Research Paper: Roaring Twenties
After World War 1, America had to demobilize and revert back to a peace time economy. During the 1920’s, it was viewed as a prosperous economy since there was a new labor force due to demobilization, new inventions, and a new infrastructure. Also moral spirits were high since America along with the Allied Powers defeated Germany and the Great War was finally over. However, America began making many economic policies and decisions that will eventually lead up to the Great Depression.
One economic policy was that “the Federal Reserve had raised interest rates in hopes of slowing the rapid rise in stock prices” (Romer, 3). At the time the “stock prices had risen more than fourfold from the low of 1920” (3). With the raised interest rates, this would slow down the economy, but more specifically in the construction and automobile areas because they are “interest sensitive” (3). This would slow down the constructions especially in the construction of the new infrastructure. Also there was a boom in housing in the early 1920’s that led to a surplus of houses, causing the housing sales to decrease. With this, less construction was needed, therefore shrinking the labor force and slowing down the economy. Production would also decrease for the automobile industry because it was an interest sensitive industry. Therefore, jobs vanished from the two industries causing the economy to stagnate. All of this was because of the raised interest rates from the Federal Reserve causing a chain reaction that would slow down the economy leading it into the Great Depression.
Another policy that the government incorporated was the creation of a new infrastructure. The government became involved with the new infrast...
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In the Roaring Twenties, people started buying household materials and stocks that they could not pay for in credit. Farmers, textile workers, and miners all got low wages. In 1929, the stock market crashed. All of these events started the Great Depression. During the beginning of the Great Depression, 9000 banks were closed, ending nine million savings accounts. This lead to the closing of eighty-six thousand businesses, a European depression, an overproduction of food, and a lowering of prices. It also led to more people going hungry, more homeless people, and much lower job wages. There was a 28% increase in the amount of homeless people from 1929 to 1933. And in the midst of the beginning of the Great Depression, President Hoover did nothing to improve the condition of the nation. In 1932, people decided that America needed a change. For the first time in twelve years, they elected a democratic president, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Immediately he began to work on fixing the American economy. He closed all banks and began a series of laws called the New Laws. L...
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World War I may not have made the world safe for democracy, but it did help to lay the groundwork for a decade of American economic expansion. The war began in Europe in 1914, and the United States entered the fray in 1917. The 1920s saw the growth of the culture of consumerism. A significant reason for United States involvement in the war was the nation’s economic links to the Allied Powers, and especially to Great Britain. American soldiers returned home in May 1919 with the promise of a prosperous decade (Baughman 197).
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Many inventions, such as the assembly line, allowed for the mass production of goods. Along with these inventions, the government also aided business throughout the 1920 's. However, while business was aided and encouraged, labor was ignored and even smothered. This complete favoritism towards business and the ignoring of labor resulted in a very uneven distribution of wealth in the nation 's economy.”(Causes of Stock Market Crash)
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During the late 1920s the United States was going through an economic depression that was caused by the failure of the stock market. When the stock market crashed, millions of people lost their savings, jobs and also their homes. About millions of people end up traveling across the country in order to find a job to help them to support their family. After becoming the president, Franklin D. Roosevelt want to help the country by stopping the depression and it too never occur again in the United States.
The Great Depression is known as the greatest time of recession in American history. Many factors contributed to this hard time. With the stock market boom in the 1920’s, our country was filled with optimism for the future. Although there were signs of problems to come former President Herbert Hoover was just as convinced as the nation that they were only going through a rough patch and would be back on their feet in no time. That was until the stock market crash of 1929, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression. The stock market crash led to bank and company failures. Many people became unemployed and had to leave their homes. Families also had to move away because of the drought that caused dust storms and ultimately the Dust Bowl. Soon enough, thousands were migrating to find jobs elsewhere. Eventually when former President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected into office, he presented America with “The New Deal,” the plan that would save America and bring the nation up and out of the recession.
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The 1920s were a time of change for the people of America, and they began with a boom. This boom was initially caused by the combination of America’s inherent rich natural resources and the First World War, and was further propelled by the lack of regulation on business as promoted by the Republican government and by new, different, improved methods of operation in business and industry. Though the boom would never have occurred without the initial causes, the boom would never have had such a profound impact on all aspects of economics and society as it did if it had not been for the revolution in industry and its effect on the state of mind of the American population. The main reason for the boom in the 1920s was the confidence and new attitudes of the population, which both caused and were caused by the boom, and which thereby sustained the boom.