America 1920s - 1973

• Racketeering - dishonest business dealings
• constitution - the laws used to govern the USA
• Bill of rights - lists of rights and laws
• Republican - tend to be right wing, anti - immigration, support the rich
• Democrats - tend to be left wing , pro - tax, pro - immigration , pro - integration
• Isolationism - avoiding europe
• Car Industry

  First car was made in 1885. Before the first world war the price of cars meant that only wealthy people could afford them.
• Car Industry

  Mass production meant that the car industry grew significantly in the 1920s. By 1929 there were around 23 million cars in the USA.
• Importance of the Car industry

  Cars gave citizens freedom and fitted into the American Dream

  Created a national network of roads

  US government spent 1 billion a year on highways
• Importance of the Car Industry

  Helped construction industries

  Businesses built petrol stations and hotels outside of towns and next to roads

  Expanded cities and developed suburbs
• Importance of the Car Industry

  Car production supported other industries

  Car industry use 80 percent of the USAs rubber

  Enabled people to travel
• Importance of the Car Industry

  Business men like Henry Ford became powerful. They influenced government policy and use some of their money to build hospitals, schools and orphanages.
• Impact of the Radio (Roaring 20s)

  Radio was the most popular entertainment medium. By the end of the 1920s there were hundreds of radio stations.
• Impact of the Radio (Roaring 20s)

  Radio was able to reach across the USA. There was radio coverage to the smallest and most remote settlements in the USA which meant that:

  These places received news faster

  New and different ideas spread to these areas
• Impact of the Radio (Roaring 20s)

  Some people were illiterate in the USA. Radio was a way of communicating info to all citizens regardless of whether they could read or write.
• Impact of the Radio (Roaring 20s)

  Radio improved day-to-day life of people in USA. Companies sponsored radio programmes or created radio adverts. This contributed to the boom in the 1920s.
• Impact of the Radio (Roaring 20s)

  Radio encouraged the growth of sport as a hobby. There was radio coverage of live sport events such as baseball. People could support teams without having to travel to sporting arenas.

  By 1929 around 10 million homes had a radio.
• Life of Women Before the First World War

  Women didn't drink or smoke

  Most women did not work outside of the household

  If women did work, they had stereotypical jobs such as being a maid

  Regardless of employment status, women were expected to look after children and the men of the household
• Positive Changes to Women in the 1920s - Employment

  Number of women in employment increased by 25 percent

  In 1929 around 10.9 million women worked outside the home

  Boom created more jobs

  Consumer goods (vacuum cleaners washing machines) sped up process of cleaning so they could go to work and look after their home
• Positive Changes to Women in the 1920s - Flappers

  Flappers - Young women who embraced freedom

  Flappers rebelled against the tradition expectations of women by:

  Smoking

  Drinking

  Having short hair

  Wearing short skirts

  Went out without a chaperone

  Owned + drove cars
• Reasons Why some Women didn't experience change

  employment - women were mostly in low-skilled jobs and were paid less than men for the same work

  Politics - Most politicians were men

  Flappers - Many people hated flappers. They mainly affected urban areas. Rural women continued to marry and have children at a young age.
• Prohibition - Why and how it was introduced

  1920 - 1933

  Prohibition goal - Reduce alcohol consumption and its associated social issues
• Prohibition - Why and how it was introduced

  Temperance Movement believed alcohol was responsible for:

  Domestic violence

  Poverty

  Crime

  Decreased work productivity
• Prohibition - Why and how it was introduced

  Religious Influence - Religious people believed that alcohol was sinful and moral evil. It particularly affected urban areas.
• Prohibition - Why and how it was introduced

  Volstead Act - prohibited manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol
• Prohibition - Why and how it was introduced

  Economic + Political factors - Industrialists supported prohibition because they believed that it would increase worker productivity
• Prohibition - Reality + Failure

  Bootlegging - illegal production, distribution and sale of alcohol (Al Capone dominated illegal alcohol trade)

  Speakeasies - illegal bars (often protected by corrupt law enforcement)

  Violence and corruption - Turf Wars (St Valentine's Day Massacre) + corrupt law enforcement

  Smuggling - Boarders (Canada + Mexico) made it easy to smuggle alcohol
• Prohibition - Reality + Failure

  Lack of Public Support - Significant portion of Americans were prepared to break the law + consumed alcohol illegally
• Prohibition - Reality + Failure

  Ineffective Enforcement - Enforcement was underfinance by the government (not enough prohibition agents)
• Prohibition - Reality + Failure

  Loss of Tax Revenue - Alcohol originally generated substantial tax revenues for the government
• Prohibition - Reality + Failure

  Unemployment - Workers in breweries, bars and distilleries became unemployed
• Reasons Why Al Capone evaded capture

  People were too afraid to report his crimes

  He controlled many gangs

  He intimidated and bribed law enforcement
• Al Capone

  Earned 60 million from bootlegging

  Employed 700 men

  1930 - public enemy number 1

  1931 - arrested for tax evasion
• St Valentines Day Massacre

  14th February 1929

  Bugs Moran vs Al Capone - Turf war

  Al Capone ordered his men to take down Bugs Moran's gang

  7 men from Moran's gang were shot dead

  2 men from Al Capones side were disguised as policemen