Lesson 1 - Why was there an economic boom in the 1920s and who benefited?
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What was the boom?
The map below gives shows you the main centres of population and key natural resources in 1900.
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The industrial strength of the USA is well illustrated by the map and the First World War provided a significant boost to the exports and the demand for US goods. The party in power in the 1920s were the Republicans and their policies also aided the unrestrained (but ultimately unrealistic) boom of the 1920s.
Republican Policies 1 Laissez-faire Republicans believed that government should interfere as little as possible in the everyday lives of the people. This attitude is called laissez-faire’. In their view, the job of the President was to leave the businessman alone - to do his job. That was where prosperity came from. |
2 Tariffs
The Republicans believed in import tariffs which made it expensive to import foreign goods. For example, in 1922 Harding introduce the Fordney-McCumber tariff which made imported food expensive in the USA. These tariffs protected businesses against foreign competition and allowed American companies to grow even more rapidly. The USA also began closing its borders to foreign immigrants.
3 Low taxation
The Republicans kept taxation as low as possible. This brought some benefits to ordinary working people, but it brought even more to the very wealthy The Republican thinking was that if people kept their own money, they would spend it on American goods and wealthy people would reinvest their money in industries.
4 Trusts
The Republicans also allowed the development of trusts. These were huge super-corporations, which dominated industry. Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats had fought against trusts because they believed it was unhealthy for men such as Carnegie (steel) and Rockefeller (oil) to have almost complete control of one vital sector of industry. The Republicans allowed the trusts to do what they wanted, believing that the captains of industry’ knew better than politicians did what was good for the USA.
The Republicans believed in import tariffs which made it expensive to import foreign goods. For example, in 1922 Harding introduce the Fordney-McCumber tariff which made imported food expensive in the USA. These tariffs protected businesses against foreign competition and allowed American companies to grow even more rapidly. The USA also began closing its borders to foreign immigrants.
3 Low taxation
The Republicans kept taxation as low as possible. This brought some benefits to ordinary working people, but it brought even more to the very wealthy The Republican thinking was that if people kept their own money, they would spend it on American goods and wealthy people would reinvest their money in industries.
4 Trusts
The Republicans also allowed the development of trusts. These were huge super-corporations, which dominated industry. Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats had fought against trusts because they believed it was unhealthy for men such as Carnegie (steel) and Rockefeller (oil) to have almost complete control of one vital sector of industry. The Republicans allowed the trusts to do what they wanted, believing that the captains of industry’ knew better than politicians did what was good for the USA.
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Below is the film we watched in the lesson that outlines the main features of Fordism and Taylorism, the main innovations in the US industrial economy in the 1920s - sometimes this is described as the second industrial revolution.
This is an edited extract from the People's Century series. You can see the whole episode here.
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Lesson 2 - The Roaring Twenties
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Using the information on pages 194-5 create a one-side revision diagram/ poster of the main features of post-war USA that gave it the reputation as the Roaring Twenties. You can do it either by hand or using a computer as you can see in these two earlier examples.
BBC bitesize revision on popular entertainment
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Lesson 3 - The dark side of the Roaring Twenties
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BBC Bitesize on the dark side of the 'Roaring Twenties'.
John D Clare is not just a revision site but always contains extra links to useful materials. This page also contains possibly his longest list of mnemonics.
John D Clare is not just a revision site but always contains extra links to useful materials. This page also contains possibly his longest list of mnemonics.
Lesson 4 - The Wall Street Crash and Great Depression
If you have a Netflix account, this 'explained' episode is an excellent introduction in to the origins and function of the US stock market.
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80243757
https://www.netflix.com/watch/80243757
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Lovely short film on Dorothea Lange's photography.
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Lesson 5 - Franklin D Roosevelt and the New Deal.
Textbook pages 216-17 cover the 1932 presidential election. Complete the focus task on page 217. For reasons for Roosevelt's success are given as: the experiences of ordinary people, Republican policies, Republican actions and Roosevelt's election campaign. Do you think that Hoover lost the election or do you think Roosevelt won it?
Textbook pages 216-17 cover the 1932 presidential election. Complete the focus task on page 217. For reasons for Roosevelt's success are given as: the experiences of ordinary people, Republican policies, Republican actions and Roosevelt's election campaign. Do you think that Hoover lost the election or do you think Roosevelt won it?
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The Hundred Days
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Textbook 218-20 outlines the main features of the First New Deal. Make a table like this to the right and complete it with details from your reading.
The Second New Deal Page 221. In 1935 Roosevelt introduced what became known as the Second New Deal. Explain why the Second New Deal was introduced and create a new table similar to that created for the first New Deal. Opposition to the New Deal We can identify three groups of people who opposed the New Deal: the left, the right and the Supreme Court. Explain why and how these groups opposed the New Deal. |
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Was the New Deal a success?
Textbook pages 224-6. There are lots of different ways of addressing this question, the important thing is to be able to provide a balanced account of both successes and failures. Prepare an oral presentation of no more than five minutes that addresses the question 'How successful was the New Deal?' Also consider the following: https://www.johndclare.net/America9.htm https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zcrdcwx/revision/1 |
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