Why was there such a considerable boom in the USA in the 1920s?

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Judith Johnson

Why was there such a considerable boom in the USA in the 1920s?

    In the USA in the 1920s there was a period of extraordinary prosperity. There was a feeling of richness and plenty – anything was possible. The 1920s was also known as “The Jazz Age”, or the “Roaring ‘20s”.  Many factors contributed to this prosperity, and these factors were co-dependent, affecting each other and relying on each other. Many thought that life in this new, dynamic America had never been better – new buildings were erected everywhere, morals were altered and perhaps compromised, technology progressed considerably, and national entertainment became huge business.

    America was given a head start after the First World War - she had emerged from it with a strong economy. The sheer size of the US meant that she didn’t have to rely on other countries for raw materials or markets to sell her products on, and meant that there was no shortage of workers. No fighting had taken place on American soil and no land had been damaged, indeed, America hadn’t joined the war until 1917. During the time between 1917 and the end of the war in 1918 just 116 000 American soldiers were killed, compared to the 1 400 000 deaths of French soldiers and the 2 000 000 deaths of German soldiers. And there is the comparative size of the American population and the German and French populations to take into consideration – whilst 116 000 was a small amount of the American population, the deaths of soldiers had a severe effect on the much smaller German and French populations. Also, many of the French and German civilians were killed through bomb dropping and - in Germany - starvation. This meant that America had the chance to take much of the British and French markets, beating the price that they could produce goods for, and challenging their economies. As well as this, during and after the war, America had sold food and munitions to the British and the French – taking further amounts of much needed money from the European countries as well as taking their markets. You could say that America was burning Europe’s candle at both ends. To stop Europe taking any of the American markets, the Republican Government implied high import taxes on foreign goods.

    “A car in every garage and a chicken in every pot.” This was the aim of the politicians in America in the 1920s. Of the two major political parties in America, the Republican Party is more conservative, and tends to support the interests of the businessmen and the richer Americans. In 1920 William Hardy was made President – he was the head of the Republican party, and it was the Republican policies in the 1920s that helped American business grow freely. The Republicans introduced high import taxes on all foreign goods coming into the country. This actively discouraged people not to buy foreign goods, but to “buy American”, ensuring that American business was well supported. The republicans made taxes low, so goods weren’t expensive and those who needed to could buy what they wanted easily - goods were leaving shop shelves quickly, building industry and making trade easy. The more that was traded, the more everybody benefited. The Republican policies basically left business to grow freely on its own - there were few laws for worker’s safety or rights. This was known as “laissez faire”, meaning “hands off businessmen”. Indeed, Calvin Coolidge once said, “The business of America is business”. In every possible way, the Republican government held the door open to growth in American trade and this led to massive growth in business and industry.

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        The USA was incredibly rich in natural resources. There was much Iron mined in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Chicago, whilst vast amounts of coal were mined in Illinois, Missouri and Kentucky. Due to the resources found in Texas, America became the world’s leading Oil producer. It’s textile industry - which had appeared around the time of the industrial revolution and had been growing since - and its newer chemical industry, bloomed. America’s huge population provided an abundance of workers, and a huge and varied consumer market that was hungry for the new goods being produced. America ...

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