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The Roaring Twenties Reading, By: Laura Nagamine and Luna Quispe - 10 Poe…
The Roaring Twenties Reading
1. The beginning
1920-30 the US was at peace
The Roaring Twenties gets its name from the free and easy life Americans had
America's manufacturing industry boomed
Cars, radios, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners
Common for Americans
Luxuries for the rich in Europe
Affluence and poverty
Hidden society of prejudice, discrimination, racism and political extremism
These changes made the 1920s the 1st modern decade
Shift from the rural in 19th to early 20th century, to a more urban, industrial and technological world
In another perspective, it was a decade of greed, excess, and materialism
October 1929 marked a painful dividing line between prosperity and poverty
To others,
1920s was characterized by poverty, low wages, menial work or irregular employment
The poverty existed before the Great Depression and reflected a
maldistribution of income
in the US
2. The Economic Boom: a jazz tale of opulence
Between 1921-29 Americans enjoyed a level of economic prosperity never known
Wage levels rose steadily
For the first time, Americans were able to purchase an unprecedented range of consumer goods manufactured by new techniques of mass production
Decade of unrivalled prosperity
Calvin Coolidge took office in 1923
The nation was still at peace
Americans wanted to withdraw as much as possible from international affairs
Focus of Coolidge's administration was in the national economy
By his re-election, Americans confirmed that they supported his economic policies
Balanced federal budget
Lower federal spending
Lower taxes
High tariffs on foreign made goods
Pro-business climate by adopting a laissez-faire philosophy
The government should leave business alone and rely on market place to create prosperity
The nation experienced rapid economic growth
GNP rose as well as the total income of corporations
Americans were lured by effective advertising and easy credit into buying many new and improved products
Purchasing power of Americans rose steadily
Motor car industry
For the first time, more people lived in towns than in the countryside
Americans wanted to share in the prosperity by buying shares of stocks in corporations
Led to an enormous
boom in the stock market
Inflated stock prices
When it burst, investors were wiped out
Industries such as coal, mining and textile manufacturing were not getting any better
Despite that the GNP was going up, the prices for the products of these industries were faling.
3. Reasons for economic boom
Size and economic wealth of US
Purchasing power
Large domestic market to sell their goods to
Effective internal transportation system
Transcontinental railroads
Supplemented by the development of a road system in the early 20 century
Roads allowed the newly invented car to provide communication in areas between the railroads
The US possessed an abundance of raw materials, which provided the basis for the industrial revolution that the country experienced
coalfields, oil, iron, tin, copper, lumber and cotton
Entrepreneurial spirit and the American Dream
Yankee ingenuity resulted in the invention of the electric light bulb, sewing machine, the phonograph and the telephone
Rugged individualism encouraged hard work and thrift
Self made millionares such as A. Camegie and J.D. Rockefeller represented the
American Dream
If you worked hard enough, you could be prosperous
Inmigrant population provided hard work and cheap labor which made industrialization a success
The impact of WWI
UK and Germany bankrupted themselves fighting in the war
The US benefited from the war in other ways
Demand for armaments stimulated the growth of the American industry
The US emerged from the war as the world's major industrial power
Technological progress and Fordism
2nd industrial revolution was Detroit
Henry Ford revolutionized car manufacture by introducing new industrial methods which led to their
mass production
He took the work to the man rather than taking the man to the work
Always working at the same pace meant that the rate of production could be set
Ford concentrated production on one car type until the mid-1920s, the Model "T"
5-dollar-a-day rate for car workers, above rates
Workers were not expected to join trade unions and they were expected to follow the company's strict policies
Federal Highways Act of 1921
Gave the government responsibility for building roads
During the 1920s, it built on average 10 000 miles of road per year
By the beginning of the 20th Century, technological innovation had brought American industry to the point of making America the world's leading industrial nation
The assembly line speeded up manufacturing
, offering Americans industrialists the chance to make large profits
New management and selling techniques
Business management
Taylor spread the idea that all aspects of the manufacturing process should be analysed scientifically
Efficiency within the system and its workers
Rapid growth of advertising and marketing
Technological developments
Radio
Motor car
Cinema
Government policies
Laissez faire economics
American economic prosperity in the 20s was underpinned by the thinking of Republicans
Republicans believed that it was their role to create the economic climate in which business, industry and a whole nation could prosper
Republicans went out of their way to aid business on occasion
Tax cutting policies
The rapid growth in business meant that the Treasury had a surplus in the budget for the 20s
Businesses benefited from stated and congressional support against trade unions
Easy credit and hire purchase
New technologies and management techniques allowed Americans to produce more goods at a lower cost
An economic boom wouldn't have happened if there was a lack of domestic demand
Increase in the average wage of Americans during the decade
Low inflation
Development of hire purchase
Allowed customers to buy goods at a small proportion of the price, then pay off the rest on a small interest rate (weekly or monthly)
Encouragement by new methods of advertising
Consumers bought a wide range of goods
Banks were eager to lend money not only to foreign governments, but also to businesses and individuals
Extension of credit was at low interest rates
Cheap credit
allowed Americans to increase significantly their spending
Enabled Americans to begin and develop their business
Provided them with means to purchase the goods they wanted
All contributed to a
major economic boom
4. The Economic Downfall: a jazz tale of misery
American society shared equitablyin a sustained prosperity
Industrial wages, salaries, profits, and dividends rise, but consumer credit and the consumption level of the average American family soared to unprecedented
The decade began with economic instability and ended in a catastrophic depression.
Number of millionaires increased, widening the gap between the rich and the poor
Groups that missed out the prosperity
Farmers
Over production
Increase in farm output
Urban demand for farm products
Rested on the ability of the urban workers to purchase food
Prices below the actual cost of production
Mood of rural activism
Falling prices for the food produced
African-American population
Poverty-stricken ghettos
Poverty-stricken existence
Lowest economic position
Migrated north to cities
Chicago
New York
Menial labour for very poor wages
Jazz, dancing, and sports (boxing)
Women
Little improvement
Quality of their employment opportunities
Payment
Trade Unionists
Action of big business
"yellow dog" contracts
Native Indian Americans
Stripped of their land, culture, and rights
High rates of alcholism and crime, low life expectancy, and high infant martality
What was done to help the poor?
Both parties in Congress combined in an effort to relieve the suffer of the farmers
Failed and deepened the division between rural and urban areas
Laissez-faire politics prevented any government intervention to help industrial workers
Departments of public or social warfare
Private charity
Why was so little done to help the poor?
Republican administrations believed that social responsibility was not the job of the state
Contravention of the freedom of individuals
Social workers and activists were pressing for reform
"Poverty was inevitable"
How had this come about to be possible?
Weaknesses in American economy
Little or no welfare support to the poor
Credit facilities
Drastic effects on the domestic market for goods
People borrowed far in excess waht they could realistically afford
By: Laura Nagamine and Luna Quispe - 10 Poe-Hemmingway