Causes of the USA Boom in the 1920's

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Causes of the USA Boom in the 1920's In the 1920’s America had a colossal boom in industry, most called this the ‘Age of Excess’. From 1921 to 1929 the USA gross national product was increased by over thirty billion dollars. This sudden change in economy occurred for a number of reasons and helped the USA gain its current title as a global superpower. The main cause for the boom in America was WW1. The allies just didn’t have the resources to produce the weapons needed to continue the war effort themselves. Therefore they bought the required munitions etc. off the Americans, so as a result the Americans where being pumped full of money from the allies. This meant that while the allies fought the war and were being depleted of their wealth the Americans had a time of prosperity resulting in the USA finishing WW1 as the richest country in the world, while the of rest of the world tried to back on their feet. This meant that there was a lot more money in the US economy so new technology could be researched before any other country in the world giving America an overall advantage. The government also added to the boom by the way they did things. The Fordney McUmber tariff was introduced in 1922 which increased the price of foreign goods being sold in America making them more expensive than American products. This meant that the foreign produce would be no match for home grown produce which encouraged people to buy American products keeping the money in the American economy. This was called 'Protectionism' and ‘Isolationism’. The government also lowered taxes and introduced the policy of laissez-faire. Lowering taxes gave the Ameri... ... middle of paper ... ...jobs. * Black people who were capable of getting higher paid jobs or those who tried were always stopped by the K.K.K. The K.K.K. was an organisation which aimed to keep black people from getting better jobs. The K.K.K. was mainly made up of low paid white people who were scared that black people would come along and work for less than they would. Immigrants to the country suffered in a similar way especially those from poorer countries with little education. They were resented for taking the jobs from white Americans who felt they were of greater value. The coat and textile industries were in decline because of new alternatives to their produce. Oil, gas and electricity were becoming more readily available and manmade fibres were cheap since they didn't rely on expensive cotton imported from India.

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