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U.S. society 1919-1941 Implications of growing urbanisation and…
U.S. society 1919-1941
Implications of growing urbanisation and industrialisation
Incline in overall prosperity
Growing urbanisation and industrialisation cultivated an era of ‘unparalleled prosperity’
Prompted rapid economic growth, spurred by a variety of factors:
Economic stimulus provided by a rapid economic mobilisation made necessary by America’s entry into WWI
Industrial development
The 1920s have been called the decade of the second American industrial revolution; a claim that is supported by the fact that industrial production doubled between 1922 and 1927. eg. the canning industry which canned fruits and vegetables saw a double in sales between 1914 and 1929
↳ increase in consumption
Rapid expansion of mass production techniques and mass produced industries.
oThis is particularly the case for the automobile industry (Chrysler, General Motors and Ford), which led to the rapid development of infrastructure and other related industries, including oil, glass, leather and rubber
Rapid economic growth was characterised by a variety of features:
Increases in productivity. Eg 40% rise in the per capita output of an industrial worker over the course of the 1920s
Culture of consumerism
Widespread availability of credit
Succession of Republic presidents (Harding, Coolidge and Hoover), regarded as the ‘party of prosperity’
Inequality in the distribution of income and wealth
Traditional industries such as agriculture and textiles entered a period of decline
Marginalised groups include women, African Americans, Native Americans and the elderly
National income grew from $480 per capita in 1900 to $681 in 1929, despite this, 60% of the population lived on or below the poverty line at the time of the inauguration of Hoover. This fed into issues of consumption and credit.
Inclining social and economic disparity between Urban and Rural Communities
Increasing division between urban, rural America in terms of ideology and beliefs
Urban America aligned with industrial, social, economic progressivism
Embraced changing values of women’s rights, African American rights, Native American rights, consumerism, industrial development
Characterised by: the jazz age, ‘declining’ morals, consumerism, advancement of women’s rights, advancement of AA rights, disdain for prohibition, support for radical political ideologies such as communism and anarchism
Rural America aligned with industrial, social, economic conservatism
Embraced traditional values of hard work, thrift, family life → Perceived increasing consumerism of society as self-indulgent, greedy
Characterised by: higher levels of religious observance, inclining influence of the KKK, adverse sentiment to immigration and radical political ideologies, traditional family life
Characterised by a difference in the urban and rural standards of living
Relative improvement in living standards for urban dwellers
Eg real wages rose by 25% over the course of the 1920’s
Illustrated by increase in access to consumer goods (eg canned foods, washing machines, refrigerators, synthetic fabrics, telephones, movies, cars, radio)
Augmented by the process of suburbanisation, which produced an array of beneficial implications:
Reduction to overcrowding in inner city centres
Improvement in infrastructure
Improvements in public transport
Growth in social services such as healthcare and education
Inclining health with reduced exposure to pollution and disease
Population growth
Despite this, there was a growth in crime. Eg gangster activity, such as the distribution of alcohol and illicit drugs
Relative decline in living standard for rural dwellers. Eg by 1928, average income per capita for urban workers was 4x that of rural workers
Increasing mechanisation of industry
Increase in employment opportunities for the unskilled, particularly in mass produced industries such as the automobile industry. Eg annual unemployment rate of 10% in mass produced industries in mid-1920’s
Elicited a loss of craft pride and job security, inadequate working conditions
↳ This prompted an array of social tensions such as the restriction of immigration, growth of religious fundamentalism, racial conflict, anti-communism and anti-unionism and introduction of prohibition (See later topic for more)
Inclining social and economic disparity between different societal groups
‘Unparalleled prosperity’ of the 1920s did not extend to all sectors of society
Inclining inequality in the distribution of income and wealth resulted from:
Laissez-faire economic policies of Republican governments, providing considerable support and stimulus for firms, reducing the progressiveness of the taxation system, inadequate provision of safety nets, permitting the development of company trusts. Eg by 1929, wealthiest 200 companies retained 50%+ of total corporate wealth
Social and historical context of ‘rugged individualism’ and ‘social Darwinism’
Inadequate government support for labour. Eg Supreme Court ruled an attempt to ban child labour and establish a minimum working wage for women unconstitutional
Affluence was most prevalent amongst businessmen, self-employed, shareowners
Eg value of shares increase threefold between 1923 and 1929
Eg number of millionaires increased fivefold between 1914 and 1928
Affluence was not experienced by certain marginalised groups, including:
Working classes
Subject to substantial poverty. Eg in 1930, 60% of American families lived on or below the national poverty line of $2,000 per year
Subject to substantial inequality. Eg in 1929, the poorest 40% of the population earned <15% of national income whilst the wealthiest 20% earned >50% of national income
Subjected to limited labour bargaining power: Characterised by lax safety regulations for unskilled workers. Eg 25,000 killed and 100,000 permanently disabled in workplace incidents annually
Contributed to an incline in industrial discontentment → increase frequency of strikes
Contributed to an incline in trade union membership: From >5m workers (1920) to <3.5m workers (1929)
Working Women
Substantial increase in the proportion of women working, from 18% of the work force (1900) to 22% of the work force (1930)
Insignificant improvement in employment opportunities and wage rate. Eg failure of the Equal Rights Amendment Act (1923) which proposed equal social, economic rights for all women
Poverty considerable in families which relied on the woman’s wage, of which there were 3.8m in 1929
Remained absent from professional industries, excluding teaching and nursing, and prevalent in poorly paid, low status, menial and low skilled industries (eg textiles, domestic service)
Exacerbated by poor working conditions and condition of labour. Eg 25,000 killed and 100,000 injured annually at work
Working Children
Considerable proportion of children within the labour force. Eg in 1930, 1 in 20 children aged 10-15 years were engaged in work
State legislation attempting to abolish and enforce the abolition of child labour was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the 1920s
Rural poor
Arising from agricultural recession, endured throughout the 1920s and due to a variety of factors:
Mass movement of workers from rural to urban communities. Eg 6m Americans left the countryside for cities in the 1920’s
Overproduction of agricultural produce. There was low demand in overseas markets (Europe still recovering from WWI) yet high production due to the mechanisation of the agricultural industry w the introduction of the tractor, new technologies and mass produced goods
Unsuccessful government policy such as the implementation of tariffs such as the Emergency Tariff Act (1921), Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act (1922) and Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930) reduced external demand for agricultural sector and the Federal Farm Board w/ Agricultural Marketing Act in June 1929 set up by the Hoover administration. (See Hoover Attempts for more)
Characterised by a variety of features:
Disparity in wealth and income amongst farmers. Eg average monthly earnings of farmers in South Carolina ($130) were 10% of that of farmers in California ($1,200) in 1929
Relative decline in the quality of life of rural workers. Eg by 1928, average per capita income of a rural worker was a quarter of that of an urban worker
Decline in the price of agricultural output. Eg corn: $1.50 (1918) to 50c (1920) per bushel, wool: 60c (1918) to 20c (1920) per pound, cotton: 35c (1918) to 15c (1920) per pound
Decline in total farm income, from $10b (1919) to $4b (1921)
Native Americans
Systematically striped of land and cultural rights in the latter period of the 19th century
By 1928, >50% Native Americans earned a per capita income of <$200 per year
Reflected in high rates of alcoholism, high rates of crime, low life expectancy, high infant mortality
Aggravation of racial tensions
The Great Migration produced a variety of impacts upon urban AA communities, including:
Disenchantment with northern urban life
The concentration of immigrants and African-Americans and the resulting overcrowding and competition for jobs stirred racial tensions.
Between 1919 and 1920 25 race riots broke out in large cities across the US. Eg Chicago riot (1919)
Triggered by an incident in which an African American bather floated into the white area of an informally segregated beach in Chicago.
He was consequently attacked and later killed by a mob of white civilians
It also led to non-immigrant white Americans moving away from the cities into the suburbs, aided by the spread of cars and highways (however, note that much of this spreading out lead to property booms which collapsed prior to the Depression)
↳ Contributed in heightening racial tension in the U.S.