The USA Between the Wars

Ø      Americans took an isolationist attitude against the rest of the world after WWI. Wilson set up the League of Nations, but the USA did not join.

Ø      The melting pot concept of America began to shut down with stricter regulations on Immigration through the Immigration Acts and Neutrality Acts

Ø      American politicians stated that they would only get involved internationally when the security and prosperity of the USA was directly affected

Ø      Racial tensions mounted, slavery had been abolished in 1865, but between 1920-25, 5 million Americans joined the Ku Klux Klan, and anti-black, anti-Jewish, anti-everything except white power was being pushed.

Prohibition

Ø      In 1920, the USA banned the consumption of liquor.

Ø      This was a political movement to rid society of the evils of drink, religion was in its base

Ø      All it really did was to create speakeasies; illegal bars, rumrunners, people were going to get it if they wanted it

Ø      Dutch Schultz and Al Capone made huge profits, as gangsters took over the illegal trade. They also gained fame from the public and the media because they were hard to catch criminally.

Ø      13 years later, prohibition was abolished with its long lasting effects being turning regular people into lawbreakers.

Industrial Breakthrough

Ø      1917-1929, rapid and powerful growth in the USA

Ø      The assembly line created by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company allowed products to be rapidly made at less cost

Ø      Concrete mixers, dump trucks, telephone switchboards, rayon, synthetics, radios, cameras, vacuums, washing machines, and especially cars were now mass-produced.

Ø      The silent film industry boomed in Hollywood, making huge profits.

Ø      Radio became very big, combined with film they were huge vehicles for advertising

Ø      Union membership dropped as the concept of workers uniting was seen to be communist and un-American

The 1920s Experience

Ø      Herbert Hoover was president from 1929-1933, and declared American economic progress as unstoppable

Ø      People were rapidly investing in the countries by buying company stocks and shares. As industry boomed, the value of the stocks increased, so more people invested.

Ø      People bought on the Margin – the buyer bought with a small percentage of cash, and the rest was covered by loans

Ø      Brokers provided the loans; they got loans from banks and companies

Ø      Speculation buying and hoping the value of the shares would rise, and that the person could sell it at a profit before repaying their debt was the whole game, the person would then take any left over profit after paying off their debt and re-invest it with more shares on the margin

Ø      Between 1926-29, just about everyone with cash was doing this.

Ø      In the roaring 20s – America seemed to be the best place on earth.