American History

• The Republican Party is considered left-wing with conservative views, with Donald Trump being a key figure.
• Christopher Columbus "discovered" the American continent in 1932.
• From 1607 to 1700, a number of breakaway groups left Britain and arrived in America.

The Colonial Period

• Britain was not the only country interested in the Americas, with France, Spain, and Russia also showing interest.

The American War of Independence

• Lasted from 1776 to 1783.
• 13 colonies formed an alliance to fight Britain.
• Led by George Washington, the first president of the USA.
• The American people overthrew the British and established their own sovereign state.

Declaration of Independence

• The 13 colonies were under the supervision of the British Crown.
• The Declaration of Independence was on July 4th.

The American Constitution

• Came into effect on June 21, 1788.
• The supreme law of the USA.
• The Bill of Rights, consisting of the first 10 amendments, was introduced in 1789, granting rights such as freedom, the right to arms, and the right to plead the fifth.

Westwood Expansion

• In the 1800s, America began slowly expanding into the Westwood territory.
• This expansion began with the Louisiana Purchase.

The Civil War

• Lasted from 1861 to 1865.
• In 1854, opponents of slavery (abolitionists) set up the Republican Party.
• From 1860 to 1861, 11 pro-slavery states left the Union and formed the Confederate States of America.
• Led by Jefferson Davis.
• Triggered a civil war with abolitionist northern states.
• In 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states free.
• In 1865, Confederate states were defeated.
• The Civil War ended with slavery abolished under the 13th Amendment.
• Lincoln was assassinated.

Capitalism

• Capitalism is an economic system based on private ownership of means of production and the creation of goods and services for profit.
• Central characteristics include private property, capital accumulation, wage labor, and competitive markets.
• The government should have little to no intervention in the economy, which should be based on private ownership of means of production and creation of goods and services for profit.
• In a free market economy, the market, not the government, determines prices and the distribution of goods and services.
• Supporters argue that it encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, while critics argue that it often encourages the exploitation of workers in order to gain more profit.

Forms of Capitalism

Laissez-faire Capitalism:

• Involves no government interference in the economic or business affairs of individuals.
• There are no state-funded social services, such as schools and hospitals.
• It is an ideal rather than an actual economic system.
• The United States' economy has never remained "laissez faire", and has switched between implementations of laissez-faire ideas and heavy government regulation within the market.

Social Market Capitalism

• Involves minimal government intervention in the economy.
• Imposes some regulatory sanctions on issues such as health and provides social services.
• Examples include Australia, Japan, and Western Europe.
• America is a social market state but has the ideals of a laissez-faire capitalism, laissez faire capitalism is an ideal that is not realistic as an actual economic economy.

The Gilded Age

• Lasted from 1870 to 1890.
• America became the largest economy in the world after the Civil War
• Some businessmen, entrepreneurs, and industrialists accrued enormous wealth.
• There was no income or corporate tax to pay.
• Wealthy individuals lived opulent lives.
• Political corruption was rife.
• It was a time of large profits and industry expansion, but also an economic downturn.
• In the 1870s, depression left millions without jobs and forced to work in factories and sweatshops.
• USA had the highest rate of accidents in the industrialized world.
• There was a widely held view of Darwinism.
• The belief that the gap between the rich and the poor was part of the evolutionary order, i.e., natural selection.
• The Republican Party was in power for most of the period.
• Moves to regulate working hours or conditions were deemed unconstitutional.
• Proof of the boom is evident in the number of millionaires, increasing from 7,000 in 1914 to 35,000 in 1928.
• With the production of the Model T automobile, Henry Ford had an unforeseen and tremendous impact on American life and was regarded as a symbol of the transition from an agricultural to an industrial America.

Causes of Americas Boom (Capitalism)

• Civil war promoted industrial development in the north during the ‘second industrial revolution’.
• Government awarded land grants to private investors to build railways.
• The number of railways tripled between 1860 and 1880.
• New settlements developed around railways.
• Railways allowed for goods produced in factories to be transported across the nation and overseas.
• The second industrial revolution and corresponding Westwood expansion could not have occurred without railways.
• Commodore Vanderbilt was the wealthiest man in the United States and probably the greatest of the nineteenth century railroad barons, and one of the American Industrial Revolution's leading figures.
• Vanderbilt signed a deal with Rockefeller for exclusive rights to transport Rockefeller's oil products in order to rise above his competitors and own 90 percent of America's oil.

American Civil War

• From 1861 to 1865, there was a war between the United States and 11 southern states.
• Resulted from tensions surrounding the issue of slavery.
• After the election of President Abraham Lincoln, southern states wanted to secede (withdraw) from the country and form the Confederate States of America.
• 620,000 soldiers killed and millions injured.
• Confederates surrendered in 1865.

Post-Civil War: Reconstruction

• Lasted from 1865 to 1877.
• The process of rebuilding the South after the Civil War.
• Much of the South had been destroyed, including farms and plantations.
• To assist the South in becoming part of the Union, President Andrew Johnson wanted to be lenient on the South.
• Congress disagreed and began to pass harsh laws for the South, called the Black Codes.
• These laws prevented African Americans from voting, going to school, owning land, etc.
• Caused conflict between North and South.
• The Civil War confirmed the single political entity of the United States, led to freedom for more than four million enslaved Americans, established a more powerful and centralized federal government, and laid the foundation for America's emergence as a world power in the 20th century.

The Second Industrial Revolution

• The Civil War stimulated industrial development in the North.
• Soldiers needed guns, uniforms, ammunition, food, transport, etc.
• America’s economy entered a period known as the Second Industrial Revolution after the war, from 1870 – 1914.
• It also became associated with: innovations and inventions changed the way goods were produced, sold, and distributed.
• Rich resources and a growing migrant population allowed America to take advantage of these developments.
• 2.7 million soldiers sent to fight needed uniforms, guns, ammunition, food, and transport.
• There was a technological revolution during which a number of inventions and innovations emerged in manufacturing, transport, and communication.
• Notable transitions includes those from outwork (working from home) and small craft to factories and increased efficiency by eliminating waste and speeding up work.
• Some developments included: automatic signals and air brakes on the railways, better quality steel and greater productivity, and the development of the telephone, electric light, and typewriter
• After the civil war, the government encouraged the spread of settlement beyond the Mississippi River and into the West.
• John D Rockefeller controlled ninety percent of all oil in the United States through Standard Oil Company, making him one of the most powerful businessmen in American history.

Development in Technology

• Technological development meant goods could be produced more cheaply and efficiently.
• Mass-produced consumer goods helped widen the domestic market.
• A bigger domestic market meant factories could produce more products and sell more.
• Electricity, mass production, assembly lines and tractors became increasingly common.

Resources

• The USA is a large country rich in natural resources.
• It could sustain its own industrial progress without cutting profits due to a dependence on imports.
• Oil was discovered in the 19th century.

The Experience of WWI

• The USA made lots of money through the sales of arms and munitions during the war.
• Encouraged the USA to develop new and profitable markets and industries e.g., chemicals and plastics.
• American factories could operate at full capacity during the war, unlike Europe.
• Overseas markets opened themselves to the USA after the war as their industries had been ruined.
• Nations purchased goods and supplies from the U.S. during the war, and this continued after it ended.
• Unemployment decreased to 1.4 percent during the war years.
• Despite increased government spending on the war effort, the capitalist American economy was booming for much of the 1920s.

Republican Policies

• Republican era: 1920–1932.
• Laissez-faire attitude with minimal government intervention.
• Low taxation increased purchasing power for individuals and and investment opportunities for businesses.
• Increased tariffs on goods coming into America.

Tariff Protection

• A tariff is a government tax on imports or exports.
• Republicans heavily taxed imports reducing foreign competition by making local products cheaper than imported products.
• However, tariffs raise prices and reduce available quantities of goods and services for U.S. businesses and consumers, which results in lower income, reduced employment, and lower economic output.
• The aim of American protective tariffs during the Gilded Age was to try to guarantee the American market to the American manufacturer of finished products at a profit, a means of encouraging the industrial revolution after the Civil War.

Mass Production

• Products could be formed cheaply through mass production.
• American culture did not inhabit the purchase of massive consumer goods as it did in Britain
• Manufacturers implemented mass production through division of labor, assembly lines, large factories, and specialized machinery, requiring huge financial investment.
• Through the use of continuous-mass production, Henry Ford introduced consumer capitalism and the necessity of increasing consumer demand by adopting the corporate form of business enterprise.

Credit:

• American loans to other countries during the war brought lots of wealth to banks.
• Banks were eager to lend money to individuals and businesses.
• Due to their wealth, banks were happy to offer credit at low interest rates.
• Easy access to money/credit boosted demand, and therefore, production.
• Created the first mass consumer society.

Consumer Confidence

• US citizens felt confident about America’s economic position
• Helped to stimulate the economy as people were prepared to borrow money to help fuel the economy.

Marketing and Media

• The increased market and development in TV and radio allowed businesses to market their goods to a wider audience and gain more sales.

Migration

• Many come to the U. S. because it was perceived as the land of economic opportunity due to fleeing crop failure, land and job shortages, rising taxes, and famine,.
• The late 19th and early 20th century immigrants stimulated growth because they were complementary to the needs of local economies, filling low-skilled industry positions and introducing innovation as higher-skilled workers.
• Immigrants were generally more willing to accept lower wages and inferior working conditions than native born workers, and efficiencies in production led to higher profits that could be reinvested in new technology.

Impact and Drive

• For the first time, more Americans lived in cities than on farms.
• The nation's total wealth more than doubled between 1920 and 1929, and this economic growth swept many Americans into an affluent but unfamiliar “consumer society.”
• The capital goods provided by the capitalist make the worker far more productive than the worker would have been on his own.
• Most individuals have limited resources, and would be able to obtain relatively fewer, or otherwise less productive, capital goods than the capitalist can provide.
• The profit motive, or the desire to earn profits from business activity, is the driving force of capitalism, and it creates a competitive environment where businesses compete to be the low-cost producer of a certain good in order to gain market share.

The Progressive Era: Outcome of Capitalism (Against)

• Lasted from 1900–1916.
• The American economy recovered after the depression and continued to boom.
• There was an increase in total production by 85% between 1900 and 1910.
• Increase in number of people living in cities e.g., New York’s population rose to 4.7 million by 1910.
• It was the birth of mass construction.
• The purchase of goods beyond the minimal need of food and shelter by the majority of the population.

Migration

• There were 13 million migrants between 1890 and 1914, mostly from Italy, Russia, and the Austro-Hungarian empire.
• 1/7 of the USA’s population by 1910 was foreign-born.
• America offered opportunities for economic advancement.
• Economic and social inequality of the gilded age still continued
• Many migrants worked long hours for little pay in factories and mines.
• White-collar jobs were the domain of white native-born Americans.
• Journalists, known as ‘muckrakers,’ exposed some of the inequalities and injustices experienced by migrants in newspapers.

The Progressive Agenda

• The term ‘progressive’ was adopted in 1910 to describe American individuals and groups who worked to bring change in America’s political and social life.
• Focused on exposing corruption in the government and political system, women's suffrage, unemployment benefits, and workplace safety laws to establish schools, playgrounds, and health clinics for the poor.
• These improvements included: better lives for industrial workers and African Americans.

Role of Women

• Played a key role in the progressive movement, particularly helped improve the lives of poor migrant families.
• Conditions of women became a focus of progressive campaigns.
• The number of women working increased from 2.6 million to 7.8 million between 1880 and 1910
• In 1900, women had the right to own property, control their earnings and have custody of their children after divorce.
• Could not vote in federal elections and could only vote in state elections in four states - Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah.

Women’s Suffrage

• Women’s suffrage means the right for women to vote.
• Emerged during the 1890s.
• The National American Women’s Suffrage Association had a membership of 2 million by 1917.
• Feminists believed the rights of women and children would only be passed if women were allowed to vote.
• Campaigns included marches and parades, theatrical campaigns, advertising campaigns, and mass marketing of flags and badges.

Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt

• 26th president of the USA, being the youngest president at age 43.
• Pushed for more federal intervention in economic regulation and made conservation an area of federal responsibility.
• Left president in 1909.
• Disappointed that his successor William Taft did not pursue the progressive agenda strongly enough and formed the progressive party and stood for president again.
• He was defeated by Woodrow Wilson.

William Taft

• 27th president of the USA
• Handpicked by teddy Roosevelt to succeed him as president because he believed Taft would push the progressive agenda.
• Roosevelt was disappointed in Taft and saw him as too conservative.
• Appointed to the supreme court after being president.

The Lives of African Americans

• Progressives' desire to improve the lives of people did not extend to the African American population.
• Slavery had been outlawed in 1865, however, racism continued.
• Black codes in the South to control freed slaves.
• The Reconstruction Act of 1867 established schools, medical and labor contracts for African Americans.
• It was heavily opposed in the South as white supremacists and the Klu Klux Klan fought with intimidation to keep African Americans disenfranchised and from voting.

Jim Crow Laws

• Began in the 1890s.
• A series of laws passed in southern states that restricted the freedom of African Americans.
• Segregated schools, hospitals, universities, hotels, workplaces, shops and forbade relationships between white-Americans and African Americans.
• Doctrine of ‘separate, but equal’ which was found legal by the Supreme Court.
• Scientific racism, which saw the intermingling of races as dangerous.

Life During Jim Crow

• Substandard education and living conditions
• Most women worked as domestic laborers and men as agricultural workers.
• There was an atmosphere of intimidation in the south.
• Lynching was common.
• White America generally accepted segregation, and few protested against conditions.
• Some believe that African Americans were more powerless in this time than during the period of slavery.

Jim Crow Laws: Voting

• Qualifications for voting were introduced in the south which disenfranchised African American voters
• Literacy tests limited many African Americans from voting.
• Property tests barred those without property from voting.
• After 1890 in Mississippi, only 9,000/147,000 voting age African Americans were registered to vote, and in Louisiana in 1904, there were only 1,342 African American registered votes.

Booker T Washington

• Born to slavery on a plantation in Virginia and freed after the civil war with his mother.
• He was self-taught how to read and became a teacher.
• Appointed to run a ‘colored’ school, which became a leading educational institution for African Americans in the South.
• He raised money from from white supporters in the North.
• Believed that working within the system would achieve more for African Americans than protesting it.
• Refused to speak out against lynching and Jim Crow laws brought opposition.
• Invited by Teddy Roosevelt to the white house which upset white supremacists.
• His influence decreased as no change was brought.

William Du Bois

• Born in Massachusetts to a family free from slavery.
• Attended school, becoming the first African American to be awarded a PhD at Harvard.
• Opposed Washington’s approach to Jim Crow laws and was more willing to protest and speak out.
• In 1905, he founded Niagara Movement, becoming a vocal advocate for citizenship rights to overturn Jim Crow laws as part of being a member of the national association for the advancement of colored people.

Theories of Capitalism: Key Ideas and Terms of Capitalism

What is the American Dream?

• The idea that with hard work and initiative one could achieve a lot without expecting much help from the government.
• Characterized by faith in a free market economy, private enterprise, limited government intervention, the notion for Americans to be comfortable, secure, and able to keep on improving their lives.
• Vanderbilt is a prime example through his railways empire.

What is Laissez-Faire

• The view that governments should not interfere with individual action, especially in business.
• The belief that economic conditions are regulated by natural forces
• The idea that the government should not attempt to interfere in economics but allow them to take their natural course.
• The belief that economic and social issues should be left to individual initiatives rather than the government.

Rugged Individualism

• A term used to describe the American view that people achieve success by their own hard work.
• Originated from pioneering days of the 19th century.
• The idea of rugged individualism has been used to justify the lack of government intervention in the lives of ordinary American citizens, as people are responsible for their own well-being.

What does Limited Government mean?

• A government whose power over its citizens is limited.
• Government authority is restricted/limited by law or the constitution.
• Minimal government intervention in people’s lives.
• Countries with limited governments have fewer laws about what individuals and businesses can and can’t do.
• Based on the ideas of a free market or laissez-faire economy.

What is Consumerism?

• The theory that a country that consumers goods and services in large quantities will be better off economically.
• Countries may put in place economic policies encouraging consumption.
• Rises in the prosperity of the 1920s led to the emergence of American consumerism, known as the Roaring Twenties.
• It was the the result of technological advances and innovations in the area of transport, manufacturing, and communication.

What is the American Dream of Today?

• The American dream today is having a sense of community while achieving financial success regardless of their initial social status.
• Everyone should feel included and have endless opportunities.
• However, in 2022, fewer than half of Americans believe there is such a thing as the American dream.

The American Experience

• The American way of life or the American way refers to the American nationalist ethos that adheres to the principle of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
• At the center of the American way is the belief in an American Dream that is claimed to be achievable by any American through hard work.

American Foreign Policy And Isolationism

• Late 1800s–early 1900s
• WWI 1914-1918

Isolationism

• the ‘National policy of avoiding political or economic entanglements with other countries.
• Isolationists often held the view that America’s perspective and interests were different to those of European countries and therefore were reluctant to become involved in European alliances and wars.

The USA And WWI

• Many Americans strongly opposed US involvement in WWI because of isolationism.
• In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared America neutral.
• In 1915, a submarine sank a British liner, resulting in 1,198 deaths, including 128 Americans, causing outrage in America.
• In 1917, Woodrow declared war on Germany.

Women’s Suffrage and WW1

• The Suffrage movement was divided when war was declared as some opposed and other supported American involvement.
• Some believed war would ensure women the vote and became involved in wartime roles, taking on previously male-dominated jobs.
• In 1916, Wilson declared support for women’s suffrage, and became the nineteenth amendment to the US constitution in 1920.
• It prohibited states from using gender as qualification for voting.

WW1 and Prohibition

• Prohibition means laws against the manufacture and sale of alcohol.
• In 1914, 18 states had introduced prohibition.
• Prohibition was fuelled by anti-German sentiment as many breweries were owned by German Americans.
• In 1917, prohibition was introduced as a wartime measure after the declaration of war.

Woodrow Wilson and Foreign Policy

• Encouraged the US to look beyond its own borders and overseas economic interests.
• Saw the USA as fighting for moral cause and spreading democracy overseas.
• In 1918, recommendations for a peace settlement were given to congress, known as Wilson’s 14 points, outlining the establishment of a ‘general association of nations’, later formed league of nations.
• At the 1919 Paris peace conference, the Treaty of Versailles was signed.

The USA and League of Nations

• Upon returning from Paris, Wilson presented the treaty of Versailles to the US senate for ratification.
• Some senators felt that becoming a member of the league of nations would commit the US to involvement in the affairs of other countries.
• There was often an intention to not get involved in international events outside the Western Hemisphere and prevent U.S. involvement with European countries.
• The treaty was never ratified in the senate.
• Often argued that American decision not to become a member of league of nations made it less effective.

Long Term Causes of WWI

• Included militarism, imperialism, nationalism, and alliances.

Short Term Causes

• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
• Occurred in June 1914.
• Set off a chain reaction of events leading to WWI.

How World War I Changed America:

• Included: expanded government, isolationism, and a change of government.

Important Political Ideas and Events:

• Key points: Woodrow Wilson's fourteen points, the Armistice following WWI, the Paris peace conference league of nations, theTreaty of Versailles, the return of isolationism, fear of radicalism, and the return of Republicans to power after the war.

Wilson’s Fourteen Points

• Wilson began to think about the post war world towards the end of the war.
• In January 1918, he developed the fourteen points covering a range of ideas for promoting peace.
• Point - most important: outlines his plan for the league of nations,
• The United Nations was described as an idealist.
• 14th point: a league of nations should be set up to guarantee the political and territorial independence of all states.

The Armistice

• A armistice is a state of peace agreed between opponents so that they can discuss peace terms.
• 11th November 1918:
• The signing between allies and Germany meant that negotiations began between all the of the major powers.

The Peace Conference

• The purpose was to write up conditions of a new treaty.
• The main members included: Woodrow Wilson, George Clemenceau, and David Lloyd George.
• Talks began on 12th January 1919
• Wilson Insisted that the formation of a league of nations was essential for peace
• Persuaded the conference to included it in the treaty.

The Treaty of Versailles

• Drafted during the Paris peace conference
• Most European powers wanted to lay the blame on Germany and make them pay the cost of the war.
• The treaty ended up being a lot harsher than what Wilson had intended.
• Included a clause for the establishment of the league of nations
• It was completed on the 28th of June 1919.

The League of Nations

• The purpose was to prevent war and improve people’s lives.
• Had to have support from the great powers.

Rejection of The Treaty and League

• Treaties in the USA need to be passed by the senate.
• March 1920: US senate rejected both the treaty of Versailles and league of nations.
• Did not agree with article 10 of the league covenant (‘guarantee territorial integrity of members).
• Believed it would involve the US in wars that did not concern them, and that the isolationist policies were sufficient.
• Wilson became ill and could not promote his ideas as much as he would have liked.

Change in Government

• 1920 congressional elections
• The Republican party won, standing up for isolation and capitalised on the current mood within the US of isolationism.
• Warren Harding was elected as president, running the slogan ‘return to normalcy’.
• Started a long chain of republican presidents during the 1920s (republican period).

Fear of Radicalism

• 1917 Russian revolution
• Communist parties were established in the USA
• The rise of communism terrified Americans and caused social change within the USA.

Social Changes

• Included the red scare, and immigration restrictions.

The Red Scare

• In light of war and communist revolutions worldwide, Americans scared of communists.
• This resulted in the Palmer raids, marked for their raid and arrest of suspected members of communism.

Immigration Restrictions

• Included the 1921 immigration quotas, and the 1924 immigration restriction act.
• This was a result of the red scare, radicalism, and theories of social Darwinism.

Social Unrest/Change

• Post WWI there was a shift in moral and social values
• People were more likely to distrust those different to them.
• Led to immigration restrictions and strengthening of organisations e.g., Ku Klux Klan.
• Emergence of political ideas e.g, communism which produced rise to radicalism against these ideas.
• These events changed the role and dress of women, especially those known as the flappers.

Economic Changes

• Included the economy and WWI, and the automotive industry..

The Economy and WWI

• Followed by the second industrial revolution
• Changes during the time led to: one-way trade with Europe, US shifted from a debtor nation to c creditor nation due to foreign loans.
• 4.8 million soldiers were mobilized increasing the need for industries and employment to support them.
• The labor force increased from 40 million in 1916 to 44 million in 1918.
• This stimulated the development of chemicals, fertilizers, dyes, and plastics.
• During this time, increased government/army spending, along with a shift in markets with falling unemployment occurred.

The Automotive Industry

• The emergence of the car is an example of how American life was transformed during the 1920s, specifically brought forward by large distances between cities and a prosperous economy.
• In 1914, more cars were manufactured In USA than any other nation with Detroit being the ‘heart’ of the industry.
• Henry Ford began the Ford Motor company in 1903, bringing together three existing ideas to produce cars efficiently,.
• The development of ford used efficiency and less labor through the use of its assembly line, along with interchangeable parts.
• Through its principle of scientific management it allowed the breakdown of tasks into small components.

The Development of Ford

• 1908: first model T Ford produced
• 1914: moving assembly line was introduced.
• 1925: ford produced one car every 10 seconds.
• The assembly line reduced prices and made cars more accessible to everyday Americans, dropping from $850 in 1910 to $295 in 1920.
• By the end of the 1920s more than 20% of Americans owned a car, with the biggest competitor being General Motors.

Welfare Capitalism

• An approach in which employers provide employees with benefits such as housing, education, and recreational activities to encourage productivity and loyalty.
• Henry Ford was the pioneer of welfare capitalism.
• Ford ensured children were attending school, houses were clean, money was being saved leading to the monitoring domestic and family life of Ford workers and families.

Changes In Transport

• Cars, trucks, and buses came to dominate transport in cities from 1920s, and became a social symbol rather than houses.
• Due to the increase in car transportation, this led to increased accidents which congested cities with traffic.
• Shopping habits shifted as a result as people were able to travel to larger towns and centres.
• The introduction of traffic lights occurred for the first time in New York in 1922.
• Autocamps/motels were established for population going for a drive to act as a source of leisure

Women in The 1920s

• Brought forward by the WWI and the economic boom, technology, enfranchisement, prohibition, cars, and the current media, marked for an increase in jobs.

The Flappers

• A young woman in the 1920s who flaunted her unconventional conduct and dress, or who was a liberated urban woman.
• Often has bobbed hair, wore loose-fitting dresses, minimal underwear, sheer pantyhose, and short skirts.
• Engaged in behaviors that previously were associated only with prostitutes like smoking, drinking alcohol, and using cosmetics.

Flappers in 1920s America

• Were a symbol of the 1920s
• Not all women adopted the flapper lifestyle, with experiences varied based on class, race and location.
• It caused dismay and uproar in some states, such as Ohio which had law passed in 1921 that women would be fined or arrested for wearing skirts 8cm above the ankle.
• By the 1930s long dresses with heavy petticoats and corsets had largely been abandoned by women of most classes and ages.

Influences On Women

• WWI, the advancements of technology, the economic boom, and enfranchisement, were influences on women to change their behaviours.

Influence of WWI on Women

• Society generally became more liberal after the war
• Women found employment in wartime factories, which proved women could do the work of men.
• There was a 25% increase in female employment during the 1920s, seeing women cut their hair short as a sign of liberation.

Influence of Technology on Women

• Advances in technology and machines meant there was less need for physical strength which allowed women to enter the labor market.
• Uptake of labor/time saving devices and inventions became increasingly common, namely vacuum cleaners, fridges, the establishment of coal fires, and more canned/bought foods.

Influence of The Vote on Women

• In some states, women already had the vote.
• The 1919-19th amendment was passed, prohibiting the government from denying someone the right to vote based on their gender across America.
• Became law in august 1920.

Post War America

• The USA was in a state of turmoil in 1919 with deaths, influenza, high inflation, and unemployment.
• This turmoil has the rise to different movements who pushed for change and challenged issues of turmoil currently prominent in the US.
• Such movements of social tension were prevalent during the red scare and the KKK.

The Red Scare

• Began after the Russian revolution in 1917, WWI and mass immigration to the US.
• The large immigration rates into the US caused fear against US culture, spreading radical ideas and communism.
• Unions held strikes for better pay/conditions also added to this general fear, with the general fear from most Americans that jobs would be lost to immigrants.
• Some government members believed strikes were part of a conspiracy to bring communism to America and destroy capitalism.

An introduction to American History, including background on the Colonial Period, the American War of Independence and the Declaration of Independence. Also examined is the American Constitution. These notes provide a broad overview of key events and figures.