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THE ROARING TWENTIES: a time of real prosperity?, By: Adriana Amat and…
THE ROARING TWENTIES: a time of real prosperity?
THE ECONOMIC DOWNFALL: A JAZZ TALE OF MISERY
Groups missed out the prosperity
Farmers
unequal distribution of wealth
couldn't repay
martages
from banks that
offered cheap loans
decade of
poverty
hardship
endless struggle against debt
Per capita farm income
1/3 of the national average.
Over-production
steady increase in farm output
was exacerbated by
fall in demand after 1929
demand for farm products
depended on
ability of the urban workers to purchase food
but
couldn't afford to pay good prices
as a result
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fall after the war
wartime production levels were maintained
resulting in
failling prices for the food produced
farms declined between 1920 and 1930
African-American population
poor social and economic position
was reinforced by
poor education
segregation
Poverty
They were forced to do menial labour for very poor wages
decent jobs went to the white population
lived in stricken ghettos
lived in misery
"the great migration"
from the rural south to the urban north
1930
occupy industrial and manufacturing jobs
worst-paid jobs
due to
mixture of racism and poor education
only outlet
jazz
dancing
sports
boxing
Women
little improvment in the quality of
employment opportunities
their pay
played a role as supplementary wage-earners
because if
households relied only on woman’s wage
endured permanent poverty
poorly paid
low-status
menial occupations
absent from common professions
execpt
nursing
teaching
Trade Unionists
trade unionism declined in the1920s
The Red Scare of 1919 and the Palmer Raids of the 1920s
led many workers to avoid joining unions
Union membership
discouraged
employers were forced to sign “yellow dog”
contracts in which they agreed not to strike
because
big business were usually anti-union
supported by
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1922 - 1925.
US Supreme Court passed several anti-union judgements
difficulting unions to strike and for the creation of a minimum wage
Native Indian Americans
Endured truly miserable conditions in squalid reservations.
Difficulties
high rates of alcoholism and crime
low life expectancy
high infant mortality
19th century (latter period)
stripped of
their land
culture
rights
What was done to help the poor?
to relieve the suffering of the farmers.
however
failure of the federal government to help farmers out of poverty
deepened the divisions between
rural areas
urban areas .
laissez-faire politics
prevented any government intervention to help industrial workers
on low wages
Trade unions
handicapped by legislation
did not have the funds
to provide any kind of relief for their workers.
Some states
established departments of public or social welfare
and
increased their spending on welfare to benefit elderly and young mothers
but
the impact was limited
poor were helped by private charity
Why was so little done to help the poor?
Republican administrations
believed
social responsibility was not the job of the state
except fields of
national defence
law and order
government
wasn't willing to direct others to reform practices or make provision
due prosperity and optimism in USA
it was believed that
they were solving puberty
poverty was desirable
because it kept the poor in their place
How had this come about to be possible?
high profits created by gains in productivity
had been paid out to investors
workers received small wage increases
were certain weaknesses in economy
lead to important consequences in the 1920s - early 1930s
policy of rugged individualism
meant
little or no welfare support for the poor
laissez-faire approach to such issues as safety at work.
concentration of potential buying power was in hands of few people
adverse effects on the domestic market for goods
less wealthy could manage to buy mass-produced goods by credit facilities
borrowed far in excess of what they could realistically afford
and the repay
depended entirely on their wage.
80% of Americans had no savings at all.
output increased
it wasn´t matched by a proportionate increase in consumer buying power
Only the rich could afford to buy
THE ECONOMIC BOOM: A JAZZ TALE OF OPULENCE
Calvin Coolidge
Took office in 1923
Favoured economic policies
Lower taxes
High tariffs on foreign-made goods
Balanced federal budget
Laissez-faire philosophy
Government should leave business alone as much as possible
Rely on the market-place to create prosperity.
Reasons for the Boom
Government policies
Economic prosperity
Underpinned by
Republican thinking
Republicans believed
Its their role to create the economic climate
Business, industry, and the nation could prosper
Republican administrations
Aid business - tax-cutting policies
Bussiness benefited
The impact of WWI
Demand for armaments
stimulated growth of American industry
US emerged from the war as the world’s major industrial power.
Economic rivals
UK & Germany virtually bankrupted themselves fighting
New management & selling techniques
All aspects of the manufacturing process
Analyzed scientifically
Greatest level of productivity
Growth and development of large corporations
Rapid growth of advertising and marketing
Entrepreneurial spirit & American Dream
Rugged individualism
Encouraged hard work and thrift
"If you worked hard enough, you could be prosperous"
Immigrant population
hard-work & cheap labour
Industrialisation = success
Technological progress & “Fordism"
Centre of 2nd industrial revolution
Detroit
Henry Ford revolutionised car manufacture
New industrial methods
Mass production
Size and the economic wealth
US manufacturers had large domestic market
Effective internal transportation system
Transcontinental railroads
Considerable purchasing power
Raw materials
Copper
Lumber
Cotton
Iron
Coalfields
Oil
Easy credit and hire purchase
More goods lower cost per item
Only possible because of high demand
Caused by increase in average wage
Hire purchase
Buy goods at small proportion of price
Pay off the rest of the price later
Small rate of interest weekly or monthly
New methods of advertising
People bought wide range of goods
Americans through 1920's
Wage levels rose steadily
Purchase big range of consumer goods (Mass production)
More people lived in cities than in countryside
Bought of stock in corporations
Enormous boom in the stock market
By: Adriana Amat and Ximena Sotomayor
