Changes in History

Changes in History: America between the World WarsAmerica through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression to World War Two.

After The Great WarSoldiers returned to America with wartime wages to spend on goods.After a very brief recession, the economy began to pick up dramatically.Soldiers from the war entered the workforce and used their money to buy new consumer goods.

http://www.history.com/photos/world-war-i-trench-warfare/photo9New TechnologiesMass production made it possible for goods to be consumed by the middle class.Henry Fords assembly line allowed mass production to occur much faster.Items such as cars, refrigerators and radios were sold at very high rates in the 1920s.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/auto-manufacturing/automotive-production-line.htmPopular CultureThe Roaring Twenties can be described as an age of consumerism, entertainment and materialism.Movies in the cinema became financially available to the middle and some lower class people.The Twenties were also known as the Jazz age and feature famous Jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

http://greenobles.com/louis-armstrong.htmlQuizQuestion #1: What happened at the end of the Great War when the American Soldiers returned home?A. Soldiers were unable to find jobs after returning home and had to be supported financially by the government.B. Returning soldiers entered the workforce and used their wages from the war to spend on consumer goods.C. The soldiers never came home, but instead stayed in Europe.D. Soldiers, with their massive war wages never worked again and instead lived lavish lives in the high class.Correct AnswerB. Returning soldiers entered the workforce and used their wages from the war to spend on consumer goods.

QuizQuestion #2: Which new items became available to the middle class in the 1920s?A. The Automatic rifle and the television.B. The Washing Machine and the Dryer.C. The Radio and the Refrigerator.D. The Automobile and the Cassette player.

Correct AnswerC. The Radio and the Refrigerator.QuizQuestion #3: Who was Louis Armstrong?A. Innovator of the Assembly Line.B. A famous Jazz Musician of the Roaring Twenties.C. The First man on the moon.D. A returning soldier of The Great War who made it big in the Automobile business.Correct AnswerB. A famous Jazz Musician of the Roaring Twenties.

The End of the Roaring TwentiesBy the late 1920s, several hundred thousands of Americans were investing in the Stock Market. Banks were lending money to people to invest in the stocks.On October 1929, there was a panic when many stock prices began plummeting and investors hurried to sell their stocks and get what money they could.In only a matter of days stocks lost most of their value and on Black Tuesday, the Stock Market crashed, banks shut down with peoples money still in them and the Roaring Twenties came to a screeching halt.

http://little-miss-medic.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-tuesday.htmlThe Great DepressionWith the Stock Market Crash and the end of the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression began in America. Unemployment rose dramatically, at one was at 25%.Interest rates dropped, but as a result, deflation occurred.The Great Depression was happening all around the world, but was particularly bad in America

http://crossharpchronicles.wordpress.com/2008/11/The Dust BowlDuring the Great Depression and in particular the mid 1930s, terrible winds ravaged the Great Plains region of the US. The strong winds created huge dust storms and destroyed farmland for several years.With their farmland useless and no source of income, several million people in the Midwest saw their homes foreclosed by the government.Several million people moved from Oklahoma, Texas and other states out of the Midwest to California in particular and because of the Great Depression, could only find starvation rate jobs.

http://cai.ucdavis.edu/steinbeck/dustbowl/thedustbowl.htmlQuiz #2Question #4: What was NOT an important factor in the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in the United States?A. Strong winds ravaging across the Midwestern US.B. People borrowing large amounts of money to invest in stocks.C. A skyrocketing unemployment rate due to businesses letting off millions of employees nationally.D. The Great War leaving the American economy exhausted and drained of resources.Correct AnswerD. The Great War leaving the American economy exhausted and drained of resources.

Quiz #2Question #5: What region did the Dust Bowl affect the most?A. California and the western coast.B. The Midwest Great Plains region.C. The Southeast including Georgia and Florida.D. The New England Region including New York and Pennsylvania.Correct AnswerB. The Midwest Great Plains region.

Quiz #2Question #6: What Happened on Black Tuesday?A. Was the first day of terrible winds ravaging the American Midwest.B. Several thousand people took their holds out of banks, causing the bank system to collapse.C. Millions of Shoppers flooded stores across the US the day after Thanksgiving.D. Millions of Stocks were traded, lost value and the Stock Market Crashed.Correct AnswerD. Millions of Stocks were traded, lost value and the Stock Market Crashed.Ending the Dust BowlAfter FDR took office in 1933, he addressed the Dust Bowl by ordering millions of trees to be planted throughout the Midwest to break the winds and hold moisture in the soil.The Government bought millions of livestock from poor farmers for good prices and redistributed them to poor and hungry families.The US Gov taught farmers new soil conservation farming techniques and payed them to practice the new techniques.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-54463_18595_18602-53515--,00.htmlFranklin Roosevelt and the New Deal

After being elected president in 1933, FDR initiated a series of economic reforms know as the New Deal.Unemployment steadily decreased through the last few years leading up to 1940 with job creation programs.Plans initiated to help, the poor, elderly and the jobless.3 Rs: Relief, Recovery and Reform.http://ushistoryclass.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/the-new-deal-presentation-guided-reading/World War Two a good thing?12 million men found employment through the military.Due to massive war spending, GNP increased dramatically. The US important millions of weapons and supplies to allies such as Britain and Russia.Industries recruited millions of people to work their factories, regardless of age, gender and in some areas, race.WW2 alongside the New Deal ended the Great Depression.

http://www.history.com/photos/women-factory-workers-of-world-war-ii/Quiz #3Question #7: Which US President played a huge role in ending the Great Depression?A. Calvin CoolidgeB. Teddy RooseveltC. Franklin RooseveltD. Dwight EisenhowerCorrect AnswerC. Franklin RooseveltQuiz #3Question #8 True or False: Roosevelt ordered the construction of several man-made lakes across the Midwest to stop the soil-erosion.A. TrueB. FalseCorrect AnswerB. FalseAfter becoming President, Roosevelt ordered the planting of several million trees across the Midwest to stop the soil erosion.Quiz #3Question #9: What were The Three Rs?A. Relief, Recovery and Reform.B. A plan for construction at the beginning of World War Two.C. The Motto and Goal of Roosevelts New Deal.D. Both A and C

Correct AnswerD. Both A and C

Quiz #3Question #10: What effect did WW2 have on the Great Depression?A. WW2 drained much needed money out of the American Economy and the Great Depression did not end until the 1950s.B. Had no effect on the Depression.C. It created jobs, America exported millions of dollars of weapons and the War ended the Great Depression.D. Due to Americas effort in the war, several countries involving France and Britain donated several million dollars to the US, lifting it out of the Great Depression.Correct AnswerC. It created jobs, America exported millions of dollars of weapons and the War ended the Great Depression.