The US Economy in the 1920s

US economic resources

growing population

contributed to mass consumerism

industrialisation

Americans found cheaper and quicker ways of making products

families had more money to spend

houses in rapidly growing cities

leisure companies such as sport, cinema, music succeeded with this increase

Henry Ford set up the world's first moving production line of the car

leads to other companies staying afloat to supply the materials needed for the production of automobiles

thousands of jobs created to build the roads required for the cars to drive on

required housing

Americans increased the height of skyscrapers, building up and and up

public confidence

businessmen and women were prepared to take risks in investment, as well as ordinary people

banks had money to spare

more money available to be lent to Americans who adopted the 'buy now, pay later' attitude

increased the sale of raw materials and other products manufactured which went towards building constructions

balance of trade

America's economy had a positive balance of trade

America were exporting at higher rates compared to its exports

made the country rich

US economic strengths

low taxation

the Republican Party in charge in the 1920s kept taxation as low as possible, bringing benefits to working people, and making them generally popular

laissez-faire

the government interfered as little as possible with business, leaving companies to do their jobs, and therefore it was the president's job to leave them alone.

protective tarriffs

these were introduced to prevent foreign competition becoming stronger than some of America's national businesses

high charges were placed on products imported from abroad, and as a result a high percentage of the American population chose to spend their money on American businesses and its own economy

high supply of raw materials

contributed to large amounts of money made in exports

oil

oil was in particular high demand, with cars being rapidly produced, and countries needing oil to power the engines inside them

us economic problems

unemployment

although America had great industrial strength, the booming businesses did not create many new jobs.

industries were developing using electrical and mechanical strategies, not creating and sometimes replacing jobs

the break down of traditional industries

overproduction

overproduction of products reduced the price of products, and consequently the profit.

coal

new electricity generators did not need large amounts of coal to produce its energy due to its highly efficient qualities

this was due to the increasingly mechanised outlook the processes in businesses took

industries like textiles, leather and shoe making struggled as, although protected from foreign tariffs, they were not growth markets, and suffered competition from industries using man-made materials

problems in the agriculture industry

declining exports - after WWI, Europe was poor from all the borrowing it had had to do to help the war effort against Germany. as a result of this, exports from Europe into the US plummeted

unevenly distributed prosperity

in 1929, the top 1% earned 14.5% of the total income for America

financial innovations

Americans began to buy stocks/shares on margin, borrowing money from the federal reserve and keeping the profit if the business increased in value

led to lots of speculation

from 1926 to 1929, the number of people flying in planes increased from 6,000 to 173,000

more than 25% of families owned a car in 1925

the role of government

the impact of WWI

public sentiment and cultural attitudes

Europe destroyed meant that America had a chance of being a global power and therefore increasing its exports opportunities, both during and after the First World War

the value of American foreign trade exceeded $9.5 billion in 1929

grew by 42% in the 1920s - see other points for evidence (statistic)

Germany's chemical industry failed after World War I, opening up a gap for the American economy to fill

click to edit

the price of a car dropped from $940 in 1920 to just $290 in 1929

construction almost doubled, from $6.7 to $10.1 billion, due to demands in skyscraper competition, factories, office blocks and showrooms

the Republican parliament introduced the 'laissez-faire' policy, as they believed the businessmen knew vest, and its not in the role of a politician to interfere or interfere with the economy

called a 'federal government' who was in charge of the federal reserve

the fedreal reserve was another term for the bank of America

the government controlled the interest rates, and set them low in the 1920s, causing a larger amount of people to borrow from the bank because they could then afford to pay the money back.

as more and more families get into created jobs as a result of industrialisation, they have more money to spend

as a result of the strengthening of AMeric's global power in the years after WWI, the overall population had confidence in the economy which caused them to spend money and set off the cycle of prosoerity

this as well as enhanced manufacturing and inventions promotes consumer culture and the sudden home improvements the average American can buy, such as radios, fridges, washing machines, etc, etc,

Coursework plan

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

320 words p/paragraph

Conclusion

Argument - WSC was significant. STAY CONSISTENT AND BE CONVINCING.

Novelty

Effects

Memory

Applicability

Public confidence plummeted when the Great Depresion followed the crash

Underlying weaknesses in the American economy were brought to the surface when the stock market could no longer be a façade with the lack of public belief in the continuation of prosperity.

The US banking system was on the brink of collapse - 5,000 went out of business from 1929 - 1932 - having also participated in the stock market.

With such a large population of those in debt, homelessness increased

The dramatic drop from prosperity to recession registers in America’s memory,

Unemployment soared, with a large number of Americans becoming ‘hobos’

See ‘of Mice and Men’

Highly advanced technology is mirrored in today’s century: high amount of people investing in technological developments - bubbles could be created, people are still greedy

The American economic system in the 1920s and the system of the present day are both capitalist The Wall Street crash gives evidence that when a capitalist economy does fail, it can always recover

The economic boom which proceeded into the crash had extremely novel qualities: production, consumerism, investing, etc, but crashes were nothing new to America. However this was he biggest economic crisis in American history at the time

Caused a landslide victory for FDR, head of the Democratic Party in 1933 - dramatic change form the previous presidency, Hoover (Republican)

Quite a typical story, with a supposed ‘sin’ where there was too much greed, and then America pays ‘repentance’, afterwards

Intro

Map out 5 paragraphs in 150 words

Novelty

Biggest crash in the history of America, judged by the statistics of losses and the severity of after effects

Prosperity is not a steep upwards curve, but a slow and progressive slope which takes lots of small mistakes to build up a stable level of prosperity which can be sustained . Patience is the optimum ingredient in any economy - there are no quick fixes

Books/films about the Wall Street crash/ the economic situation of America in the 20th century

How the economic situation is represented in said films/books

‘Annie’

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

‘Of Mice and Men’

‘A Wonderful Life’

Memory

Effects

Applicability

Effects

Need to make a bibliography of research

The boom was a process of ‘following the leader’. Unsustainable speculation shows the dangers of a capitalist economy

Identify, explain and evidence the significance.

Needs to be extremely clear

WSC is significant, however not to the extent to which it is emphasised. Explain more deeply

The economic boom was a façade of a ‘prospering economy’, in front of a system with many weaknesses. After the Wall Street crash took place, America was exposed - economic significance, in the short term

Develop argument and MAKE SENSE

‘Fantastic beasts and where to find them’

Frankenstein

1920s consisted of a very divided American society, those who approved of the roaring twenties and those who didn’t. Around the time of his inauguration, Biden spoke about ‘uniting America’ , as he was facing again, an extremely divided America, in that Republicans and Democratics were almost split down the middle. .

Paragraphs

Point 1 - novelty

Point 2 - memory

Point 3 - economic effects

Point 4 - social effects

Point 5 - applicability

Evidence

Around 30% of the total workforce in America were unemployed in 1933

And half of America’s banks had failed

With the Great Depression came the end to prohibition.

Explainations and elaborations

Evidence

Was the greatest economic disaster in modern history

Reported suicides were exaggerated

Increased ownership of automobiles fuelled the migration of America

The sweeping away of prosperity accumulated over a decade could easily be remembered when it had happened over just 5 days.

The extent of the crash registers in the history books, so as to sustain the argument for government regulation of the markets. It was the removing of the capitalist’s mask to reveal the greedy and sick brain behind it and the oversized belly after being fed everything it wants.

The following depression created such extremes of poverty in the city which had not been seen for years, and the massive contrast to the previous decade surprise people to no end.

There is increasing investment in the stock market of crypto currencies

The American stock market crashed in 2020 - Biden referenced the 30 days of FDR’s presidency in his inauguration speech