After the First World War America was a completely different country. The twenties was a very unusual time period in American History. The twenties were a time of fun and partying. There are many reasons why it was called the Roaring Twenties. Most of the American people were living a great life and were able to afford luxury items, even though this didnt apply to every one many believed that it was excellent and exciting a time of great hopes. In the twenties, industry took a very big step. It nearly doubled.
Not only did industry grow so did science, fads, laws, beliefs, arts, social lives changed, sports and the various different news from around the globe. The twenties were a jam-packed decade. The work week had dropped from 60 to 48 hours. For the first time, the Americans considered play as important as work. The weekend family outing and vacation had become things workers expected it. Huge numbers of people had radios went to the movies and owned a car. Jazz was also introduced in the 20’s At this time women were needed in society and men began to accept them.
The car and train industry was the largest industry there was. The assembly line made mass production possible, and the industry boomed. “The Economic Boom”. America was now a very powerful envy of many countries. America had High production and low unemployment Henry Ford’s assembly line in Detroit was the largest one in the country. When Ford first started making cars, the only car he made was a black Model-T. Almost everybody in the United States had a car. Three-out-of-four families owned one or more cars. With the assembly line they made a lot more cars in one day than they did before.
Instead of paying for the cars with cash, people could now use credit to purchase items. Since most families didn’t have the money, they would buy the car with credit and pay off the debt later. Over 23 million cars were made. Other scientific things that were invented at the time was freezing to preserve foods, car companies for example Ford and Chrysler, dry roll film and portable cameras. There were many reasons for the boom they were: Mass production: Factories around the USA could use electricity and set up assembly lines and make objects quickly.
The cars were made identical to make them easier to make and so they are cheaper. America was being paid back loaned that it had lent other countries during the war; on top of this they were making interest. The banks now had lots of money to lend to people setting up a business or for people to buy on the margin. Taxation was kept low and businesses and companies able to keep much of the profit to invest in new efficient factories that produced goods at a cheaper price. Advertising also played a part in the boom, these convinced people to buy their items. They exaggerated.
Advertising took place on the Posters, radio newspapers, magazines and cinema, they encouraged people to buy more and more, and the families had many more items than the rest of the world. When something new had come along every one had to buy it. It was like competitions between the Americans- To see who could get the better things. Hire purchase was also introduced to enable people to have consumer goods straight away. It leads to higher production. Tariffs were also placed on objects on other countries things so the buyer would prefer to only buy American goods.
The last reason for the great success in the American industry was the consumer confidence. The Americans were brave enough to invest in the market and set up their business. The also had the confidence to buy goods on hire purchase. Many people benefited from the boom. The general group were the average Americans who either bought on the margin or made money in other ways. Factory owners and companies made massive profits. The number of millionaires rose from 7,000 in 1914 to 35,000 in 1920. The bad side during the 1920’s was terrorism, which made large amounts of illegal money.
The main name was Alphonse Capone. All these people had made this money by selling items and making a profit on them. Companies made money by mass production and Advertising. But when prohibition was introduced the Liquor and beer was made up of a variety of cheap disgusting substances. One persons view-The parties were bigger… the pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser…. Another’s view “It was the first truly modern decade and, for better or worse, it created the model for society that all the world follows today.
On the other hand some people did not benefit from the Economic boom. These people were the Unemployed, for the main reason that they had no money and could not buy goods. Immigrants additionally did not benefit because they could not speak English. 8 million immigrants had crossed in hope of jobs, When they did arrived they had to live in cramped appalling conditions and treated unfairly and were not paid very well at all, (better that what they used to get) even if they managed to get a job. They were at fight with many people for work.
The got the boring casual jobs like cleaning. The black people also suffered from the boom because farmers had to give up their farm, as they made no money. The farmers labourers then in turn lost their jobs. The blacks had to move to the cities to find jobs. When they were in the North they were unskilled and not used to the technology and were victims of racist fights. They had to work long hours. They were in competitions with the immigrants and unskilled. The black Americans lived in the slum areas and lived in dreadful living conditions.
They were often tarred and feathered or even lynched. There were strict differences between the races. The last lot of people not to gain from the boom were the farmers. Many American diets had changed and they ate less starch and the farmers had a lot of left food over unable to sell. They would of sold hem abroad but there was no point for the reason that tariffs would be placed on them. The price for wheat had fallen. They would have to abandon their farmland and move to the rural areas. Over 600,000 farmers went bankrupt within 5 years.
Person who disliked the boom- “It was also an era of pettiness, ignorance and poverty” I believe that the Economic boom in America was a good thing and that the good points out weighed the bad. Yet there were some very bad issues. The Technology, Industry, Music, Architecture, Arts and science advanced to a great extent and many things became available to every human. The old equipment was soon adapted, and is used today. The quality of living conditions slightly improved but America was still far from perfect.