found
guilty of armed robbery and murder (and executed in 1927), even though
the defence produced 107 witnesses that they were elsewhere at the
time, and in 1925 the actual murderer came forward and gave himself up ... the jury did not believe the defence
witnesses because they were all Italian immigrants.
Immigrants
ALL Americans were immigrant families, of course, but until 1890 most immigrants were 'WASPs' (white AngloSaxon Protestants) from the wealthier countries of Europe such as Britain, Germany and Sweden. After 1890,
more immigrants started arriving from Eastern Europe and Asia.
Demand was growing, however, to slow down immigration and there followed a number of laws and quotas to
restrict immigration:
a. 1917:

Immigration Law

This required all immigrants to prove they could read English, banned all immigration from Asia, and charged an
immigration fee of $8.
b. 1921:

Emergency Quota Act

This stated that the number of immigrants from 'the eastern hemisphere' could not be more than 3% of the
number already in America in 1910. It set the maximum number of immigrants in any year at 357,000.
c. 1924: Reed-Johnson Act
Maximum number of immigrants in any year at 154,000. Quota from eastern hemisphere reduced to 2% of
those already in America in 1890; the South and the East of Europe were thus only allowed to send 20,000
immigrants per year, and non-Europeans only 4,000.

The Wall Street Crash

The crash happened in 1929.
Causes:
1.

over-production companies were making more consumer goods than they

could sell which then caused prices to fall and unemployment to rise.

2. unequal distribution of wealth even though there had been lots of

money in the 1920s it had not been shared out fairly, they rich had got
richer and the poor often got poorer.
3. high import tariffs on American goods - meant that countries outside of the US made their own
tariffs that made American goods too expensive to buy in the rest of the world. So when the domestic
market became saturated there was nowhere else for the American companies to sell to.
4. speculation on the stock market inexperienced people had invested heavily in the shares during the
1920s hoping to make some fast money. Once companies started to fall in value panic selling began and
this then finally triggered the crash.

The Consequences of the Depression

Shareholders and businesses lost millions of dollars, industrial production
dropped by 45% and 5,000 banks went out of business.
By 1932 America was in the greatest economic depression in its history. Over 13
million people were unemployed.
Farmers lost their land and more workers were forced to leave the land to find
work. They became known as hobos. This situation
was made even worse by the fact that overproduction in the 1920s had caused the
dustbowl so that many areas of farmland were no longer suitable for growing
crops or keeping animals.
In cities many people also lost their houses and had to live in shanty towns
called Hoovervilles.
There were no welfare systems (benefits etc) in place to help people so the
situation continued to get worse.
People became so poor that they could not afford to feed themselves and had to join breadlines where they
could queue up to get food supplied by charities.
People started to hate President Hoover because he refused to recognise the probl ems.
When some ex-army soldiers went to the White House to ask to be paid their pensions early Hoover turned
the army on them and even let them use tear gas. The protesters became known as the Bonus Army and people
all around American were shocked and outraged at the treatment ex-servicemen received on Hoovers orders.
All across America people began protesting against the government and violence often broke out.
America then recalled its loans to European countries from WWI. This had a devastating impact, causing the
depression to become global.

The 1932 Election

Despite the huge economic problems after 1929 President Hoover insisted that
prosperity is just around the corner. This made people hate Hoover, they were angry
that he was doing nothing to help them. A popular slogan at the time was In Hoover we
trusted and now we are busted!
Hoover was called a do nothing President. This was no entirely fair, he had tried to help
the banks and to persuade business leaders to improve wages, he
passed a Bill in 1932 that allowed Congress to spend $2.1 billion on
creating new jobs. However his heavy import duties on strangled
international trade and made the economic problems worse. Ultimately the Republicans
believed in laissez faire and blamed the Depression on European countries.
As a result of his refusal to help the poor Hoover lost the 1932 election to the Democrat candidate, Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Unlike Hoover, Roosevelt believed in strong active government to improve the lives of ordinary
people. He planned to spend public money to create jobs and solve social problems.
Roosevelt was also keen to seek advice on important issues from a range of experts
including factory owners and union leaders.
During the election campaign Roosevelts aims were deliberately vague but he realised
that people wanted change. He travelled the country by train, covering 20,800 km and
making important speeches in which he promised the people a New Deal. This was the

first time that a presidential candidate had travelled the country to personally address so
many people and impressed the public.
The election was a landslide victory for the Democrats and Roosevelt. He won by 7 million
votes. It was the worst defeat that the Republicans had ever suffered.
The First New Deal
Roosevelt persuaded Congress to give him emergency powers from 9 March to 16 June 1933 (the 'Hundred
Days'). However many of Roosevelt's ideas were not new (some just copied Hoover's).
1. Confidence:
Roosevelt undertook a series of measures to keep the American people on his side.
a. Abolished Prohibition
- He said: I think this would be a good time for a beer. This restored faith in the government because it
stopped the humiliation of the governments laws being openly ignored.
- (It also increased the governments revenues.)
b. Fireside Chats
- FDR described his policies in radio broadcasts called fireside chats.
- FDR also made sure that everyone who sent him a letter got a reply (he got up to 8,000 letters a day), and that
everyone who telephoned the White House was never cut off.
c. Bank holiday
- The Emergency Banking Act closed the banks for four days. The government checked that all were financially
sound, and when they reopened, they reopened with the backing of the Federal Reserve.
- This restored confidence in the banks, and people deposited their money there again.
d. Stock Exchange
- The Securities and Exchange Commission introduced rules for the Stock Exchange to prevent another Crash
like 1929.
2. Finance and Economy:
Roosevelt then made changes to make the economy more stable.
a. Budget
- He did not run deficit budgets (i.e. it did not spend more than it gathered
in taxes).
- He CUT the pay of government employees by 15%.
(These measures actually made the depression worse.)
- The government borrowed huge amounts of money to finance the New
Deal, but it spent it on projects that were planned to pay back eventually.
b. Bankruptcies
- The Farm Loan Act and the Bankruptcy Act prevented banks from closing
failing businesses until they had had a chance to borrow from the Federal
Reserve.
- The Home Loan Act and the Home Owners Loan Corporation did the same for ordinary home owners.
c. Prices and Wages
- The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) paid farmers to take fields out of production; the idea of this was to
stop over-production and to drive up prices.
- The NRA (National Recovery Administration) was set up, where businessmen joined a Roll of Honour (and were
allowed to show a blue eagle symbol) where they promised to cut production and pay good wages 2.5 million
firms, employing 22 million people, joined the scheme.
- FDR also abolished Child Labour this put more adults into work.
d. Currency
- FDR stopped people owning gold (they had to deposit it in banks)
- made the banks give all the gold to the government
- increased the price of gold from $20 to $35 an ounce.
This stopped people hoarding/saving their money, and increased the amount of government reserves. Since the
dollar was still linked to gold, moreover, many foreign investors bought American dollars for gold, which increased

the amount of government reserves.

3. Alphabet Agencies:
FDR set up what came to be called the alphabet agencies because their names
were reduced to acronyms. The main ones were:
a. CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps):
provided paid conservation work to give unemployed young men jobs by 1941,
2.5 million had taken part PLUS millions of trees
panted/ parks and forest areas developed
b. FERA
(Federal
Emergency
Relief
Administration): provided matched funding to help
states organise payments to the unemployed and
homeless.
c. WPA (Works Progress Administration):
ran projects which provided work for the unemployed, e.g. building airports, schools,
hospitals or bridges millions earned a small wage and felt valuable.
d. TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority):
built 21 dams in ten years stopped flooding, provided cheap electricity and provided work.
Second New Deal
In 1935, Roosevelt's New Deal was still hugely popular with the people, but it was running into opposition.
The most important elements of this opposition were:
1. The Supreme Court, which ruled that the NRA and the AAA were illegal, because they took away the
right of states to run their own affairs.
2. Some businessmen, who attacked and ignored the NRA saying that it was expensive and wasteful.
Republicans also agreed with this point of view because they believed in a laissez faire approach to the
economy and said that if poor people suffered it was their own fault for being lazy!
Therefore, in the run up to the 1936 election and after it, Roosevelt followed a much more radical
'reform' agenda.
1. National Labour Relations Act (1935):
Also known as the Wagner Act.
To replace the banned NRA.
Protected workers' right to join a trade union.
Set up the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) to prevent employers from victimising workers.
2. Soil Conservation Act (1935):
To replace the banned AAA.
Allowed the government to continue subsidising farmers.
3. Social Security Act (1935):
Provided America's first system of social welfare.
set up a national system of old-age pensions
gave help to people with physical disabilities
gave help to children in need
set up a national system of unemployment insurance.
4. National Housing Act (1937):
Provided loans to buy houses
Reduced excessive rents.
5. Fair Labour Standards Act (1938):
Set hours and conditions of work
Fixed a minimum wage.

How successful was the New Deal?

Successes 5Rs
1. Relief
Millions of people received relief, help with their mortgage, jobs etc. from the alphabet agencies.
2. Roads and buildings
The WPA and the TVA provided valuable economic and social infrastructures, such as roads, airports, schools,
theatres, dams etc.
3. Reform
Roosevelt's new laws about social security/ minimum wage/ labour relations and trade unions survived and
protected ordinary peoples rights and conditions.
4. Roosevelt became the people's hero - he was elected four times.
5. Repercussions
Democracy survived in America (unlike Italy and Germany).

The New Deal became a model of how a democratic

government ought to behave - arguably influenced the British Welfare State of 1948.

And in 1998, when the

Labour Government of Britain was trying to introduce new laws to help poor people, it called it: a New Deal.
Weaknesses and Failings 3Ds
1. Did not end the Depression
- indeed, Roosevelt's insistence on a balanced budget, healthy interest rates and sound money may have helped
to continue it. Roosevelt had no new ideas how to end the depression just Hoovers schemes only bigger.

By

1935 he had failed to end unemployment (which was only down to 10.6 million), and although unemployment fell to
7.7 million in 1937 when Roosevelt tried to cut back government expenditure in 1938, it rose again to 10.4
million. It is not really fair to criticise Roosevelt for this - no one at that time knew how to end the Depression but the Depression did not end until the Second World War got production going again.
2. Damaged Blacks and immigrants
in fact, many were laid off as a direct result of the New Deals attempts to give workers rights.
3. Determined Opposition (BRASS)
a

Businessmen hated the New Deal because it interfered with their

businesses and supported workers rights.

betraying his class.

Rich people accused Roosevelt of

Henry Ford hired thugs to attack his trade union

workers.
b

Republicans hated the expenditure, which they said was wasteful

(boondoggling jobs for the sake of jobs). They believed that poor people
were responsible for their own problems and that it was not the job of the
government to look after them.

After 1938, Republicans took over the

Senate, and Roosevelt was unable to get any more New Deal legislation through.
c Activists like Huey Long (Senator for Louisiana who started a Share the Wealth campaign to confiscate
fortunes over $3m) and Francis Townsend (who campaigned for a pension of $200 a month) said it did not go
far enough to help people.
d State governments opposed the New Deal, saying that the Federal government was taking their powers.
e The Supreme Court ruled that the NRA codes of employers conduct, and the AAA programme, were illegal
because they took away the States powers.

Because of this, in 1937, Roosevelt threatened to force old

Supreme Court judges to retire and to create new ones; the crisis was averted when the Supreme Court
reversed its decisions.

Practice Exam Questions

Four Mark Questions
Describe the American cinema and movie industry in the 1920s.
What actions did Roosevelt take in his first hundred days in office?
What benefits did WWI bring to the American economy?
Briefly describe the main features of the economic boom in the 1920s.
Describe the Republican governments economic policies in the 1920s.
Describe the ways the lives of American women changed in the 1920s.
What problems did black people face in the USA during the 1920s?
Describe how the authorities tried to enforce prohibition.
Describe the main features of the Stock Market speculation in the USA during the 1920s.
Describe the social effects of the New Deal.
What was the Ku Klux Klan?
Six Mark Questions
Explain why farmers did not share in the economic prosperity of the 1920s.
Explain why Sacco and Vanzetti were executed.
Explain why the lifestyle of some women changed in the 1920s.
Explain why some people opposed the New Deal.
Explain the problems faced by farmers in the 1920s.
Why did the Republicans introduce new economic policies in the 1920s?
Explain why prohibition failed.
Explain why the Wall Street crash happened in 1929.
Explain the effects of the Wall Street Crash.
Explain why President Hoover had become unpopular by 1932.
Explain why Roosevelt introduced the New Deal.
Explain why there was opposition to the New Deal.

Ten Mark Questions

To what extent was the economic boom of the 1920s caused by new methods of production? Explain your
answer. [10]
Prohibition ended because it encouraged gangsters. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your
answer. [10]
Americans were intolerant in the 1920s. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10]
The New Deal was a success. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10]
How far did all Americans benefit from the economic boom of the 1920s?
The most important factor enabling American industry to boom during the 1920s was the development of mass
production. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.

The most important factor enabling American industry to boom during the 1920s was the automobile industry.
How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
The most important factor enabling American industry to boom during the 1920s was the Republican
government policies. How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
How far did hatred and freedom both exist in American society in the 1920s? Explain your answer.
How far was America fair and free in the roaring twenties? Explain your answer.
The most serious consequence of the Wall Street Crash was the closure of many US banks. How far do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer.
The following were consequences of the Wall Street Crash in the USA between 1929 and 1932:
i.
Mass unemployment
ii.
The collapse of banks
iii.
Homelessness
Which of these consequences do you think was most important? Explain your answer referring to only i. ii. and
iii.
Did the New Deal make the lives of all American people better? Explain your answer.
How successful was the New Deal? Explain your answer.