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Edexcel A2 History 6HI03/C2 - USA - June 8th 2015 Thread!

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Reply 80
For restrictions to immigration, what factors are there other than the Red Scare and WW1?

Would a rise in Nativism (protecting the interest of native inhabitants againts those of immigrants based on fears that immigrants will distort or spoil existing cultural values) be suitable?

The Eugenic Movement: Madison Grant and his argument that the immigrants were diluting the 'superior Nordic' gene pool of the US.
80% of immigrants in 1880-1920 were natives of Southern and Eastern Europe and culturally and ethically different than the 'old immigrants' who had come from the Nordic countries with the main difference being that old immigrants were mainly protestant and new immigrants were mainly catholic.

OR

Would the rise of the KKK be more suitable for this question?
For an immigration question I would include:
- hostility after WW1 due to fear of communism/bolshevik revolution, this leads to the quota acts 21/24
- southern attitudes to immigration (hostility as immigrants moving to northern cities took away southern political representation in the house of representatives)
- sacco and vanzetti case
- kkk

really hoping this comes up as its probably my best topic!
Reply 82
Can you outline some of the social impacts of the New Deal? I'm confident on economic but not social
What sort of question would Women's suffrage come up?
And can someone outline the structure for a post world war 2 prosperity question please? What would you discuss in each paragraph
Original post by Frank Costello
What sort of question would Women's suffrage come up?
And can someone outline the structure for a post world war 2 prosperity question please? What would you discuss in each paragraph


i think the only way it could be within a question would be if women came up as a general topic, eg how far do you agree that women's suffrage was the main achievement for women in the 1920s, or something like that. in which case you could write about suffrage, sheppard towner act, speakeasies, employment, maybe advertisement?
Reply 85
Original post by chl0ejasminee
Economic collapse in 1929 was essentially due to a collection of reasons which interconnect:

- 1920s Republican Policies (High tariffs: 1921 Emergency Tariff Act & 1922 Fordney McCumber Act limited trade, Pro-business policies allowed price fixing and monopolies, Low taxes only benefitted the Middle Classes and distribution income upwards, No regulation of Wall Street and the Banking System allowed them to collapse)

- Weaknesses of the Banking System: The banking system was not regulated, many banks were small and operated independently, there was no protection or security of banks.

- The Wall Street Crash: Crashed due to unregulation, low interest rates, buying on the margin etc.

- Agriculture Problems: Farming was devastated due to over production post WW1, they used new technologies such as fertilisers which increased this and high tariffs reduced their exports. Net farm income decline, 54% of farmers had an annual income of less than $1000 and 66% operated at a loss, farm prices were declining. This all meant farmers couldn't prosper or consume.

- Overproduction in New & Old Industries: Old industries declined due to insufficient demand which derived from new industries limiting their markets, high tariffs limiting their trade etc. This in turn led to a decline in prices, thus decline in wages and employment, which inevitably led to underconsumption and lack of purchasing power.

- The International Dimension: WW1 meant that countries such as GB/France had war debts which limited their purchasing power and Germany was in a recession. This created a decline in international trade ($36 billion - $12 billion) But this was fuelled by republican policies and their high tariffs.

Who benefited from the boom:
Benefited:
- Middle Classes (due to low taxes)
- Big businesses (pro-business: price fixing/monopolies/cartels and anti-trade unions)

Didn't benefit:
- Farming (high tariffs, devastation post WW1 made worse by the introduction of new technologies etc)
- Black & Native Americans (many were sharecroppers, 85% lived in rural America, many had incomes of less than $200 a year and those who migrated north had to live in ghettos and faced discrimination)
- Trade Unions (government was against their interests)
- Women (to an extent; remained in low paid jobs, domestic service, discriminated in wages but also gained the vote and 23-24% were employed)

Reasons for the boom:
(These are also interlinked)

WW1: laid economic foundations for prosperity (increased trade, employment, wages etc)
New Technologies: such as the car industry (Ford/General Motors) which in turn increased its suppliers industries (rubber/plate glass/steel) electrical industry (Insull) chemical (Du Pont)
Working Practices: Taylorism: scientific management: faster production, cheaper, mass production, more efficient.
Consumerism & Advertising: Billboards, radios, cinemas: raised profits (80%) and share dividends (65%) and sale of consumer goods ($7 billion on easy credit)
Republican policies: High tariffs (gave a domestic market) Low taxes (increased purchasing power) Pro business policies (allowed businesses to prosper)

KKK:

Influential:
1920 it had 100,000 members > 5 million 19125
Not simply concentrated in rural areas, also in big cities eg Dallas/Detriot
Entered congress in 1924 (Klan members were governors/senators) and contributed to Al Smith's defeat
Not simply working class members of the Klan: also middle class
Controlled politicians and other forces (police force in Birmingham)

Obviously there is loads to counter against this.

Hope any of this helps! Message me if you need more evidence etc.


Thank you so much!


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Reply 86
Social and political tensions in 1920s just KKK, immigration/imposition of controls, prohibition/growing cities with a black urban population, jazz and women?


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Original post by florencegarnham
i think the only way it could be within a question would be if women came up as a general topic, eg how far do you agree that women's suffrage was the main achievement for women in the 1920s, or something like that. in which case you could write about suffrage, sheppard towner act, speakeasies, employment, maybe advertisement?


Thanks, that wouldn't be a bad question.
Any ideas on how you would structure a post world war 2 prosperity question? Can only think of impact of war and consumerism to talk about
Reply 88
Original post by florencegarnham
For an immigration question I would include:
- hostility after WW1 due to fear of communism/bolshevik revolution, this leads to the quota acts 21/24
- southern attitudes to immigration (hostility as immigrants moving to northern cities took away southern political representation in the house of representatives)
- sacco and vanzetti case
- kkk

really hoping this comes up as its probably my best topic!


Can you explain KKK and southern attitudes?
Original post by Faris480
Can you explain KKK and southern attitudes?


Southern attitudes - When immigrants came over to America they generally headed for Northern cities as that was where the jobs where, and the North was more accepting of immigrants (eg black Jazz musicians in speakeasies). Therefore the population of Northern cities grew, thus increasing their representation in the House of Representatives (which was organised by proportional representation). People in the South disapproved of this as they felt that they had less political influence due to less members in the House of Representatives. This is a reason for the government, who partly relied on support from white Southerners, to restrict immigration.

KKK - They were a movement who campaigned for white supremacy and morality, thus terrorising black people and immigrants. The growth in the party (going from 100,000 members in 1920 to 5million in 1925) meant they were a big enough force to influence political decisions in elections, therefore the government had to appease. They also emphasised America's hostility to immigrants and how people were not supportive of the way that the world was changing.

Hope this helps!
Original post by florencegarnham
i think the only way it could be within a question would be if women came up as a general topic, eg how far do you agree that women's suffrage was the main achievement for women in the 1920s, or something like that. in which case you could write about suffrage, sheppard towner act, speakeasies, employment, maybe advertisement?


Please can you explain women's achievements in relation to speakeasies and advertisement?
Original post by helpmeguys
Please can you explain women's achievements in relation to speakeasies and advertisement?


speakeasies promoted gender equality - flappers, shorter skirts/hair, women drinking
advertising identified women as a target audience, eg Good Housekeeping magazine, Sears Roebuck opening their department store in 1925
You could also put Hollywood for women e.g. Clara Bow and Mary Pickford, they were the 'it' girls that also enticed people to visit the cinema often (100 million every week by 1930)
Original post by Frank Costello
Thanks, that wouldn't be a bad question.
Any ideas on how you would structure a post world war 2 prosperity question? Can only think of impact of war and consumerism to talk about


For post WW2 prosperity you could talk about:
- Military spending (during WW2)
- Post WW2 military spending (for the Cold War, Berlin Airlift, Koren War - also government spending via the 1944 GI Bill Of Rights Act where government paid for the 8 million in the scheme to go to university, set up business etc.)
- Consumerism (baby boom, construction, increase in home goods)
- Post WW2 Trading (abandoned protectionism, allowed global trade and entered the UN/World Bank/IMF)
- Impact of the New Deal (not too much emphasis on this but it could be argued Post WW2 prosperity was due to FDR setting a precedent for government spending and laid the economic groundwork with his banking reforms etc)

Hope this helps!
Original post by chl0ejasminee
For post WW2 prosperity you could talk about:
- Military spending (during WW2)
- Post WW2 military spending (for the Cold War, Berlin Airlift, Koren War - also government spending via the 1944 GI Bill Of Rights Act where government paid for the 8 million in the scheme to go to university, set up business etc.)
- Consumerism (baby boom, construction, increase in home goods)
- Post WW2 Trading (abandoned protectionism, allowed global trade and entered the UN/World Bank/IMF)
- Impact of the New Deal (not too much emphasis on this but it could be argued Post WW2 prosperity was due to FDR setting a precedent for government spending and laid the economic groundwork with his banking reforms etc)

Hope this helps!


That's brilliant, thankyou!
Reply 95
Original post by florencegarnham
For an immigration question I would include:
- hostility after WW1 due to fear of communism/bolshevik revolution, this leads to the quota acts 21/24
- southern attitudes to immigration (hostility as immigrants moving to northern cities took away southern political representation in the house of representatives)
- sacco and vanzetti case
- kkk

really hoping this comes up as its probably my best topic!


Sound that's put my mind at ease a bit mate x
Is a question focused on just women likely to come up?
Original post by ycullebanna
Is a question focused on just women likely to come up?


That's what my history teacher predicts haha, it's a possibility as its on the syllabus it would be a tricky question though as it is so specific


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If I were to do a question about women specifically is structure it:

Women's suffrage - 19th amendment, Alice Paul, Margaret Sanger - mention that once they got the vote, middle class white women were the primary voters
Impact of WW1 - employment etc - 1.6 million employed because of WW1 however revert back to traditional roles afterwards, also mention how they fought for equal pay in 1923 however was ignored by unions, and there were few professions eg 150 dentists and 100 accounts MAX during 1920s period
Changing position - flapper lifestyle, freedom, sex before marriage (also how old America opposed this eg anti flirt league)
Hollywood - icons eg Clara bow and Mary Pickford, considered the it girls that enticed people to go to the cinema, as well Clara now advertised for coca cola - they acted as symbols for the modern women

As well mention the Shepard Towner act under Harding, which gave loans to mothers however the national women's party went against this as it promoted the traditional role of women as child bearers and housewives


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Is this for boom, bust & recovery?!

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