USA

• when did ww1 break out

  1914
• why was there an economic boom in 1920s, the first world war -

  - it took the USA two years to join WW1, they joined in 1916.- they avoided the war due to a policy called isolationism, it allowed them to prosper fincancially
• why was there an economic boom in 1920s, the consumer societies -

  - in 1916, only 15% of American homes had electricity. But nearly 70% had it by 1927. - workers began to spend their money on electric devices such as vacuum cleaners, radios, toasters and refrigerators. - Huge demand for these products created jobs in factories that made them
• why was there an economic boom in 1920s, republic governmet policies -

  - they adopted a laissez-faire (free market) policy. This meant that big businesses were free to expand without being held back by the government.- In 1922, Harding introduced the Fordney - McCumber Tariff Act which imposed a tax on goods from foreign countries. - This made foreign goods more expensive than domestic goods, and so this encouraged americans to purchase american goods only- the name for this policy was protectionism.- Hoover believed in Laissez-faire but also in rugged individualism. This meant that people should not depend on the government for help.
• define the laissez-faire policy


  this approach allowed the government to step away from the people and businesses, businesses were free to expand and the government believed in the trickle down theory, if businesses were thriving so were the people. tax cuts for the wealthy, protective tariffs and limited gov spending were also introduced.
• why was there an economic boom in 1920s, growing industries and mass production -

  - the growth of the motor industry was a massive boost for the US economy. - Car production used 20% of america's steel, 65% of its leather and over 75% of its rubber and glass. - More jobs were created
• why was there an economic boom in 1920s, new ways to buy and sell -

  - effective advertising campaigns were used to sell products, billboards, newspapers and magazines urges people to buy the latest gadget. - People took advantage of the 'buy now, pay later' schemes
• loosers of the boom: farmers

  - farmers produced too many crops to sell, prices fell and they en- farmers produced too many crops to sell, prices fell and they ended up borrowing from the government. this put many in dept until they had to sell their land, many wondered america looking for work (called hobos)- by 1928 half of all USA farmers were living in poverty, 600,000 farmers lost their farms in 1924 alone.
• loosers of the boom

  - farmers- african americans- native americans- immigrants- traditional industrys (coal, cotton, ship building)- The richest 5% earned 33% of all money in america. Tax records from over $1 million in 1921, 75 in 1924 and 207 in 1926. There were an estimated 15,000 US millionaires by 1927. In contrast, a million families had an income of less that $100 a year
• loosers of the boom: traditional industrys

  - coal - coal prices fell and thousands had to be made redundant because the industry was producing too much coal and not enough people and countries wanted to buy it.- ship building - another major industry that had to make thousands redundant due to a reduction in the demand for new ships- cotton - new synthetic fibres were being developed. Such as rayon, this became a very popular substitute to cotton. It was possible to produce rayon in factories where fewer workers were needed
• loosers of the boom: african americans

  - the segregation that was happening in the southern states (Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi) made the situation for black people even worse. - White and black people lived separately - they had different education, transport and housing facilities. They were not allowed to use the same toilets and water wells. - Anyone who tried to improve the rights of african americans were challenged and threatened by the Ku Klux Klan. as a result, thousands of black people moved to northern cities like new york, detroit and chicago to look for work, but when they got there they had to live in the ghettos
• loosers of the boom: native americans

  - much of their land had been seized by mining companies and their traditional way of life had disappeared when they had been forced to move to reservations. The soil on these reservations was often too poor thay it was nearly impossible to grow crops- Many immigrants had not been educated and were willing to work in any kind of job for very low wages. Because of this, they endured more and more prejudice
• what was the red scare

  an increase in xenophobia and racial persecution in the USA occuring in the 1920s due to the fear of communism spreading
• the palmer raids

  - Mitchell Palmer claimed there were around 150,000 communists living in the country (0.1% of the population).- He started rumours that they had infiltrated congress. He said they were working on behalf of the US government to spread communism- He used the red scare as an excuse to organise attacks against left-wing organisations
• concequenses of the palmer raids -

  - 6000 people, who were mostly not communist supporters, were arrested and held in prison without a trial- 556 of them were also deported on flimsy evidence under the 1918 alien act- People used the raids as an excuse to attack any group they disliked or distrusted- Trade unions were weakened by palmer's rumours and raids because they were branded un-american
• sacco and vanseti case

  the case of two italian imigrants who were accused of robbery and murder, they spoke little english. - in april 1920, in south braintree two men robbed a shoe factory, killing the paymaster and getting away with $15,000 and a stolen carwhen sacco and vanseti were investigated they had anti-government panflets and guns in their car, when arrested they couldnt prove where they had been at the time of the crime. - may 1921 they were tried, public opinion was against them as they were tried at the hight of the redscare.- judge webster thayer was prejudice against them- they had a defence team of 107 people stating they had not been at the scene of the crime that night- prosecution had 61 witnesses who said they had seen the men commit the crime and they were believed
• what were the three laws congress passed to restrict immigrants and what did they consist of

  1. The literacy test, 1917: immigrants had to pass a series of reading and writing tests2. The emergency quota act, 1921: this law restricted the number of immigrants to 357,000 per year, and also set down a quota. Only 3% of the total population of any overseas group already in the USA in 1910 could come into america after 19213. The national origins act, 1924: this law reduced the maximum number of immigrants to 150,000 per year and cut the quota to 2%, based on the population of the USA in 1890
• why did many americans disapprove of the governments open door policy

  by 1920, americans feared the economic, political and social impact of imigration- they were taking the jobs that americans thought should be theirs- they drove down wages bc there were so many of them competing for jobs- their overcrowded slums were linked to crime, violence and prostitution
• what was prohibition and when was it introduced

  In 1920, the 18th amendment was passed making the manufacture and sale of alcohol illegal, but many people in this time of 'prohibition' continued to drink and gangsters made enormous amounts of money from supplying illegal liquor
• why prohbition was introduced

  1. National mood - when America entered the war in 1917, the national mood also turned against drinking alcohol. The anti-saloon league argued that drinking alcohol was damaging american society2. Practical - a ban on alcohol would boost supplies of important grains such as barley3. Religious - the consumption of alcohol went against god's will4. Moral - many agreed that it was wrong for some americans to enjoy alcohol while the country's young men were at war
• what prohibition resulted in

  prohibition resulted in a high demand of illegal alcohol from the public. gang leaders such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran battled for control of chicagos illegal drinking dens (speakeasies)
• why prohibiton failed

  21st amendment reversed prohibition - introduced feb 19331. There weren't enough prohibition agents to inforce the law - only 1,500 in 19202. The site of america's boundaries made it hard for these agents to control smuggling by bootleggers3. The low salary paid to the agents made it easy to bribe them4. Many americans never gave their support to prohibition and were willing to drink in speakeasies5. Gangsters such as Al Capone made money from organised crime.6. Protection rackets, organised crime and gangland murders were more common during prohibition than when alcohol could be bought legally
• Al Capone

  Capone claimed that he was only a businessman, but between 1927 and 1930 more than 500 gangland murders took place. The most infamous incident was the St Valentine's day Massacre in 1929 when Capone's men killed seven members of his rival Moran's gang while Capone lay innocently on a beach in Florida.
• changing the role of women - impact of the first world war

  - During the war, women started to be employed in different types of jobs e.g. factory work, replacing the men who had gone to fight in the war in europe- Organisations such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) had been fighting for decades to get the vote for women. As women had contributed so much to the war effort, it was difficult to refuse their demands for political equality. As a result, the nineteenth amendment to constitution became law in 1920, giving women the right to vote- Independent women of the middle classes and above had more money to spend. Because of this, advertising companies started targeting women in their campaigns to encourage them to buy their new products.
• changing the role of women - Changing attitudes towards social etiquette:


  - The young women of the 1920s were referred to as flappers. Hollywood films of the period characterised them, and as a result, their behaviour and dress sense was imitated by millions around the world.- One famous flapper of the time was Joan Crawlord. She started her career as a dancer on broadway before moving to hollywood to make a name for herself, she starred in films such as paris (1926) and the unknown (1927) in which she became famous for her flapper style. Many young girls admired her and copied her style. In 1929, she married Douglas Fairbanks jr. son of Douglas Fairbanks. Which proved her important status in society- The jazz clubs played a crucial role in allowing the flappers to express themselves. This is where they could smoke and dance. They also drank illegal alcohol in the speakeasies. Instead of dancing the waltz that was popular in the period before the war, people started to engoy more daring dances such as the shimmy and the Bunny Hug- Petting Parties began where the flappers would kiss men in public.- Women in the 'bible bell' (southern states) did not adopt the new way of life. Also, many older women were outraged and some formed the anti-flirt club
• when did the wall street crash occur

  1929
• long term causes of the crash -

  - Overproduction and underconsumption in agriculture - as farming techniques improved, farmers started producing more food. However the demand for grain fell in America because of changes in tastes in food. Thousands of farmers fell into crippling debt, could not pay their mortgages and so became unemployed after having to sell their farms or being evicted- in 1924, 620,000 farmers lost their farms- Overproduction and underconsumption of consumer goods - mass production methods led to supply outstripping demand. People who could afford items, such as cars and household gadgets, had already purchased them. also, people in agriculture and the traditional industries, who were on low wages, could not afford consumer goods.- Protectionism - America tried to sell its surplus goods in europe. However, the Fordney McCumber tariff act 1922 had led to european countries imposing tariffs on american goodsDebt increasing: a lot of Americans bought goods on hire purchase. As a result, they owed money to top shops and credit companies. Many of these businesses went into financial difficulties when people failed to pay their debts- Laissez-faire - banks were not regulated. There were very few ñarge banks in america, but there was a huge number of small ones which were unstable and did not have the financial resources to cope with the rush for money when the wall street crash happened
• short term causes of the crash -

  1. When Herbert Hoover became president in 1929, people thought he would increase tariffs because he had promised to do this in the election campaign, this boosted trading in shares on the stock market, which pushed prices up further.2. When the senate blocked Hoover's plans on tariffs people began selling their shares. This meant prices started tp drop sharply. Experiences investors knew the american economy was slowing down and that shares were over-valued3. In September 1929, their lack of confidence in the prices of shares meant they began selling them in large numbers. This caused prices to drop further, by October, many more people started feeling nervous and panicked. They rushed to sell their shares.4. On October 24th, black Thursday, 12.8 million shares were sold. Prices plummeted and the stock market began to crumble5. On october 29th, 1929, black tuesday. The collapse of the economy was complete. 16 million shares were sold at a fraction of the price. Thousands of people saw their fortune invested in shares, or any money they had in the bank, disappear. The stock market in new york had now collapsed.
• How did Hoover respond to the Great Depression? action he took to help -

  1. He introduced the Howley-Smoot act 1930 which increased tariffs by 50% an imported manufactured items, aimed to help industry sell more home-produced things2. The reconstruction finance corporation (RFC) was established in 1932 which provided loans totaling $1,500 million to rescue businesses, banks and insurance companies3. Initially he cut taxes by $130 million to stimulate investment, but in 1932 they were increased on businesses to help balance the budget.4. He made $300 million available to states to help the unemployed, but only $30 million was given out
• how did the action he took to help make it worse?

  the Howley-Smoot act meant foreign countries retaliated by taxing American goods coming into their areas, so trade fell even further. The loans did not save enough companies. The additional taxes on business did not help balance the budget, plus they made the survival of firms more difficult. Industrial production continued to drop. It decreased by 45% between 1929 and 1932. House-building fell by 92% between 1929 and 1932
• For many workers, the great depression was a period of misery and destitution, this was because..


  - Unemployment increased: it rose from 1.6 million in 1929 to 14 million in 1933 (from 3% to 25% of the workforce) people were desperate for work for example, in 1930 there were 6,000 men on the streets of new york trying to survive by selling apples- Wages fell: as competition for jobs increased, even those in work suffered. Employers reduced wages and increased hours, some government employees, for example teachers, were not paid when city councils went bankrupt- Reliance on charity and relief schemes escalated: america did not have unemployment benefits. Hoover eventually had to lend billions of federal monies to them in 1932 to fund public work schemes. Charities and wealthy individuals stepped in to organise soup kitchens and cheap meal centres. Even Al Capone gave money for a soup kitchen in Chicago. In several cities, the unemployed organised themselves into groups to support eachother.- The biggest protest march was by the bonus army in 1932. The first world war veterans demanded early payment of their $1,000 war bonuses, which were not due until 1945. With their wives and children, 15,000 of them set up camp on Anacostia Fiats, Washington. Hoover accused them of being communists and ordered their removal. They were dispersed by armed troops, cavalry, tanks and tear gas on the command of general MacArthur. Two babies died and many children were injured.
• roosevelt and the 'new deal' - roosevelt had three basic aims which directed his actions:

  - Relief - help the victims of the depression, millions of ordinary americans faced unemployment, hunger and poverty. Roosevelt was demanded to help them

  - Recovery - encourage economic recovery. The depression was a disaster for america. Roosevelt knew that he had to take action to encourage recovery, to get the nation back to work.

  - Reform - reform the economic system. The whole economic system would have to be altered so that there would never again be a depression as bad as the 1930s
• roosevelt and the 'new deal' - three main changes he made

  - Change No.1 - FDR introduced the emergency banking act, which closed backs for a four-day bank holiday. Every bank was inspected and only honest, well-run banks could re-open. When the banks reopened people put money back into their accounts. Well-run banks could now lend money to well-run businesses - this would create jobs as businesses expanded- Change No.2 - FDR introduced the economy act, this cut the pay of everyone working for the government and the armed forces by 15%. This saved nearly $1 billion- Change No.3 - FDR introduced the beer act, this made it legal to produce and sell alcohol again, legalising alcohol put the gangsters out of business ad the government could also raise money by taxing alcohol
• alphabet agencies - Federal emergency relief administration (FERA)


  this helped the poor in a number of basic ways, such as giving clothing grants and setting up soup kitchens for the poor. $500 million was given to the homeless and starving
• alphabet agencies - National recovery administration (NRA)

  this tried to help industry and factory workers by increasing wages and improving hours and conditions. In total, 2.5 million firms, employing 22 million workers joined in the scheme
• alphabet agencies - Agricultural adjustment act (AAA)


  this tried to help farmers by controlling farm production and stabilising prices. It was an attempt to end the overproduction and falling agricultural prices that had crippled American farmers. Farmers were paid to destroy food.
• alphabet agencies - Public works administration (PWA)

  this created jobs by paying unemployed people to build schools, bridges and dams. This was replaced by the works progress administration in 1935
• alphabet agencies - Civilian conservation corps (CCC)

  similar to the PWA, this department provided jobs to large number of young men in conservation schemes in the countryside. The CCC created jobs for 2.5 million men
• alphabet agencies - Tennessee valley authority (TVA)


  this scheme brought hyro-electric power to seven states in the tennessee valley, one of the worst affected areas of the country, dams and power-plants were built. Creating many jobs
• faliures of the 'new deal' - Persistent Unemployment:

  - New Deal didn't end unemployment.- 1930s: 1 in 10 unemployed.