1920s-1930s: Boom and Bust!
BOOM = Economic expansion
HISTORIOGRAPHY
David Snowman ( Historian) described
the roaring twenties as a decade of:
‘rose coloured
nightmares’
Context : 1920s – Glamour, jazz and wealth was just the
tip of the iceberg, what was underneath?
1920s
ARGUMENT
• For this issue, it is important to understand
the weaknesses and strengths of the US
economy.
• This was undoubtedly a BOOM time in
industry for big business and workers
HOWEVER you must also be able to argue that
this period of affluence also masked some
fundamental problems that CAUSED the Wall
Street Crash and consequently the depression.
Immediately after WWI
• There was a brief decline in US industry as
wartime orders halted and the demand from
European markets decreased.
• However, the rapid expansion in electrical
power and mass production in industry from
1922 onwards overcame this brief recession.
1928 President Hoover said "We in America today are
nearer the final triumph over poverty than ever before
in the history of any land".
1921-22 BOOM!
EMPLOYMENT
PROFIT
STANDARD OF
LIVING
Why did the American economy
boom?
Why does the boom last so long?
The 1920s BOOM
1. What statistical evidence can be used to prove
the 1920s was a decade of economic growth?
2. Why did WWI benefit the US economy?
3. Why did industry and consumers benefit from
mass production techniques?
4. What impact did the automobile have on other
industries?
5. Why did the public have more leisure time?
6. What areas in the economy did this then
stimulate?
Group task
• Each group will investigate a different factor
and argue that their factor is the most
important reason for the economic boom.
• You will present your argument in a 3 minute
presentation. You will also give the class 3-5
key points as notes.
Ford T
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA2P76g
QUCo
Republican
Presidents
The Century: America's Time - 19201929 Boom to Bust
documentary
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJlgil_38h
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