American Life In the Roaring 20’s

Paranoia With WW1 over, Americans became concerned about INTERNAL ENEMIES— Communist revolutionaries had OVERTHROWN the government of the Russian Empire— And had vowed to do the same in the United States. With vast numbers of immigrants in the country… How could we be certain that some of them weren’t plotting a REVOLUTION in the United States. In response, the US government began to sharply limit immigration— Especially from nations in Eastern Europe and Asia— Hotbeds of communist activity. This period of PARANOIA is called the RED SCARE.

The Calvin Coolidge Administration Despite these issues, the 1920’s was a time of great PROSPERITY— One of the main reasons was the administration of President Calvin Coolidge. Economic growth is usually strongest in nations with LIMITED GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT in the activities of businesses— This is called… Laissez Faire Economics— And Coolidge kept the government’s HANDS OFF of the economy. He was also an isolationist— who believed that the US should HEED GEORGE WASHINGTON’s ADVICE. As a result of these policies— And of postwar OPTIMISM— The US enjoyed an economic BOOM— “The Roaring 20’s”. The Calvin Coolidge Administration

The US economy during the 1920's is BEST characterized as... iRespond Question Multiple Choice F 9081D9D2-31F3-5945-805E-8C710C74E381 A.) a period of slow growth and cautious consumption. B.) a period of swift growth and credit-driven consumption. C.) a period of slow economic decline. D.) a period of swift economic decline. E.)

Henry Ford Another icon of 1920’s economic prosperity was Henry Ford… Who perfected his first version of the lightweight, gas-powered car in 1896… And started his own automobile company in 1903… He sold 30,000 “Model T” cars in 1907… But wanted to sell them CHEAPER—WHY? So that he could SELL MORE CARS.

Before Ford, car parts were hand-made, by skilled craftsmen— Ford ordered all parts to be mass-produced— INTERCHANGEABLE— And then divided the job of building a car into 84 separate tasks… And as cars rolled past, each worker did the same thing over and over again. Such work is basically UNSKILLED— Therefore CHEAP— And also FAST— Which allowed him to lower prices to $390— And he sold almost 16,000,000 between 1907 and 1926. The Assembly Line

How did Henry Ford's perfection of the use of the assembly line impact the price and manufacture of US automobiles? iRespond Question F Multiple Choice A.) prices increased and manufacturing slowed. B.) prices increased and manufacturing increased. C.) prices decreased and manufacturing increased. D.) prices remained the same and manufacturing slowed. E.)

American Culture in the Roaring 20’s Widespread prosperity meant that Americans had disposable income to spend on entertainment… Millions of Americans went to the movies each week… And millions more purchased radios for home entertainment. Jazz music, produced by American geniuses like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, attained international popularity… And composer Irving Berlin wrote the UNOFFICIAL American national anthem— God Bless America.