AMERICA

• Why did people want to come to the USA?

  PUSH:

  • escaping poverty
  • bad harvests

  PULL:

  • plentiful land
  • job opportunities
• What was the open door policy

  It was designed to make immigration into america as easy as possible in hopes of immigrants being workers and boosting the economy.

  • By 1919, over 40 million people had arrived
• Why did xenophobia increase?

  The government did not believe that the new immigrants enriched life and culture, so they passed laws restricting immigration.
• Literacy Act

  • 1917
  • had to pass reading and writing tests
• Emergency quota act

  • 1921
  • Restricted number of immigrants to 350,000 per year
• National origins act

  • 1924
  • prohibited immigrants from Asia
• Immigration act

  • 1929
  • restricted immigration further
• What was the red scare?

  Many Americans were scared by the communist Russian Revolution of 1917. They were scared that immigrants would spread communist and anarchist ideas.

  • from 1919-1820 there were thousands of strikes which added to the fear that a communist revolution would happen.
  • there was also multiple bombings including one of Mitchell Palmer in 1919
• What were the Palmer Raids?

  The US attorney general, Mitchell Palmer organised attacks against left wing organisations.

  • over 6,000 were arrested and held in prison without a hearing
  • jewish, black and catholic people were particularly targeted. they were deported
• Who were Sacco and Vanzetti?

  Italian immigrants who avoided serving in WW1

  • in May 1920 they were arrested and accused of armed robbery.
  • During the court case in 1921, Judge Thayer was prejudiced against them and they were executed in 1927.
  • This case highlighted the attitudes and discrimination immigrants experienced.
• What happened to native Americans

  They had been forced to live in poor quality land where they were encouraged to reject their own culture and their children were sent to boarding schools to be westernised.

  • they gained citizenship in 1924 but continued to be treated as second class citizens and remained victims of racial intoleranae
• THE MONKEY TRIAL

  • 1925
  • The teachings of Darwin were prohibited in many states
  • John Scopes taught Darwins teachings to his students in Tennessee and lost his court case
  • the case was important because it showed that some christian fundamentalists were trying to curb freedom of thought.
• South to North migration

  • black people did not benefit from the flourishing economy of the 20s, especially in the South were the economy was based on agriculture and crop prices fell.
  • Between 1916-1920 almost 1 million black people went north in the great migration in search of better jobs and standards of living
  • they received low pay and lived in poor neighbourhoods called ghettos
• What was the KKK

  A racist group established by WASPS

  • revived in 1915 following the release of birth of a nation
  • They often killed black people by lynching - those responsible were rarely brought to justice because they had police and government connections.
  • lynchings, mutilations and kidnappings were very common
  • in 1925, membership had risen to 5 million
  • KKK experienced a sharp decline in 1925 when their leader was convicted
• How did black people respond?

  1. NAACP - focused on opposing segragation and racism through legal methods

  • founded in 1910
  • believed in peaceful, non violent protests in order to fight for civil rights

  1. UNIA - encouraged black people to start their own businesses

  • believed that black people should celebrate their color and heritage
• When did prohibition begin?

  • in 1920 the 18th amendment came into force, making it illegal to sell or consume alcohol in America
• Life under prohibition

  Demand for alcohol remained high so gangsyers sold it illegally

  • bootleggers sold illegal alcohol
  • rum runners smuggled alcohol in from canada and mexico
  • speakeasies were illegal drinking bars and by 1925 there were 10,000 in New York alone
  • government prohibition agents were too few in number to enforce the prohibition law and they were often open to bribery
• Saint Valentines Day Massacre

  • Al Capone bribed police officers and built up a large organised crime empire
  • 14th February 1929 was the climax of the war between Bugs Moran and Al Capone.
  • Al Capone's men killed 7 of Bugs Moran's
  • he was found guilty of tax evasion in 1931
• Who were Harding and his Ohio gang?

  • In 1920 Harding was elected as president but he had a reputation for being a weak leader by giving influential posts to friends
  • The Ohio gang were a group of politicians in charge during his rule who were involved in scandals and corruption:
  • Teapot dome scandal - albert fall received illegal payments from oil companies that hoped to benefit
• Long term causes of the economic boom

  • USA had an essential supply of natural resources which were utilised by the plentiful and cheap labour of immigrants
  • During ww1 US banks loaned money to Europe and american businesses sold much needed goods.
  • Electrification allowed the development of factories and mass production.
  • protectionism - the republican governments used taxes and import quotas to protect American businesses
• HENRY FORD

  • As he produced more cars he could make them cheaper. He introduced mass production. By 1929 a car was being made every 10 seconds and 23 million Americans owned cars
  • Workers earned good wages and roads, petrol stations, and hotels were built therefore the entire economy was boosted by the car industry
• SHORT TERM CAUSES OF BOOM

  • electrification - spread of electricity provided cheap and reliable power for the US economy
  • growth in consumerism - wages increased and more consumer products were available. Cheap credit meant people could buy consumer goods, even if they didn't have the full sum of money.
  • growth of stock market - the values of stocks rose and more ordinary Americans began to speculate on the stock market.
  • speculation - people became over-confident in buying shares, they believed that prices would continue to rise and bought on the margin, assuming they would make a profit.
• Attitudes of Republican presidents

  HARDING - 1921-23

  • Laissez faire - reduced taxes to give businesses more money and introduced protectionism

  COOLRIDGE - 1923-29

  • Laissez faire

  HOOVER - 1929-32

  • Believed in rugged individualism
• Who didn't prosper ?

  • FARMERS - too many crops produced so prices fell and farmers got into debt. By 1929 half of americans farmers were living in poverty
  • BLACK - labourers or sharecroppers

  Jim Crow laws and segregation made life harder and triggered migration
• LONG TERM REASONS FOR THE END OF PROSPERITY

  1. Overproduction in agriculture and industry - too many consumer goods - factories cut wages and prices - people ran out of money
  2. Boom in land and property prices - house and land prices grew sharply and many borrowed money to buy property. people tried to sell their houses but they were in negative equity. the economy was slowing down.
  3. poorly regulated banking and financial sector - many small banks failed to keep enough cash reserves for demand.
• SHORT TERM REASONS FOR THE END OF PROSPERITY

  • Stock market - share proces rose too much
  • Overspeculation - 75% of shares were bought on the margin
• THE WALL STREET CRASH

  • September 1929 people started panic-selling shares
  • October 29th 1919 16 million shares were sold and the stock market collapsed
  • The roaring 20s came to a sudden end - investors lost money, debts couldn't be payed, lots of unemployment.
• Why did cinemas increase in popularity?

  • there was increased leisure time
  • improved transport meant people could get to cinemas
  • increased disposable income
  • cheap
  • luxurious and pleasant places to socialise
  • first talking film called 'The jazz singer' in 1927
• Name 2 big movie stars

  • Clara Bow
  • Valentino

  By 1929 110 million americans went to the cinema weekly
• What was THE HAYS CODE

  • 1930
  • people who opposed the cinema
  • especially religious people were worried about lack of morals and the influence of film on young people
  • Its stated:
  • no nudity
  • kiss for limited time
  • adultry couldnt be portrayed as good
• JAZZ

  • originated in south in early 1900s
  • became popular in new nightclubs and speakeasies
  • led to young people smoking, dancing and behaving indecently
  • linked to freedom of new lifestyles
• RADIO

  • mass production, electrification, and buying on hire-purchase meant that by 1929 50 million people owned radios.
  • daily dramas started and they were often sponsored by soap companies
  • sports and jazz music were broadcasted
• WOMEN BEFORE THE WAR

  • girls expected to dress and behave properly and always be accompanied.
  • couldn't smoke
  • only traditional jobs
  • no right to vote
  • middle and upper class women lived secluded lives
• WOMEN DURING THE WAR

  • women started to be employed in different types of jobs, replacing men who had gone to war.
  • machines such as washing machines freed women from time-consuming jobs and gave them more free time
  • by 1930, 2 million more women were employed in the USA
  • office work, teaching and healthcare gave women greater leisure and work opportunities
• AFTER WAR

  • organisations had been fighting for years to get the vote for women. As they contributed so much to the war effort, it was difficult to refuse their demands.
  • 19th amendment became law in 1920, giving women the right to vote.
• FLAPPERS

  • young women of the 20s who wore short skirts and rebelled against the old fashioned clothes of their mothers eras.
  • they drank, smoked and danced
  • petting parties were when they kissed men in public
  • cut their hair short
• WHO ENJOYED THIS

  Only the young and rich enjoyed this way of life. Many older and religious people rejected these changes nd poor women didn't have enough time or money.
• WHY was there a growing demand to restrict immigration into the US?

  • 'new' immigrants arriving from eastern Europe were seen as different from protestant, northern European immigrants. 'old; Americans felt increasingly swamped by these new immigrants.
  • The new immigrants had little to offer to the USA - they were often poor, illiterate, and coudn't speak English.
  • xenophobia - old immigrants believed that WASPs were the ideal Americans and looked down on new immigrants.
  • they were scared of the communist Russian revolution of 1917.
• why was prohibition introduced?

  • alcohol caused an increase in crime
  • pressure from groups such as the anti-saloon league
  • alcohol was linked to inefficiency at work
• Impacts of economic boom

  • hire purchase allowed consumers to pay for products in instalments.
  • companies invested in advertising campaigns to increase sales and profits.
  • department stores - shops which sold a large range of products in one place and were cheap.