Source A – spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmass.htm

1. Give three statements that could be inferred from Source Aabout prosperity in the US in the 1920s.

2. Source A –http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmass.htm Initially it took 14 hours to assemble a Model T car. By improving his mass production methods, Ford reduced this to 1 hour 33 minutes. This lowered the overall cost of each car and enabled Ford to undercut the price of other cars on the market. Between 1908 and 1916 the selling price of the Model T fell from $1,000 to $360. Following to the success of Ford's low-price cars, other companies began introducing mass production methods to produce cheaper goods.’ Source B –http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/gcse/america/roaringtwenties.htm The greatest boom was in consumer goods, e.g. cars, refrigerators, radios, cookers, telephones etc. Ordinary people were encouraged through advertising to buy these goods and many could now afford what had been luxuries before the war. One reason was that they earned slightly higher wages because of the boom. Another reason was that the growth of hire purchase meant that people could spread the cost over months and even years. But the main reason was that goods had become cheaper as a result of mass production methods. (b) “Does Source B support the evidence of Source A about the reasons for the economic boom of the 1920’s?” Explain your answer. (7 marks)

3. Corroboration by cross-referencing of sources (b)

4. Source B does support the key reason given by source A for the economic boom of the 1920’s. Source A is describing the contribution of mass production methods to the economic boom. It explains how improving efficiencies resulted in a far more affordable product, using the Model T car as an example. It also goes on to further explain how these techniques were employed in other industries as well. It is certainly true that the introduction of mass production techniques into the U.S did reduce the price of many consumer goods and therefore stimulated the consumer boom that was a feature of the 1920’s. Source B supports this idea and indeed says that “the main reason was… mass production methods’. However it also explains some of the other factors that were involved in the economic boom of the 1920’s. According to Source B advertising, higher wages and the growth of hire purchase also played a role in stimulating the consumer boom. Therefore it partially supports the evidence of Source A, whilst at the same time showing that there were many other factors involved in the boom. Both sources are from history websites and seek to explain the reasons for the boom in a balanced and factual way. Source A is clearly focused in mass production and indeed on the automobile in particular. It does not state that there were not other reasons, and it can be reasonably assumed that in other articles the same website goes into greater detail. Source B seeks to provide an overview of the main reasons, whilst still concluding that it was mass production methods that were at the core of the boom.

5. Source A –President Hoover, speaking in 1928 During his election campaign We in America today are nearer to the financial triumph over poverty than ever before in the history of our land. The poor man is vanishing from us. Under the Republican system, our industrial output has increased as never before, and our wages have grown steadily in buying power.  Source B – John A. Garraty, The American Nation (1979) In the USA too much wealth had fallen into too few hands, with the result that consumers were unable to buy all the goods produced.   The trouble came to a head mainly because of the easy credit policies of the Federal Reserve Board, which favoured the rich.   Its effects were so profound and so prolonged because the government did not fully understand what was happening or what to do about it. (b) “Does Source B support the evidence of Source A about the level of prosperity in the US in the 1920s.” (7 marks)

6. Source A –Republican Senator Heflin speaking in 1921 The steamship companies haul them over to America and as soon as they step off the ships the problem of the steamship companies is settled, but our problem has onl begun – Bolshevism, red anarchy, black-handers and kidnappers, challenging the authority and integrity of our flag….  Source B –Current History – 1929, describes victims of Klan violence in Alabama A lad whipped with branches until his back was ribboned flesh…. A white girl, divorcee, beaten into unconsciousness in her home; a naturalised foreigner flogged until his back was pulp because he married an American woman; a negro lashed until he sold his land to a white man for a fraction of its value. (b) “Does Source B support the evidence of Source A about intolerance in the US in the 1920s.” Explain your answer (7 marks)