GCSE%20REVISION

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GCSE REVISION

• America
• 1919-1941

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America 1919-1941 4 key questions

• How far did the US economy boom in the 1920s?
• On what factors was the economic boom based? (6)
• The USAs Wealth
• Rich in raw materials e.g. iron, coal and oil. A
  growing urban population of hardworking and
  ambitious immigrants. WW1 had made the USA an
  economic world leader.
• New Industries
• Consumerism fuelled the boom with new electrical
  goods and new materials e.g. plastics. During the
  1920s industrial production grew by 50. The
  growth of car industry and Fords assembly line
  model was the most significant.
• Rising wages and stable prices
• Real value incomes rose by around 25. Prices of
  white goods dropped due the introduction of the
  assembly line to mass production.

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On what factors was the economic boom based?
continued

• Government policies
• Republican policies of laissez-faire, tariffs,
  low taxation and trusts helped to create an
  economic boom in 1920s America
• Hire Purchase
• Credit was easily available. Hire purchase
  required a small deposit and further instalments.
  The popularity of mail order catalogues meant all
  Americans could become consumers.
• Weak Trade Unions
• There was great hostility towards Trade Unions
  from government and businesses. The car industry
  had none until the 1930s. This kept wages low and
  hours long as profits rose. Henry Ford paid above
  the going rate!

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Now try to come up with a mnemonic about the
reasons for the boom in the 1920sMock 6 mark
questionWhy was there a boom in America during
the 1920s?
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2. Why did some industries prosper while some
did not?

• The growth of national wealth meant that people
  had money to spend on new white goods and
  luxuries. The construction industry boomed - new
  roads and skyscrapers changed the face of
  America.
• However, more traditional industries such as
  textiles, coal mining and shipbuilding declined.
  The textile industry was unable to compete with
  the southern factories where labour was cheaper.
  People now used electricity to heat their homes.
  The least profitable mines were forced to close.

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3. Why did agriculture not share in the
prosperity?

• The 1920s were years of hardship.
• Having benefited from high prices during wartime,
  overproduction plagued the over successful
  farmer.
• Exporting the surplus was stopped by tariffs.
• Prices collapsed.
• Loans mounted up as farmers borrowed in the hope
  of better times.
• In 1920 one-third of the population was in
  farming families, that dropped to one-quarter as
  farmers lost their farms to the banks.
• Black sharecroppers faced the worst hardships.

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4. Did all Americans benefit from the boom?

• In 1929 60 of Americans lived below the poverty
  line.
• Many of these families were in rural areas. The
  boom had benefited the rich and the middle class.
• In 1929 one-third of all income was earned by 5
  of the workforce.
• The boom did not really spread to the south where
  the majority of people were farmers.
• Americas black population suffered
  discrimination. Those that had moved North in
  search of work in the new factories were resented
  by whites workers as competition for jobs
  increased.

Mock 10 mark question Did all Americans benefit
from the boom in the 1920s?
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How far did the US society change in the 1920s?

• What were the Roaring Twenties?
• The popular image of the USA in the 1920s is of
  life as one long, crazy party, with jazz music
  playing on the radio, young fashionable women
  known as flappers wildly dancing the Charleston,
  large quantities of illegal alcohol being
  consumed, and everyone behaving in an scandalous
  a manner as possible. Consider the following
  topics
• The movies
• Sport
• Music
• Radio

Mock source question 7 marks How useful is this
source as evidence in telling us about life for
Americans during the Roaring Twenties?
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2. How widespread was intolerance in US
society?

• Immigration
• In the 1920s the land of immigrants started to
  close its doors to newcomers. This stirred up
  feelings of hatred and fear in the crowded slums
  of the cities.
• Red Scare
• The government feared immigrants may bring with
  them socialist ideas. Americans were concerned
  that communism could spread to the USA. Some were
  deported as part of round-ups.
• Sacco and Vanzetti case Two Italian immigrants
  accused of robbery and murder were put on trial
  on little evidence. The trial was a farce and
  they were later executed more for their radical
  political views than the crime.
• Segregation and black people
• Black Americans were disadvantaged. In the South
  they were kept in a permanent state of poverty
  restricted by the Jim Crow Laws. They were
  segregated from whites in every sphere of
  society. They had little or no political power in
  which to change things.

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2. How widespread was intolerance in US
society? cont.

• The Ku Klux Klan
• The Klan was formed after the Civil War. They
  struck terror in the black community with
  night-time raids, crosses and lynchings. The Klan
  led a campaign of terror throughout the 1920s
  however, their membership fell when the Klans
  leader was convicted for the rape and murder of a
  women on a train.
• The Monkey Trial
• In 1925 the state of Tennessee banned the
  teaching of evolution due to the pressures of
  Christians who thought Darwin was teaching
  children to go against God. John Scopes a
  biology teacher was arrested for teaching Darwin.
  The trial meant that Darwinism and creationism
  was put on trial. Creationism fell down in court
  and Scopes was fined but the law was disgraced.

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Now think of a way to memorise the different
examples of prejudice experienced during the
1920s. This could beA mind mapStory / rap /
song / rhymeMnemonic
Mock 10 mark question The most serious problem
faced by American society during the 1920s was
the poor treatment of black people. Do you
agree with this statement? Explain your answer
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3. Why was prohibition introduced and later
repealed?

• In January 1920 the Volstead Act was passed
  banning the sale, manufacture and transportation
  of alcohol. The noble experiment had begun. Why?
• 1. It existed already
• 13 states were already dry by 1919
• 2. Moral reasons
• People argued it caused social problems such as
  crime, abuse, violence, poor working habits and
  death
• 3. Campaigners
• Groups worked for prohibition e.g. The
  Anti-Saloon League. They and other popular
  temperance movements attacked the government and
  campaigned in rural areas.
• 4. The First World War
• German brewers were targeted as anti-American.

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3. Why was prohibition introduced and later
repealed? cont.

• The Effects of Prohibition
• Prohibition seemed to do the exact opposite from
  what it intended. Now banned it became more
  attractive and popular, speakeasies opened and
  millions ignored the law.
• Moonshine was illegal alcohol often badly made
  and lethal. Thousands of illegal stills supplied
  the speakeasies.
• Smuggling was one way of getting alcohol.
  Rum-runners like William McCoy illegally imported
  alcohol from Canada.
• Organised crime and gangs controlled the whole
  industry. They paid officials to turn a blind
  eye, with gangsters such as Al Capone using
  profits in other areas such as gambling and
  labour rackets.
• The law was repealed in Dec 1933. It was clearly
  ineffective and doing more damage than good. The
  biggest effect was the Depression and the need
  for further taxation and better use of police
  and government resources.

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Mock question 6 marksWhy did prohibition fail
in the 1920s?
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4. How far did the roles of women change during
the 1920s?

• Young women in the 1920s were changing in every
  way. They began to reject the traditional image
  and roles of women and turned against the way
  things had been pre WW1.
• 1920 Women gained the right to vote.
• Many grew financially more independent.
• Contraception became available.
• Divorce rate rose.
• New white goods cut down on housework.
• Women changed their appearance. Flappers wore
  shorter hair and skirts.
• Older people were threatened by this and most
  womens lives did not change at all.
• Rural women experienced little changes to their
  roles and lives.

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What were the causes and consequences of the Wall
Street Crash?

• How far was speculation responsible for the Wall
  St Crash?
• During the 1920s the stock market was a good
  place for people who bought shares (speculators).
  The rise in value in shares during the 1920s
  created a boom.
• The role of the speculators was key to the
  crash. Speculators used a practice called buying
  on the margin, where the money used to buy shares
  was borrowed originally. As the share prices
  rose, money was made through the sale of the
  shares. Banks were keen to lend money. However
  few people stopped to ask about the true value of
  the shares.
• The State of the American economy was good
  during the 1920s. By 1928 growth was slowing,
  foreign trade declined, consumer markets became
  saturated. A realisation was being reached that
  the boom was based on debt and the ability to
  repay that debt.

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2. What impact did the Crash have on the economy?

• On 24th October 1929 (Black Thursday) traders
  were nervous. The day before shares and prices
  dropped sharply. On this day the whole market
  collapsed. Every investor was selling and prices
  free falled.
• The USAs biggest banks started to buy shares
  worth millions to stable the market but this was
  not able to solve the overall problems. Thousands
  were ruined in one day.
• The next week saw even worse losses. 10,000m
  lost in one day
• The market continued to fall until 1932 when
  share prices were at one-fifth their 1929 value.

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Mock questionAre you surprised by what this
source says? Explain your answer fully. 7 marks

• The stock market hysteria reached its apex that
  year 1929 . . . Everyone was playing the market
  . . . On my last day in New York, I went down to
  the barber. As he removed the sheet he said
  softly, Buy Standard Gas. Ive doubled . . .
  Its good for another double. As I walked
  upstairs, I reflected that if the hysteria had
  reached the barber level, something must soon
  happen.
• Cecil Roberts, The Bright Twenties, 1938.

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2. What impact did the Crash have on the economy?
cont.

• The financial and economic effects of Wall
  Street Crash
• The American economy went into a vicious slump
  which caused the collapse of international trade,
  mass unemployment, bankruptcy and a slump in
  production
• The crash meant people had less to spend on
  consumer items. So companies had to produce less,
  needing fewer workers. Unemployment rose rapidly
  to 4.3m in 1930, 8m in 1931 and 12.1m in 1932.
• It was now difficult to borrow money as well.
  Banks were closing 5000 closed in the 3 years
  after the crash. Industry shut down.
• One-third of the population were members of
  families in which the breadwinner was out of
  work.
• The reaction of President Hoover
• As a republican Hoover was unwilling to act at
  first. He said prosperity is just around the
  corner. But soon realised that he had to act. He
  set up the Reconstruction Finance Commission to
  grant loans to businesses. He encouraged job
  creation through public works and the Federal
  Farm Board bought surplus crops. These methods
  did not work. Hoovervilles sprang up around
  cities. Even raising tariffs made matters worse.

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3. What were the social consequences of the crash?

• The numbers of the unemployed increased daily.
• Homes were lost, families split up.
• There was no unemployment benefit and people
  relied on charity. Soon even the charity money
  started to run out.
• The Bonus Marchers
• Were ex-servicemen who wanted a government bonus
  to be paid to them (it was due in 1945). They
  camped outside of the White House. Hoover called
  in the army to evict them and the situation ended
  in violence.

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4. Why did Roosevelt win the election of 1932?

• Hoovers inadequacies
• By 1932 Hoover was extremely unpopular. His
  policies were not working as he had failed to see
  it as the responsibility of government to stop
  the depression. He was called the do nothing
  president and placards read hang Hoover
• Roosevelts strengths
• His personality won over many. It was not clear
  what he was going to do to solve the crisis but
  his campaign was energetic and optimistic.
• Roosevelt won the election by a landslide.
  However he could not take power until his
  inauguration some months later. The economy
  plunged deeper into depression.

Mock question 6 marks Why did Roosevelt win the
election of 1932?
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How successful was the New Deal?

• Roosevelt had promised America a New Deal a
  programme of public spending with the government
  taking a central role in trying to cope with the
  effects of the depression. Many have said that
  the New Deal was unconstitutional and the Supreme
  Court ruled against many aspects. It did not
  solve unemployment but cut the numbers
  significantly. WW2 finally brought back full
  employment.
• What was the New Deal?
• In the first 100 days of power, Roosevelt
  introduced his New Deal.
• Banks
• Emergency Banking Act - closed banks until they
  were checked over
• Farmers
• The Agricultural Adjustment Agency AAA
  destroyed surplus and aimed to reduce production.
  
• Unemployed
• Civilian Conservation Corps CCC providing work
  for the unemployed usually in the countryside
  e.g. fighting forest fires.

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What was the New Deal? Cont.

• Industry
• The National Recovery Administration NRA tried
  to agree fair prices for fair conditions for
  workers. The Public Work Administration PWA aimed
  to use the unemployed on large scale public
  schemes e.g. the bridges and roads.
• Home owners
• The government granted low interest loans to
  help people to pay their mortgages.
• Depressed areas
• Tennessee Valley Authority TVA regenerated the
  Tennessee river region which had suffered floods
  and soil erosion. Dams were constructed.
• Alphabet Agencies
• The sheer number of new government agencies was
  huge.

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2. The New Deal after 1933

• The Supreme court had challenged some of the New
  Deal laws. Some claimed the New Deal was helping
  the people too much like a communist state.
  Others claimed to was not doing enough. A second
  wave of measures were introduced.
• The Second New Deal
• Works Progress Administration WPA found short
  term employment for 8 million people
• Social Security Act established a national
  insurance scheme (pensions, disability pay and
  unemployment benefits.
• The AAA had to close down but the Resettlement
  Administration RA gave grants and equipment to
  the very needy.

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An American cartoon entitled The New Driver
published in 1933 The figure at the bottom of
the cartoon represents Roosevelt. Mock source
question 6 marks What is the message of this
cartoon?
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3. Why did the New Deal encounter opposition?

• Republicans were opposed to the New Deal as they
  felt it interfered in areas which had nothing to
  do with government.
• They thought freedoms were being lost in a new
  socialist America?
• Taxes were raised to pay for the New Deal
• After his re-election in 1936, FDR tried to
  control the Supreme court. His plans backfired
  and he lost respect.
• Father Coughlin claimed the New Deal was not
  doing enough.
• Dr Francis Townsend campaigned to get the
  Social Security Act passed.
• Huey Long Governor of Louisiana he spoke for
  the poor and used every trick in the book (some
  criminal) to get more power and improve public
  services. A critic of Roosevelt he claimed he was
  not doing enough to help the poor.

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4. Why did unemployment persist despite the New
Deal?

• Critics claim the alphabet agencies did not
  create real jobs.
• Work was created for the sake of it.
• Unemployment was reduced but not solved.
• Employers resented the power of the New Deal
  especially unionism.
• Strikes became more common and 80 were settled
  in favour of the workers.
• Many farmers had not been helped by the New Deal
  e.g. sharecroppers. Large areas of the dust bowl
  were empty as farmers left to seek work in
  America.
• The poorest people were not helped to improve
  their position.
• Black Americans were not helped directly. FDR did
  not wish to rock the boat on the race issue.
• In 1938 the New Deal was scaled down as the
  economy seemed to be coping. However this lead to
  a further slump.

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• Mock 10 mark question
• Did the fact that the New deal did not solve
  unemployment mean that it was a failure?