1. The Economy of the 1920s
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2. Industrial Growth
After WWI ended it was followed by severe recession in agriculture and industry
From 1922 to 1928 industrial production climbed 70%
Many companies switched to producing consumer goods instead of producing military goods
Refrigerators, radios, and cars filled the market
Prices dropped when more goods came to the markets
To encourage people to buy more goods businesses offered installment buying
Americans got 75% of their cars on the installment plan in 1925
There were new forms of advertising with images of things people should buy
Middle-class women were affected by these changes
Vacuum cleaners, toasters, washing machines, and refrigerators all lightened the household workload
Installment buying- buying on credit

3. Continue Government policies helped boost the economy
Taxes on the wealthy were cut to encourage greater spending
Ford announced its new model in 1928
500,000 or a half a million people made a down payment on their car without seeing it

5. A Booming Stock Market People started investing in the stock market
stock values kept on rising. This was called a bull market
As the market continued to rise, investors had no problem paying the loan back
Many Americans grew wealthy by buying and selling stocks
Investors accumulated fortunes
By 1928, economists began to worry
Experts warned that the stock market was overvalued
Investors ignored the warnings
Investors preferred to listen to predictions. Like this one spoken by Irwin Fisher, “ The nation is marching along a permanently high plateau of prosperity”.
Irwin Fisher was a professor of economics in 1929.
The wealthiest Americans made up about 5% of the population
Bull market- Rising of stock prices
Buying on margin -Borrowing money in order to buy stocks
Accumulate- To slowly collect

6. Signs of trouble ( farmers)
Farmers didn’t participate in the good times
There are several reasons for the agricultural depression
One of the reasons were that farmers grew far more crops than the American public could consume
Demand for American farm products declined after the war, because many nations were to poor to purchase them
High debt was another reason for rural poverty
In the good years, farmers had taken out loans to buy new lands and equipment
After the war, sales went down
Many farmers were unable to pay off their debts

7. Signs of trouble ( Workers)
Wages were rising
Companies also began offering new benefits, such as pensions and paid vacations, in an attempt to keep their workers from joining unions
Unemployment was high
People who had jobs found their jobs changing
The assembly line system was squeezing out skilled labor
Unskilled workers could handle the work- and they received lower pay

8. The Election of 1928
The Republicans had held the presidency and they claimed responsibility for the decade’s prosperity
For the Republicans candidate in the presidential election of 1928, they chose Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover
The Democrats nominated Governor Alfred E. Smith
Smith was the first Catholic ever to run for president
Religion became one of the issues
Immigrants, Catholics, and urban residents tended to support Smith
Rural residents and Protestants tended to support Hoover
Economy was another major issue
Hoover pledged to continue the policies he credited for prosperity
Smith won the largest cities, but he lost every state but Massachusetts and six Deep South states
Hoover won the special strength in rural areas
Herbert Hoover entered the White House in 1929

9. Herbert Hoover
Alfred E. Smith

10. Video :)
1920’s economy

11. BY: Clara J.