Did Roosevelt's upbringing, background and character make it easy for him to understand the fears and concerns of ordinary Americans?

Did Roosevelt's upbringing, background and character make it easy for him to understand the fears and concerns of ordinary Americans? Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the United States from 1933 to 1945, this is the longest time spent in office by one president. During his time as president he had to deal with the results of the Depression, and try to put to ease the fears and concerns of ordinary Americans. Roosevelt's upbringing, background and character could have made it easier for him to understand these fears and concerns, but it is very unlikely, as he did not have the upbringing or background of ordinary Americans. Some of the values he may have learnt in his youth though may have made it easier for him to understand the fears and concerns of ordinary Americans. The fears and concerns of ordinary Americans changed a lot from the "roaring" twenties when life was fast, fun and exciting. In the 1920's when the economy was booming there was an emphasis on individual responsibility and that the government should not interfere ("laissez-faire"). When the Depression occurred many people were left poor and unemployed so they lived in shantytowns on the edges of towns and cities. People now wanted government intervention to try and drag the economy out of chaos, as it could not be done by the businesses themselves without any help. In America the Depression caused

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Prohibition Sourcework

History Coursework A) Sources A and B are telling us about prohibition. They demonstrate that prohibition was going to fail. The two sources agree on several points. The terms agree tells us that prohibition was bound to fail. Here are some agreements. Business went up. This was because people paid twice the amount to drink alcohol. There was a criminal boom. The quote from the source is 'it created the greatest criminal boom in American history'. Prohibition allowed the criminals to make loads of money. They were anti-saloon leagues. Source A says 'and the influence of the anti-saloon league at a time when large numbers of men were absent in the armed forces. These men were absent because when they were in the armed forces their mission was to track and close down the speak easys, which was illegal clubs which served alcohol. The soldiers drank them selves so they were absent. Source B says 'led by the anti-saloon league, brought pressure to bear on congress to ban the use of grain for either distilling or brewing.' This is important because they need the grain for food during war time. Both sources talk about 'evil of drink.' This made the people commit crime when they were drunk. It had a bad influence on the saloons. This was because the saloons were the alcohol was first given to people. The sources are social. This is because the people had the desire to drink. The

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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Was Prohibition Bound to Fail? - source related study

Yr 10 History coursework Jordan Harris The USA. Was Prohibition Bound to Fail? A, These two accounts don't 100% agree with each other. Source A and B both agree on the lack of grain available because it was used frequently in either distilling or brewing. "Wartime concern for preserving grain for food" and "congress to ban the use of grain either distilling or brewing". They also agree that prohibition was a bad business. Source A refers to "for no earlier law had gone against the daily customs, habits and desves of so many Americans". And Source B says "Gangsters like Dutch Schulz and Al Capone turned the avoidance of prohibition into a big violent business". Another reason they agreed was on the influence of the saloon "bad influence of saloons" in Source A and in Source B "Anti-Saloon League" The two accounts disagree also but not in many ways. They both disagree on how prohibition actually started. Source A says it started because of "German-Americans" who brewed and distilled alcohol and "men were absent in the armed forces". And Source B says it started because of the Women's Christian Temperance Union "joined in a crusade against one of the great evils of the times - alcoholism" and Anti Saloon League saying it started because "brought pressure to bear on Congress. B, The two posters for Sources C and D are for prohibition. They both

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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America in the 1920’s.

America in the 1920's: The BOOM Years The Motor Industry: The motor car industry was one of the first to use the method of mass production. Mass production was carried out in large factories across the USA and mainly in the large northern cities where the industry was located. Mass production is a method of manufacturing a product. It was done using long assembly lines where each person along the line would make the same component over and over again then pass it down the line for the next part to be added until the finished product was created. Henry Ford mastered this with a Model T Ford being produced every 10 seconds. The Ford Company continued to produce and prosper with the Model T through boom and bust. By 1925 one in two car owners in America owned a Model T Ford. Consumer Goods: It was not only the car, which had major success during the 1920's in America. Consumer goods were also in huge demand. Consumer goods also used the method of mass production, as did cars. Radio sets, telephones, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and ovens were the main goods wanted and bought by the American public. These new gadgets and appliances were attractive and sales rocketed. To help booster consumer goods sales a credit system was introduced. This system gave people the power to buy the product on credit. Those who could not afford the product in one

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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''The boom of the 1920's did not benefit all Americans''. Explain how far you agree with this statement.

''The boom of the 1920's did not benefit all Americans''. Explain how far you agree with this statement. Not everyone did well during the boom in America. Most of the profits made by industry went to businessmen and those who had enough money to be able to buy shares and stocks. However the farming industry in America slumped as European farming recovered after the war. Also, American farmers had to compete with farmers in Argentina and Canada, as they were producing goods at cheaper wheat, and the same quality if not better. The American government had vetoed the bills that had been passed through congress to guarantee farm prices by President Coolidge. This caused many small farmers to go bankrupt. We also know that it was not a popular time for people living in the countryside in the 1920's as over six million people left to live in the cities, which implies that the people living in the cities were having a much higher living standard than those who were living in the countryside. By 1930 over half of Americas population were living in major cities. On the contrary to the countryside, in the cities people were benefiting from increasing share prices, new consumer goods, mass production- bringing the price of goods down, pay rises in industry and inflations in companies. It was a new and very comfortable life style. There were new consumer goods being produced all the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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The nature and the causes of the Great Depression of 1929 in America.

. Introduction The object of this Essay is to examine the nature and the causes of the Great Depression of 929 in America. The Great Depression was a social and economic depression. "The economic depression began in 1929 and is placed by a variety of sources near to middle of the year. Stock prices, which had increased at a tremendous rate in 1928 and 1929, collapsed suddenly in October; Black Thursday, October 24, 1929, has become the symbol of the depression." 1 .1. Causes of the Great Depression The new economic era of the 1920´s ended with an explosion of speculations. Since March 1928, the shares of the big American companies like General Motors, Radio Corporation of America, and United States Steel as well as others noted a fast and high increase in their course at the stock exchanges.2 The index of the share-values had almost doubled itself in twenty months. The selling of shares, had been very high through the 1920´s, had brought capital for investments and thus carried the growth of economy. Never before had the share value grown so heavily and so many new shares been put on the market.3 Because of the impression never to lose money, investors became speculators. The steady rising of the stock value impressed the nation that was fascinated by statistics. Rumors were heard about immense fortunes won at the stock exchange.4 The

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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History evacuation of children

Why did the British Government decide to evacuate children from Britain's major cities in the early years of The Second World War? There were a variety of reasons why the government decided to evacuate children from Britain's major cities in the early years of the war. The government had come to the conclusion the the countryside would be safer for children This was due to the happenings of the War in Spain, where major industrial cities were targeted for aerial attacks. Children were the future, meaning that they would be the ones to be future lawyers, firemen and business owners, they had to be kept safe or the future would be lost. The country would be sure to destroyed during the war meaning that when the war was to finally come to an end Children would be needed to reconstruct the ruined cities, this would mean having to keep the children safe until they were able to do this. In addition to this, evacuating the children meant that they were out of the way this would help mothers concentrate on the war effort. The women, would be able to focus on helping the women's land army, get work in munitions factories or join the Air Raid Precaution, without having to worry about looking after the children. Another reason is that, if children stayed in the major cities they were bound to witness various atrocities of war, this could leave them mentally and could potentially affect

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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To what extent were the 1920s

To what extent were the 1920s "roaring"? Roaring can be defined as a time of prosperity, happiness and excitement. It is a positive change. The 1920s were roaring for some people in America but not for everyone. The main reasons why the 1920s was not roaring for everyone in the U.S was discrimination and prohibition. For these people the 1920's were roaring. Cities in America were roaring in the 1920s. In cities there were well paid jobs therefore people who lived in cities benefited from the better paid jobs. Cities have excitement all the new ideas and inventions are first brought to the cities. Therefore it was a time of positive change. There are places of culture and entertainment in the cities, this lead to the excitement of people increasing. Also, land in cities is expensive so people who bought land in the cities would build upwards. That is why the cities in America started having skyscrapers. Therefore the 1920s were roaring for some people who lived in the cites. The twenties were roaring for the people who had cars. The car provided the transport to get to places of excitement e.g. cinema, and work. It was a new invention, therefore everyone wanted a car. It gave independence and excitement. Young people had the chance to be away from their parents. The car enabled people to see new ideas. However, not everyone could afford a car as they were expensive, it was

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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why was there an economic boom in the 1920's

Why was there an economic boom in the 1920s? Why was there an economic boom in the 1920s? There was an economic boom in the 1920s for 5 main reasons. Firstly the growing strength of American Industry meant that the USA was a leading producer of many raw materials. This was partly due to the second main cause of the boom, which was World War 1. This had helped the American Industry to grow, as during World War 1 new markets had opened up to America. Also, after World War 1, America took over as a leading producer as many European industries had suffered greatly because of the war. Government policies meant that businesses could thrive without government interference. World War 1 led to new markets being opened to America. This resulted in America developing new industries and new industrial ideas. These new industries meant that Americans believed that America was the most powerful country in the world. There was also other little factors that led to the boom and helped it become self- generating, these are mass- production, mass- marketing and credit. The first of these 5 main causes was the growing strength of the American industry meant that tit was the leading producer of raw materials. The US was a large country that was rich in natural resources, so it didn't have to rely on imports. The population and home market was growing too. The US had massive steel, coal and

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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The great depression in the USA was at its worst from 1929-1932 Explain the effects of the depression on the people Of America in these years

Jenny Leicester The great depression in the USA was at its worst from 1929-1932 Explain the effects of the depression on the people Of America in these years During the 1920s the American prosperity had been thriving with new goods coming on the market and with the USA ready supply of raw materials they were able to sold at affordable prices new businesses were being set up through the aid of bank loans depending on the stock market however in the late 1920s the US economy began suffering from over production of farm goods (which were in competition with European farmers) and new technology which people were not ready to replace this led to the reduced production of consumer goods meaning that more people were becoming unemployed resulting in there being less money to spend on consumer goods this spiral became known as the spiral of depression. The depression effected people through ways such as unemployment, homelessness, and farm workers who were possible hit the hardest, there was aid relief through charity and help and the Hoover Help. Farmers faced the depression as a result of overproduction this was caused by the fact that during WW1 many farmers switched to crop growing as these recourses were sought after from the rest of the world as the demand was high farmers were able to make a profit from the crops they were

  • Word count: 955
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: History
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