Suffering industries: Coal, Railway, Textiles (Cotton/wool), Agriculture
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‘Old industries’ such as coal mining began to be in competition with oil
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Cars began to take over the railway transport system, lessening the need for coal
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Advancement in technology meant less workers were needed for mining -> unemployment begins
- Mines began to close down
- Textiles industries began to face competition when tariffs were lowered
- New materials such as rayon meant that old textiles fell out of favour in terms of cost and efficiency in production
- Changes in fashion (short dresses etc.) meant less textiles were needed
- WWI led to farmers choosing to produce more, and this rate of production continued into the 1920s
- While they benefited during WWI, consumption began to decrease as Europe began to recover and stopped relying on American produce, but there was already excess production
- Technologies such as tractors helped to increase production rates
- Farmers were therefore forced to sell their goods at a lower cost, and they refused to lower their production rates as they were unsure that other farmers would do the same
- Many farmers became the poorest paid workers in the US and many had to borrow money to pay their mortgages, or face eviction and unemployment
Society in the 1920s:
Women:
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Position of women pre 1917 included limited unemployment, limited social positions (accompanied by chaperones), no role in politics as well as being expected to adhere to dress standards
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After 1917 as the US entered WWI, women were employed to work in the heavy industry and for the first time went out by themselves, smoked and drank in public
- Vote given in 1920
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Consumer luxuries such as vacuums led to more women having leisure time
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Introduction of the Flappers: women who challenged traditional attitudes, and were mainly middle and upper class
Leisure:
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Newspapers & magazines fuelled consumption, as more people wanted to read about the latest issues and famous people
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Sport also took over, becoming a focus of newspapers, magazines as well as radio shows. Sporting figures such as Babe Ruth also challenged traditional society, where he was seen smoking and drinking in public
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Cinema: visiting the cinema became popular as part of family life, especially with the introduction of ‘talkies’, and sex became a popular focus for movies. Cinemas were refurbished and several film studios were founded
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Radio: First radio station started in 1920 (KDKA), with many more soon to come. Radio enabled people to listen to sporting events, music, advertisements and entertainment.
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Jazz: ‘the jazz age’, when jazz became popular, especially with the flappers despite its African American origins
Prohibition and Gangsters:
- Drinking was largely believed to be hindering work efficiency, as well as being the cause of trouble, including in religion, leading to a ban on alcohol
- People were driven to the black market to consume alcohol, including speakeasies which relied on corruption by paying off law enforcement officers
- Smuggling of alcohol also became common (rum running), and some doctors provided ‘medicinal whiskey’
- Some of the illegally brewed alcohol was not checked and this led to poisoned alcohol
- This led to the rise in organised crime, or ‘gangsterism’, with one notable figure being Al Capone: Chicago’s speakeasies, bookmakers, nightclubs etc.
- These figures were initially considered glamorous, being in a high social position and often donating their own money to help the needy (soup kitchens). This however ended with the St Valentine’s Day Massacre, an organised shooting in broad daylight
Racism & Intolerance:
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‘The Red Scare’, where people became worried that communism was beginning to take over the USA, leading to deportations of immigrants suspected of having links. Anarchy was also widespread, including the Sacco and Vanzetti case, which led to their execution on flimsy evidence and their rights not granted in court
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WWI: Fought in Europe and many believed that the US should isolate itself from Europe’s issues
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‘Immigrant Quality’: New immigrants were often perceived to be low skilled, with little education, and many lived in ghettos that were associated with violence and drinking
Leads to 1917 literacy test act, 1921 immigration quota (3%), 1924 National Origins Act (3% -> 2%), 1929 immigration act (limited to 150,000, with no Asians)
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Employment: Advancement in technology meant less workers were required, and many former immigrants now looked down upon the ‘lower quality’ immigrants, mainly from eastern Europe
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The KKK/WASPS: the ‘ideal citizen’: Jim Crow laws promoting segregation, as well as the enforcement of white supremacy. Lynchings and violent acts carried out against the black community
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The Monkey Trial: Difference in beliefs, with the Bible Belt states opposing teaching of evolution. Showed the difference of beliefs between urban and rural states
The Wall Street Crash:
- The major financial trading centre crashed in 1929
- Uneven wealth: Profits not passed onto workers, leading to lower demand compared to production
- Overproduction: More supply than demand for goods, leading to businesses laying off staff
- Banks invested depositors’ money in the stock market, which was unstable
- Banks provided expensive loans for investors to buy shares, no security
- US tariff policy meant that excess goods were not ideal for European consumers
- Panic selling led to rapid decline in value of shares:
Heavy selling, fluctuating prices, 6 million shares traded
Black Thursday, 13 million shares traded
Black Tuesday, all shares lose value, suicides reported
- Leads to large scale unemployment, as well as poverty from the onset of the Depression
- Hoover responded by cutting taxes, increasing import duties, set up relief agencies to co-ordinate relief efforts, stopped cutting of wages, investment into infrastructure
- ‘Hoovervilles’, homes built out of scrap materials set up by those who were unemployed and lost their homes, becoming hobos
- One Hooverville was integrated
- Bonus marchers demanded a bill to support payment of bonuses for WWI, set up Bonus City which was cleared with force, clear divide between government and the public
- Black Americans were the first to be sacked, with 50% unemployment rate by 1933, also had the largest wage cuts
- Increase in suicide rate across the USA, birth rates decrease as marriages fall and less people become willing to take on this extra commitment
- Natural disasters including a drought led to the ‘Dust Bowl’, where the soil was exhausted and turned into dust, which blew away in heavy wind (dust storms). People from these areas were forced to move west to find work, and were quickly faced with derogatory terms
- The Depression did not hit everyone; most wealthy people still remained wealthy during the Depression, using the cheap land and housing prices to gain a profit
The New Deal, FDR’s election:
- FDR elected to US president in 1932, with the promise of relief, recovery and reform
- Introduction of the Alphabet Agencies in the ‘Hundred Days’
FCA: Farm Credit Administration, helping farmers with mortgages
AAA: Agricultural Adjustment Act, changing produce prices by destroying produce
CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps, employment given for conservation projects
CWA: Civil Works Administration, employment to maintain infrastructure (roads/schools etc.)
FERA: Federal Emergency Relief Act, funds of $500 million given to help the unemployed
HOLC: Home Owner’s Loan Act/Corporation, low interest loans to assist people in paying their mortgages
NRA: National Recovery Administration, set fair prices, wages & working conditions, its symbol was the blue eagle (set up by the NIRA)
TVA: Tennessee Valley Authority, helping improve one of the poorest areas of the US by building dams and planting trees to prevent soil erosion, as well as setting up power stations, providing thousands of jobs in the process
EBA: Emergency Banking Act, aimed at restoring confidence in the banking system by preventing banks from investing savings into the stock market
RFC: Reconstruction Finance Corporation, money given to businesses to invest in growth
Second New Deal & Opposition:
- Focus on social welfare and responsibilities of the state on the elderly, unemployed and sick
WPA: Works Progress Administration, similar to PWA but even more jobs created such as dramas and photography
Wagner Act, right for workers to join trade unions, and gave power for the government to act against unfair employment practices
Fair Labour Act, minimum wage and maximum working hours standard brought in, child labour no longer permitted
Social Security Act, pensions for the elderly and unemployment benefits
- However many opposed the New Deals, including Republicans who thought that the government should not interfere too much into people’s daily lives, and that it was making people too dependent on the government
- Businesses were angry that trade unions were allowed in the workplace, calling it unfair interference
- New Deal was seen as ‘socialist’ and therefore ‘un-American’, and taxing the rich would discourage capitalism
- The Supreme Court was mainly consisted of Republican judges who were able to delay these policies
- Huey Long had a policy of ‘Share our wealth’, taxing the rich to give $5000 to the poor per year, allowing them to spend on US goods/services. He planned to stand against FDR in the presidential elections but was assassinated
- Dr Townsend wanted to provide $200 per month for the elderly, who would have to spend it all in order to provide a boost to the economy
- Charles Coughlin denounced the New Deal as not doing enough and being ‘anti-God’, broadcasting his opinions to over 40 million listeners
The New Deals were successful in bringing about lower unemployment rates, as well as providing money for the needy. However, it failed to allow the USA to reach employment rates pre-depression, and another depression hit in 1937. It took WWII in the end for the US economy to return to normal, with the Lend-Lease Act allowing the US to trade military equipment to other countries.