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