AMERICA IN THE ROARING TWENTIES

1) Explain the quotation:” the man who builds a factory builds a temple”.

The man who said these words was the president of the United States during 1923 to
1929 and they are referred to the policies of American governments in the 1920’s.
Those governments that were controlled by Republican parties believed that if the
government looked after the interests of the business men, everybody would become
richer. As well many factories would take more workers so this would benefit them too.

2) Explain the quotation :”a chicken in every pot and two cars in every garage”

The quotation that was told by the president of the USA Herbert Hubert in 1928, is referred
to the poverty that many workers and farmers were facing in the country and how under
his own perspective, that situation would change very soon as economy grow faster.

3) Describe American politics; economy and society in the twenties

The United States was very rich during the twenties. Because of the WWI, other countries
owned it a lot of money. The country had plenty of raw materials and many factories too.
American factories produced more goods every year. There were many of them producing
automobiles and the number of cars in the streets rose dramatically. The electrical industry
also prospered as thousands of radios; refrigerators and more stuff were manufactured.
The growth of industry made many Americans well-off. Many people invested their money
in successful firms so that they could share in their profits .Others preferred to buy new
products with their money. Often they obtained these products by paying a small amount
of the price and agreeing to pay the rest through an “installment plan”. Business men like
Henry Ford became widely popular as they represented the’ nation’s prosperity’. The
government helped those men by placing high taxes on goods from abroad. At the same
time congress reduced taxes on high incomes and company profits so this gave rich men
more money to invest. On the other hand, there were lots of American poor too. Immigrant
workers labored long hours for low wages in still mills, factories and slauther houses. In
the south, thousands of poor farmers, both black and white worked from sunrise to sunset
to earn barely enough to live on. The main reason for poverty among industrial workers
was low wages. Many farmers in the south did not own their own land, they were
sharecroppers and for rent they had to give a big part of what they grew to the land owners
so that they were left with a small part. In the west most families had their own land but
they had it difficult too. During WWI they had been able to sell wheat to Europe for high
prices, but by 1921 the countries of Europe no longer needed American food. At the same
time, farmers also found it difficult to sell their food at home as immigration had fallen. The
thing was different for those who owned shares on stock in industrial companies. Sales of
consumer goods went on rising so this set up the values of shares in such firms.
4) According to the author, what was the impact of the American films in the rest of the
world?

In terms of the author, Hollyhood movies showed people a world that was more exciting,
more free and more equal than their own. The world of the movies remained a dream
world separate from real life. On the other hand, for others it made them realize that their
own conditions of life could be improved in a way.

5) Describe Wall Street crush. Explain the causes and consequences of the crush.

By 1929, buying and selling shares had become almost a national hobby. You could see
this from the rise in the number of shares changing hands. During the 1920’s you could
buy shares on credit and a hundred dollars cash would buy a thousand dollars worth of
shares from any stockbroker. Many people borrowed large amounts of money from the
banks to buy shares in this way; it was called ‘on the margin’. Most of these share buyers
were really gamblers; their idea was to spot shares that would quickly rise in value. By the
fall of 1929 the urge to buy shares had become a fever. Prices went up but many people
had doubts. The profits made by American firms had been decreasing for some time.
Slowly people began to sell their shares and prices grew.Consequently, so many people
started selling their shares that prices did start to fall. The fall became faster and the panic
began. By the end of the year the value of all shares had dropped 40,000 million.
Thousands of people found themselves facing debts and ruin, some committed suicide.
The collapse of American share prices was known as the Wall Street Crash and the main
cause was that even though industry had grown a lot, not many Americans could buy what
they were producing because they did not have the enough money to do that.

6) How did the American Wall Street Crush affect Europe?

After the Wall Street Crush, the banks wanted their money back. European buyers
became short of cash and American overseas sales dried up almost completely. Goods
piled up unsold in factory warehouses. Employers stopped employing workers and
reduced production. Unemployed workers in Germany or Britain received no government
unemployment pay so many were soon without food and homes and had to live of charity.
Millions had to spend hours in ‘breadlines’, here they receive free pieces of bread or bowls
of soup, paid for money collected from those who could afford it.