Secondly, the ever-increasing number of resources available in America was another reason on which the 1920s boom was based. Resources provided the materials growing industries required so without them new goods would not have been produced. So these resources (especially natural resources), were in demand. The resources benefited to new industries which produced new goods with them and so this led to mass production which followed on to mass marketing and advertising. Industries developed sophisticated techniques to persuade people to buy. These techniques had great effect so it made people spend more money, so businesses expanded, the economy boosted and consequently this contributed to the boom.
In addition to these factors, another reason why the boom was so successful was because of the impact the First World War had on the US economy.
USA had come out of the war well; America sold Europe many goods and took over European overseas markets and became the world leader in some areas (chemicals). There was still an increased demand for American goods; this led to the rapid growth of farming and industry and so the economy grew even faster when the war ended – the war hastened technological change which the US industry seized on and flourished because of it.
Credit and hire purchase schemes made it easier for Americans to buy consumer goods. The people didn’t need to have all the money to pay for goods on the spot; they could pay in instalments or take a hire purchase. Borrowing increased the amount if money available to spend, and therefore the total amount of goods. So businesses still benefited and USA had a bigger economy.
Furthermore, mass-production and new technological changes were another major aspect of the boom, with cars and many other goods being manufactured in large numbers and at low cost. They were cheaper and easier to make so thousands of these products were sold to Americans, boosting the economy. Mass- production led to mass- marketing which lured people into buying companies products so businesses boomed and there was economic growth. Technological changes included the electrical (washing machines, refrigerators, etc), chemical (fertilisers) and film (cinema) industries. People spent lots of money to get the latest technology so the economy benefited from this.
Finally, probably the most important reason why the boom happened was because of one simple thing. Confidence. There was high confidence amongst Americans – to buy goods, invest in companies, to try out new ideas. Confidence created the right frame of mind in which developments could take place.
To conclude, the economic boom of the 1920s was based on all of these factors mentioned. However, in my opinion, the three most important reasons were; confidence, technological changes, and mass production. Simply because if no-one had the prosperity feeling that they were doing so well and should expand, then perhaps America wouldn’t have had a boom. In addition, mass production and technological changes are important reasons as well because if America did not advance in technology and invent new things because of this progression, then these consumer goods would not have been made and the USA’s economy wouldn’t have boomed. Thus, this technology teamed with mass production, businesses were able to produce more of these new goods quicker and cheaply, with less hassle.
