The USA in the 1920s

The Roaring 20s

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AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM BACKGROUND The 1920 Presidential election was won by the Republican Party candidate Warren Harding. His campaign slogan was a return to normalcy. He wanted to return to the pre-war situation when America avoided foreign entanglements and concentrated on the development of their economy. This proved very popular with the American public who were becoming distrustful of all things foreign. Hardings successor Calvin Coolidge continued to follow isolationist policies during the 1920s The USA did not join the League of Nations and made a separate peace with Germany in 1921.They refused to join any alliances. During the war, millions of refugees from east and south Europe came to America to escape the war. Americans whose families came from north and west Europe worried that people of different religions and cultures would swamp them. In 1917, a literacy test was introduced for immigrants and Asians were no longer allowed to immigrate. There was suspicion of the new immigrants. Many were poor, uneducated and couldnt speak English. They were blamed for rising crime, alcoholism and other social problems. Organisations like WASPs and the Ku Klux Klan spread the belief that America should be a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant country. In 1919, there was a wave of strikes and communist immigrants from Eastern Europe were blamed. The Saco Vanzetti case seemed to prove that many immigrants were un-American and were spreading foreign ideas. Unemployment increased after the war and immigrants were accused of taking jobs from Americans. Public opinion was against the idea of further immigration. The Republicans were in power and immigration cuts were part of their policy of isolationism. Quotas were introduced in 1921, 1923 and 1929 to cut immigration and ensure that most immigrants were from Northern and Western Europe. In 1922 the Fordney-McCumber tariff put a tax on foreign goods to protect American industry from foreign competition. They did not want competitors from Europe to dump cheap goods in America. Most other countries could not afford Americans goods and trade would be mostly one-way. America had very little to gain by trading with other countries. When America introduced tariffs other countries responded by putting tariffs on American goods. This cut American trade with the outside world. Americas new consumer industries benefited from protective tariffs. However, farmers and older industries lost important overseas markets.

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KEY POINTS FOR LEARNING

AMERICAN ISOLATIONISM KP2

QUESTION What is meant by the term isolationism as used to describe American policy after World War 1 ? How did the American government avoid foreign entanglements in the 1920s? Why were many Americans opposed to letting in more immigrants after the war? What measures did the US government bring in to reduce immigration? What was the purpose of the FordneyMcCumber tariffs of 1922? How did the FordneyMcCumber tariffs affect American trade with the rest of the world?

ANSWER NOTES

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The Boom: American prosperity BACKGROUND During the 1920s the USA had the highest standard of living in the world and Americans owned a range of consumer goods that people in other countries could only dream of. The USA had only been involved in the war for around 18 months and did not suffer the damage and losses which crippled the European countries. In fact after the war America was stronger than ever before. American industry and agriculture expanded enormously and American companies made big profits supplying food and war materials to Europe. They also gained overseas markets that European producers could not supply during the war. America was owed millions of dollars from war loans to European governments. Although America was very wealthy after the war, not all Americans were better off. It has been estimated that 30% of the population suffered from poverty and during the boom years of the 1920s the gap between rich and poor grew wider. In the 1920s food prices and housing costs were low. People had more disposable income to spend on consumer goods. Workers in the growing cities had good wages and felt secure enough to borrow for consumer spending. The policies of the Republican Government encouraged domestic demand. Low tax left people with more money to spend and protectionism meant they would buy the products of American industry. The government did not try to interfere in business. New mass production methods enabled more goods to be produced at lower costs than ever before. Consumer goods became more affordable to the average American. For many people there was an element of keeping up with the neighbours and everyone wanted to have the latest products. A range of new products such as cars, radios, refrigerators and other electrical goods became affordable. After 1918 electricity was supplied to most towns and enabled people to use the new consumer products. Credit and hire purchase allowed many Americans to purchase goods without saving for them. Many people made money from share speculation and used this to buy consumer goods. Advertising campaigns persuaded many people to buy new products. New retail outlets such as department stores and mail order catalogues made it easy for people to buy goods. Increased car ownership meant that people were more mobile and could travel to make purchases. American farmers were producing more than they could sell in America and tariffs meant other countries were not willing to buy American farm produce. Overproduction caused prices to fall. Farmers and farm workers on very low wages could not afford consumer goods.

Black sharecroppers in the South suffered from poverty and were victims of racial segregation and violence. Black Americans often found they could only get low paid, unskilled work. Immigrants often could only get low paid unskilled jobs. Workers in older industries such as coal and textiles suffered from low pay as their industries decline. 4 RJH 09

KEY POINTS FOR LEARNING

AMERICAN PROSPERITY IN THE 1920s KP3

QUESTION How did the US economy benefit from the First World War? How did the American governments policy encourage economic growth? Why did many Americans have more money to spend on consumer goods in the 1920s? Why did many consumer goods become cheaper in the 1920s? How did it become easier for Americans to buy the products they wanted in the 1920s? Why did some Americans miss out on the consumer boom of the 1920s?

ANSWER NOTES

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THE ROARING TWENTIES

BACKGROUND At the same time as the economic boom of the 1920s, there were also important social and cultural developments. There was a big shift in population from the countryside to the towns and cities and women achieved greater freedom and equality. The expansion of car ownership created the most mobile society on earth. Americans had money to spend and were determined to enjoy it. However poverty, crime, racial and religious differences continued to be serious problems. In 1920 women were given the right to vote and could become town Mayors, Members of Congress, Senators. More jobs were open to women giving them money and independence.They had more personal freedom in their choice of clothes, make up etc. It became socially acceptable for women to smoke, drink and go to parties etc unaccompanied. (Flappers) Labour saving devices in the home gave housewives more free time. During the 1920s people had money to spend on entertainment. Cinemas opened all over the USA and millions paid to see their favourite movie stars. Radio provided cheap way to advertise . Radio stations held huge audiences with music, drama, sport, comedy, news etc. Sport was popularized by radio broadcasts and cinema newsreels of big events and stadiums were built to hold large crowds Other forms of entertainment also increased dancing/speakeasies/jazz bands/theatre etc. Increased car ownership made it possible to travel long distances to places of entertainment.. After the war there was a growing anti immigrant feeling. This was exploited by the Ku Klux Klan which had 5 million members by 1925. They believed in white supremacy in America. They wanted Protestants to dominate and control America. They wanted to stop further immigration except from White Anglo Saxon Protestant countries. The Klan wanted segregation between blacks and whites and to take away legal rights from blacks. The KKK was a very secretive organisation and used racial violence, terror, murder and lynching to get their way. For some time churches, some businessmen and groups such as the Anti Saloon League campaigned for prohibition. They believed drunkenness and alcoholism was a major social evil. In 1920 the Volstead Act banned alcohol in the USA. This simply led to increased crime. Organised crime (gangsters) took over the manufacture and distribution of alcohol. Thousands of illegal speakeasies were opened to supply alcohol and millions of ordinary Americans broke the law by buying and concealing alcohol. The authorities could not enforce the law and few people were caught. Violent crime increased as gangs fought for control of the trade in alcohol. Gangsters moved into other areas of crime such as gambling and prostitution. Smuggling increased and gangsters such as Al Capone built criminal empires using fear and violence. Corruption increased as gangsters bribed police, judges and politicians.

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THE USA 1919 -1941

KEY POINTS FOR LEARNING

THE ROARING TWENTIES KP4

QUESTION How did the lives of American women change in the 1920s? What changes took place in the entertainment industry in the 1920s?

ANSWER NOTES

What were the aims of the Ku Klux Klan?

What methods did the KKK use to achieve their aims?

Why was prohibition introduced in 1920?

How did prohibition lead to an increase in criminal activity during the 1920s?

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THE WALL STREET CRASH

BACKGROUND At the start of 1929 it seemed to many Americans that the boom years would never end. Herbert Hoover believed that poverty had been conquered. However there were weaknesses in the American economy which would finally end the prosperity that many took for granted. American industry was producing too many consumer goods, which they could not sell. The income gap between rich and poor was too wide and rich people only spent a small proportion of their money on mass produced goods. Wages did not rise fast enough to allow workers to buy all of the goods produced. Many Americans farmers, black Americans and immigrants were too poor to afford consumer goods. By the end of the 1920s the profits of American companies were falling. The economic boom of the 1920s led to over-confidence in the stock market and it became a place for short-term speculation rather than long-term investment. Shares were overpriced because of gambling and the use of credit to buy shares. By 1928 consumer spending and construction was slowing down but share prices continued to rise. People borrowed money to buy shares on the margin, gambling that prices would rise before loans had to be repaid. Brokers charged very high rates of interest on these loans and investors had to pay the full cost of the shares and interest. If share prices had risen all was well - if they did not investors lost their own money and were left with huge debts. On October 24(Black Thursday) share prices began to fall and panic selling caused prices to fall sharply. Financiers led by JP Morgan tried but failed to restore confidence by buying shares to prop up prices. On October 29(Black Tuesday) investors rushed to sell and share prices fell by $40 billion in a single day and by 1930 the value of shares had fallen by 90%.. Many companies were forced out of business. Banks called in loans and companies that could not pay up were declared bankrupt. Loans to consumers also stopped and people were unable to buy goods. Unemployment increased and the demand for goods fell sharply forcing factories to close. People could no longer afford credit repayments and companies lost income. Hundreds of banks closed because of stockmarket losses and bad debts. Rich people lost money but many of them could afford the loss. Many small investors lost all the money they had and were left with huge debts that they could not repay. People lost their savings their homes and their jobs. Suicides reached their highest level ever as people who lost everything took their own lives. Between the crash of 1929 and the election of 1932 unemployment increased from around 2 million to over 12 million. The boom years were over and the Great Depression had begun. The Wall Street Crash was not the only reason for this but the loss of confidence would take a very long time to rebuild.

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THE WALL STREET CRASH

QUESTION Why did the price of the shares of US companies rise rapidly in the 1920s? Why was the consumer boom slowing down by the end of 1920s?

ANSWER NOTES

Explain the practice of buying stocks on the margin?

What events led to the Wall Street Crash?

How were investors affected by the stockmarket crash?

Why did the Wall Street Crash lead to high levels of unemployment in America?

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Unit 2; Twentieth Century Depth Studies Exam Questions.

Section A
2.3 The Roaring Twenties : USA, 1919-1929
Total for this question: 20 marks The Roaring 20s: USA, 19181929 3 Study Sources E and F and then answer all three parts of Question 3 which follow. In your answers you should refer to the sources by their letters. Source E Immigration and the quota system of 1921. The quota system was set up in 1921. It was a victory for the WASPs. They had little respect for the southern and eastern Europeans who were most of the immigrants between 1900 and 1920.

Source F The importance in peoples lives of the American stock market This cartoon comes from the New York Magazine in 1927. It shows a man in hospital about to have an operation but still worrying about his investments.

(a) What does Source E suggest about American attitudes towards immigrants? (4 marks) (b) Explain the consequences of Prohibition for the USA in the 1920s. (6 marks) (c) How useful is Source F to an historian studying attitudes towards the stock market in the USA in the 1920s? Use Source F and your knowledge to explain your answer. (10 marks)

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Total for this question: 20 marks The Roaring 20s: USA, 19181929 3 Study Sources E and F and then answer all three parts of Question 3 which follow. In your answers you should refer to the sources by their letters.

Source E

Attitudes to American involvement in European affairs after the First World War

In 1917 millions of Americans supported President Wilsons decision to involve the USA in the First World War. It was a crusade to make the world stable and democratic. However, after the war many Americans wanted to withdraw from European entanglements. Others lost interest in the complex debates about the League of Nations.

Source F The causes of the Wall Street Crash in 1929. Workers in industries, though better off in the 1920s, received wage increases that were very small in comparison with the huge profits enjoyed by bosses of big business. As a result the purchasing power of workers was not enough to sustain prosperity. Profits were plunged into the stock exchange, producing a run away speculation in the ever increasing prices of stocks and shares. Extract from The Perils of Prosperity, 1914-1932 by WE Leuchtenburg, published in 1958. The author was a child during the 1920s in America. He became a professor of History in various American universities later on.

(a)

What does Source E suggest about American attitudes towards involvement in Europe after the end of World War One? (4 marks)

(b) Explain the extent of social change achieved by flappers in the USA in the 1920s. (6 marks) (c) How useful is Source F for explaining the causes of the Wall Street Crash in 1929 Use Source F and your knowledge to explain your answer. (10 marks)

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The Roaring 20s: USA, 19181929 3 Study Sources E and F and then answer all three parts of Question 3 which follow. In your answers you should refer to the sources by their letters.

Source E ; Advertising in the USA in the 1920s. A whole advertising industry grew up to promote the vast range of consumer goods on offer. It used increasingly sophisticated techniques. Adverts were more colourful than before, and catchphrases were introduced. Magazine advertising increased greatly and radio advertising began as a completely new venture. Extract from 2The USA between the Wars, 1919-1941, by T Fiehn, published in 1998. Source F Prohibition Agents pour illegal alcohol they have confiscated into the sewers of New York, in 1921.

(a)

What does Source E suggest about advertising in the USA in the 1920s? (4 marks) Explain the effect of immigration controls (introduced in 1921 and 1924) in the USA. (6 marks) How useful is Source F for explaining attitudes towards Prohibition in the USA in the 1920s. Use Source F and your knowledge to explain your answer. (10 mark)

(b)

(c)

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Generic Mark Scheme for Unit 2 : 20th Century Depth Studies Section A
There are three parts to each question An Inference Question (4 marks) An Explain how question (6 marks) A Usefulness question (10 marks)

An inference question What does Source A suggest about? (4 marks)

Find at least TWO facts in the source. Draw an inference . What does the author of the source want you to think about the event, or to believe about the event? What is going on under the surface?

Level Mark Scheme Writes nothing of relevance Level 1 Level 2 Identifies 1 or 2 facts Identifies 1 or 2 inferences

Marks 0 1-2 3-4

An Explain how question (6 marks)

For a WHY question give reasons. For a HOW question give ways. For a CONSEQUENCES question give results You must give at least TWO reasons. You must explain how one thing led to another. Level Mark Scheme Mark

Marks 0

Level 1 Level 2

Writes nothing of relevance General comments or simple statements Simple explanation gives one reason supported by facts Or Offers a number of reasons but limited explanation or facts.

1-2

3-4

Level 3 Developed explanation Explains two or more reasons in detail. 5-6

13

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A Usefulness question (10 marks)

Deal with the CONTENT What is the message of the source? How is the information useful? Deal with the PROVENANCE Who wrote it?, When? And Why? What was the purpose and motive of the author? What are they trying to achieve? How do these factors make the source useful, or less useful.

Level Mark Scheme Writes nothing of relevance Level 1 Level 2 Basic or limited information Simple comment Sees how the content is relevant Source is useful because of origin, context or purpose

Marks

0 1-2

3-5 Level 3 Developed explanation Explains how the content illustrates important aspects of topic. Or explains how origin, context, purpose of source make it useful. Explanation of usefulness using both content and provenance

6-8

Level 4

9-10

14

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