Chapter 31 Study Guide
Chapter #31 Identifications
A. Mitchell Palmer
A leader in the Red Scare who at once arrested about 6000 red heads and he was a very strong anti-foreigner and anti-communist.
John T. Scopes
A teacher in Tennessee that wanted to teach about evolution in the school and went to trial for it and ultimately lost because he broke the law.
Clarence Darrow
The lawyer that helped defend John T. Scopes and was very famous and very expensive and well said although they still lost the case.
Andrew Mellon
Treasure Secretary of America who decided to lower the taxes after the war and also raise the taxes for the riches and stopped taxing the factories in hopes that it would help Americans.
Frederick W. Taylor
A man who decided to put factory workers at maximum efficiency and timed them so that all their actions are considered efficient and will output the most stuff in least amount of time.
Margaret Sanger
Someone who promoted birth-control for women and also called for equal rights of all genders and helped the National Women’s Party.
H. L. Mencken
An author of American Monthly that jabbed and criticized American life often at times wittiliy.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
One of the greatest authors of his time that reflected the exact mood of his time. He was famous for writing This Side of Paradise and also The Great Gatsby.
Ernest Hemingway
An author famous for writing about the depresser times in American history such as Farewell to the Arms and other stories that captured romance and despair among Americans after the war.
Sinclair Lewis
An author who wrote about small-town life in his book of Babbitt.
Buying on Margin
Buying stocks with 10% of their actual money and 90% of borrowed money, in hopes to get rich quick but usually ended with huge debts.
Red Scare
The scare of Americans after the first World War that made them fear communists and eventually foreigners and especially the socialist party lead by Debs.
Sacco and Vanzetti Case
The 2 cases of 2 Italians that were persecuted for committing murder although they didn’t and were trialed and were found guilty.
Emergency Quota Act 1921
The first law passed by congress to limit the number of immigrants to only 3% of American population that was later deemed useless.
Immigration Quota Act 1924
The immigration act passed so that many immigrants can’t make it in since the Quota act was deemed too lenient.
Volstead Act
The act passed to enforce the 18th amendment.
Fundamentalism
The belief that the Bible was to be interpreted solely and that evolution was not real since only God could create life.
Modernists
The group of people that believed that evolution was real and that God was old and isn’t needed anymore.
Chapter #31 Guided Reading Questions
Seeing Red
Know: Billy Sunday, Red Scare, A. Mitchell Palmer, Sacco and Vanzetti
1. Cite examples of actions taken in reaction to the perceived threat of radicals and communists during the red scare.
During the red scare, many people were afraid of communism, because they liked their American ways. The flow of logic at the time was that communists were bad and that since communist originated in Europe, it was obviously going to spread to America via the immigrants. Not only that but they were also scared of Debs socialist party. There were 2 trials including Sacco and Vanzetti that were Italian men who committed nothing but a witch hunt caught them sadly. Some statesmen were denied their spots because they were socialist and many people hated on the strikers and also mostly foreigners.
Hooded Hoodlums of the KKK
2. Compare and contrast the new and old Ku Klux Klansmen.
The old KKK was only focusing on hating on the black people and slaves and to be pro white. Well, now since times have changed, the black people are not the only people that are bothering the WASP people, white anglo-saxon protestants, and obviously it has become clear that foreigners are coming over in large numbers. It then expanded its horizons by discriminating not only black people, but people of all kinds that were not WASPs or shared the American idea, such as capitalism. They still deployed the same tactic as in fear, violence and lynchings, and tried to show white supremacy.
Stemming the Foreign Flood
Know: Emergency Quota Act, Immigration Act
3. Describe the immigration laws passed in the 1920's.
During the 1920’s, America saw an influx of immigrants that were coming from southeastern European countries, which they didn’t really like. In order to limit the number of Americans coming in, Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, which limited the amount of immigrants in America to be limited to 3% of the population. However, this law didn’t work out quite as well since it favored the new disliked immigrants more than old immigrants since they came in such large numbers. Because of that, Congress just straight up passed the Immigration Act and also barred Japanese and Chinese people from coming into the states. They however favored it if Canadians or Mexicans came to immigrate because they came as a workforce for the Americans.
Makers of America: The Poles
Know: Prussian Poles, Russian Poles, Austrian Poles, American Warsaw
4. What factors led Poles to America?
The factors that led the Poles to American were economic hardship, political catastrophe, and collapsed Labor unions in Poland. The Poles recently had a revolution that would change their government in 1905, and were shortly taken into the war. They saw that America was mostly untouched by the great war, and wanted to move there because of the stability of the Americans for being so isolated. There were also better paying jobs and still the American Dream with the uncorrupted government that existed there. Last but not least, Americans had the unions that were desired by the Poles, since the ones in Poland had little to no power and there was a heavy depression there. Poland was also divided into 3 after wars, to Russia, Prussia and also Austria and thus they wanted to escape those foreign influences.
The Prohibition "Experiment"
Know: Eighteenth Amendment, Volstead Act, Wet and Dry, Speakeasies, Home Brew, Bathtub Gin, Noble Experiment
5. How and why was the eighteenth amendment broken so frequently?
The eigteenth amendment prohibited the production, consummation, and possession of alcohol. This was a very dissappointing amendment since many Americans liked alcohol, and it was only mainly supported in the South and in the West. American culture had its deep ties with hard liquor after a day’s work and most people were willing to take the risks to develop bootleg liquor and get drunk off homemade stuff. The Volstead Act was created enforce the 18th amendment. Home brew liquor such as moonshine were generally higher in alcohol content because having less sold at once was risky and wasn’t profitable. Most people formed a gang to distribute liquor so that it’s protected.
The Golden Age of Gangsterism
Know: Al Capone, St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Lindbergh Law
6. What was Gangsterism?
Gangsterism was a period of time in Americans prohibition when gangs flourished due to the new liquor ban. They brewed their own liquor and then sold it and made territories where they made their speakeasies bars and brothels and other shady business dealer place thingies. Chicago was the gang capital in America, and big gangsters such as Al Capone arose from there. Al Capone is probably the most known gangster and was even named public enemy number one for his distribution and murdering capabilities. There was also a Lindbergh baby being kidnapped that caused the Lindbergh Law to pass making it illegal for kidnappings to go interstates and is punishable with death. Gangsterism flourished with the prohibition and was mostly started because of it.
Monkey Business in Tennessee
Know: John Dewey, John T. Scopes, William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow
7. Describe the clash of cultures that took place in schools in the 1920's.
The clash of cultures that took place in schools was known as the Scope trials in which fundamentalism has taken over most of America. New things were taught in school, and these things were such as evolution by Darwin. Dewey made education more about hands on experiences and newer curriculum for the schools. Fundamentalists were against evolution and inspired Tennessee to pass a law that made it illegal to teach evolution at school. John T. Scopes broke the law and thus a huge trial occurred with Clarence Darrow defending Scopes and William Jennings Bryan defending the fundamentalists. Scopes lost, and fundamentalists gained some support.
The Mass-Consumption Economy
Know: Andrew Mellon, The Man Nobody Knows, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey
8. Give evidence to prove that America became a mass-consumption economy in the 20's.
Americans began to creep into a mass-consumption economy when Henry Ford created the first assembly line, which allowed him to pop up a car every 10 seconds. Everyone began to have the same things, and people had to get rid of their products so they can sell more began using rhetoric and sexuality in their ads of buying their products. Mass-consumption sports began to exist and become more popular since newspapers and magazines can bring information from one state to another almost weekly on a basis at times or even daily! Baseball was a favorite pastime for Americans just as boxing became one with Jack Dempsey. Americans began to buy things on plans or bill me laters that were dangerous but showed how they wanted material things.
Putting America on Rubber Tires
Know: Henry Ford, Frederick W. Taylor, Model T
9. What methods made it possible to mass-produce automobiles?
It was possible to mass-produce automobiles when Americans took the engine designs from Europe and improved them with better gasoline powered engines that were much more efficient. After such things, people such as Henry Ford and Ransom E. Old began to mass produce cars. The Ford Model T was very complicated to operate and was the first car to be produced in an assembly line. Soon the Model A was released and was the most affordable car ever. Soon, in America’s depression, the cars registered were enough for 1 car every 4.9 people. People loved having a car, mainly because it allowed them to be more independent, especially the younger kids. It also increased production in road companies and gas companies.
The Advent of the Gasoline Age
10. What were the effects of the widespread adoption of the automobile?
The widespread adoption of the automobile created many jobs, up to 6 million jobs at one point because of the high demands. The assembly line was also at the same time improved, since people were timed in their jobs and were found to be much more efficient when they were given times to do something. Many things were now designed with cars in mind, since cities now became suburbs more often than not, which encouraged having a car. Dates were also suited for cars, with drive in theatres. There were many other markets associated with cars, such as gas and road construction that gained strong money after the development of cars. There were also many car accidents and over a million Americans were killed in the cars.
Humans Develop Wings
Know: Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindbergh
11. What effects did the early airplane have on America?
In America, the effects of the early airplane had drastic effects, one of them giving the ability to fly, a dream of many people, to the world. Planes were barely used in WWI, mostly as spy planes or for simple dogfights between 2 planes in the air. However, after the war planes became commercialized and sent mail from one continent to the other. Charles Lindbergh was an example of the plane making some famous. He flew all the way to Europe and soon became a celebrity and was considered to be the epitome of anti-jazz. It caused the many jazz-esque people to stop doing their things and toast in class.
The Radio Revolution
12. How did America change as the result of the radio?
American life changed as the result of the radio because now, Americans can be truly united under one news station and hear all the news at the same time all over the nation. Back then, since radios were new, there was no limit of how strong a signal can be, thus some were able to reach across all of the states while most of the time there were just smaller local stations. It gathered Americans back home for them to gather their news, and revolutionized how advertisement worked, since now there are listeners. It also changed politics, seeing that many people now listened to the radio, it could only help them to adapt to it.
Hollywood's Filmland Fantasies
Know: The Great Train Robbery, The Birth of a Nation, The Jazz Singer
13. What were some milestones in the history of motion pictures?
Some milestones in the history of motion pictures include the first film ever to be made, The Great Train Robbery was its name. Although quite short, it did tell a story to the viewers and was able to entertain. The first full featured film was The Birth of a Nation, and was criticized heavily for its KKK support and even the President said that movies such as it were writing history with lightning. There were many controversies in film since most early films included naked women. Movies were heavily used during WWI for propaganda. Hollywood was set as the capital for the movie industry because of its sunny weather.
The Dynamic Decade
Know: Margaret Sanger, Flappers, Sigmund Freud, Jelly Roll Morton, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey
14. "Far-reaching changes in lifestyles and values paralleled the dramatic upsurge in the economy." Explain.
American life was slowly changing into an urban lifestyle. The census of 1920 came to the conclusion that for the first time ever, more Americans lived in urban life than in the rural. This was very important as a change because now society has began to adapt to the ways of the Jazz and the city folk. Many girls were called flappers and they dressed scantily and also drank a lot and courted boys and openly spoke of sex. This supported Sigmund Freud’s psychology of sexual repression and whatnot. Jazz also spread around and many African American musicians became famous with their unique style of music.
Cultural Liberation
Know: H. L. Mencken, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, William Faulkner, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, Eugene O'Neill, Louis Armstrong, Frank Lloyd Wright
15. How did the arts of the 1920's reflect the times?
The arts of the 1920’s reflected the times in literature, art, music and architecture. H. L. Mencken wrote and criticized about America in his American Monthly. F. Scott Fitzgerald was probably the epitome of 1920’s literature, because his life and stories reflect the times heavily, from This Side of Paradise to his masterpiece The Great Gatsby showed the partying life of the newly wealthy after the economic boom. Ernest Hemingway was also a writer that reflected the partying life of young people and also the rich. There were many American poets, and there was a revolution in colored culture called the Harlem Renaissance. There was jazz by Louis Armstrong and also architecture of tall buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Wall Street's Big Bull Market
Know: Margin, Andrew Mellon
16. Was government economic policy successful in the 20's?
Government economic policy after the 20’s was very unstable and seemed to be very fragile since it depended so much on borrowed money. The stock market was now a game, it was either get rich quick or get in debt even quicker. Then there was a passed government idea that was to lower the post war taxes because they were deemed unwanted after the war and useless. There was also the idea to tax the rich directly instead of at their factories and supposedly it failed to help the Americans and actually decreased the government’s income.
A. Mitchell Palmer
A leader in the Red Scare who at once arrested about 6000 red heads and he was a very strong anti-foreigner and anti-communist.
John T. Scopes
A teacher in Tennessee that wanted to teach about evolution in the school and went to trial for it and ultimately lost because he broke the law.
Clarence Darrow
The lawyer that helped defend John T. Scopes and was very famous and very expensive and well said although they still lost the case.
Andrew Mellon
Treasure Secretary of America who decided to lower the taxes after the war and also raise the taxes for the riches and stopped taxing the factories in hopes that it would help Americans.
Frederick W. Taylor
A man who decided to put factory workers at maximum efficiency and timed them so that all their actions are considered efficient and will output the most stuff in least amount of time.
Margaret Sanger
Someone who promoted birth-control for women and also called for equal rights of all genders and helped the National Women’s Party.
H. L. Mencken
An author of American Monthly that jabbed and criticized American life often at times wittiliy.
F. Scott Fitzgerald
One of the greatest authors of his time that reflected the exact mood of his time. He was famous for writing This Side of Paradise and also The Great Gatsby.
Ernest Hemingway
An author famous for writing about the depresser times in American history such as Farewell to the Arms and other stories that captured romance and despair among Americans after the war.
Sinclair Lewis
An author who wrote about small-town life in his book of Babbitt.
Buying on Margin
Buying stocks with 10% of their actual money and 90% of borrowed money, in hopes to get rich quick but usually ended with huge debts.
Red Scare
The scare of Americans after the first World War that made them fear communists and eventually foreigners and especially the socialist party lead by Debs.
Sacco and Vanzetti Case
The 2 cases of 2 Italians that were persecuted for committing murder although they didn’t and were trialed and were found guilty.
Emergency Quota Act 1921
The first law passed by congress to limit the number of immigrants to only 3% of American population that was later deemed useless.
Immigration Quota Act 1924
The immigration act passed so that many immigrants can’t make it in since the Quota act was deemed too lenient.
Volstead Act
The act passed to enforce the 18th amendment.
Fundamentalism
The belief that the Bible was to be interpreted solely and that evolution was not real since only God could create life.
Modernists
The group of people that believed that evolution was real and that God was old and isn’t needed anymore.
Chapter #31 Guided Reading Questions
Seeing Red
Know: Billy Sunday, Red Scare, A. Mitchell Palmer, Sacco and Vanzetti
1. Cite examples of actions taken in reaction to the perceived threat of radicals and communists during the red scare.
During the red scare, many people were afraid of communism, because they liked their American ways. The flow of logic at the time was that communists were bad and that since communist originated in Europe, it was obviously going to spread to America via the immigrants. Not only that but they were also scared of Debs socialist party. There were 2 trials including Sacco and Vanzetti that were Italian men who committed nothing but a witch hunt caught them sadly. Some statesmen were denied their spots because they were socialist and many people hated on the strikers and also mostly foreigners.
Hooded Hoodlums of the KKK
2. Compare and contrast the new and old Ku Klux Klansmen.
The old KKK was only focusing on hating on the black people and slaves and to be pro white. Well, now since times have changed, the black people are not the only people that are bothering the WASP people, white anglo-saxon protestants, and obviously it has become clear that foreigners are coming over in large numbers. It then expanded its horizons by discriminating not only black people, but people of all kinds that were not WASPs or shared the American idea, such as capitalism. They still deployed the same tactic as in fear, violence and lynchings, and tried to show white supremacy.
Stemming the Foreign Flood
Know: Emergency Quota Act, Immigration Act
3. Describe the immigration laws passed in the 1920's.
During the 1920’s, America saw an influx of immigrants that were coming from southeastern European countries, which they didn’t really like. In order to limit the number of Americans coming in, Congress passed the Emergency Quota Act, which limited the amount of immigrants in America to be limited to 3% of the population. However, this law didn’t work out quite as well since it favored the new disliked immigrants more than old immigrants since they came in such large numbers. Because of that, Congress just straight up passed the Immigration Act and also barred Japanese and Chinese people from coming into the states. They however favored it if Canadians or Mexicans came to immigrate because they came as a workforce for the Americans.
Makers of America: The Poles
Know: Prussian Poles, Russian Poles, Austrian Poles, American Warsaw
4. What factors led Poles to America?
The factors that led the Poles to American were economic hardship, political catastrophe, and collapsed Labor unions in Poland. The Poles recently had a revolution that would change their government in 1905, and were shortly taken into the war. They saw that America was mostly untouched by the great war, and wanted to move there because of the stability of the Americans for being so isolated. There were also better paying jobs and still the American Dream with the uncorrupted government that existed there. Last but not least, Americans had the unions that were desired by the Poles, since the ones in Poland had little to no power and there was a heavy depression there. Poland was also divided into 3 after wars, to Russia, Prussia and also Austria and thus they wanted to escape those foreign influences.
The Prohibition "Experiment"
Know: Eighteenth Amendment, Volstead Act, Wet and Dry, Speakeasies, Home Brew, Bathtub Gin, Noble Experiment
5. How and why was the eighteenth amendment broken so frequently?
The eigteenth amendment prohibited the production, consummation, and possession of alcohol. This was a very dissappointing amendment since many Americans liked alcohol, and it was only mainly supported in the South and in the West. American culture had its deep ties with hard liquor after a day’s work and most people were willing to take the risks to develop bootleg liquor and get drunk off homemade stuff. The Volstead Act was created enforce the 18th amendment. Home brew liquor such as moonshine were generally higher in alcohol content because having less sold at once was risky and wasn’t profitable. Most people formed a gang to distribute liquor so that it’s protected.
The Golden Age of Gangsterism
Know: Al Capone, St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Lindbergh Law
6. What was Gangsterism?
Gangsterism was a period of time in Americans prohibition when gangs flourished due to the new liquor ban. They brewed their own liquor and then sold it and made territories where they made their speakeasies bars and brothels and other shady business dealer place thingies. Chicago was the gang capital in America, and big gangsters such as Al Capone arose from there. Al Capone is probably the most known gangster and was even named public enemy number one for his distribution and murdering capabilities. There was also a Lindbergh baby being kidnapped that caused the Lindbergh Law to pass making it illegal for kidnappings to go interstates and is punishable with death. Gangsterism flourished with the prohibition and was mostly started because of it.
Monkey Business in Tennessee
Know: John Dewey, John T. Scopes, William Jennings Bryan, Clarence Darrow
7. Describe the clash of cultures that took place in schools in the 1920's.
The clash of cultures that took place in schools was known as the Scope trials in which fundamentalism has taken over most of America. New things were taught in school, and these things were such as evolution by Darwin. Dewey made education more about hands on experiences and newer curriculum for the schools. Fundamentalists were against evolution and inspired Tennessee to pass a law that made it illegal to teach evolution at school. John T. Scopes broke the law and thus a huge trial occurred with Clarence Darrow defending Scopes and William Jennings Bryan defending the fundamentalists. Scopes lost, and fundamentalists gained some support.
The Mass-Consumption Economy
Know: Andrew Mellon, The Man Nobody Knows, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey
8. Give evidence to prove that America became a mass-consumption economy in the 20's.
Americans began to creep into a mass-consumption economy when Henry Ford created the first assembly line, which allowed him to pop up a car every 10 seconds. Everyone began to have the same things, and people had to get rid of their products so they can sell more began using rhetoric and sexuality in their ads of buying their products. Mass-consumption sports began to exist and become more popular since newspapers and magazines can bring information from one state to another almost weekly on a basis at times or even daily! Baseball was a favorite pastime for Americans just as boxing became one with Jack Dempsey. Americans began to buy things on plans or bill me laters that were dangerous but showed how they wanted material things.
Putting America on Rubber Tires
Know: Henry Ford, Frederick W. Taylor, Model T
9. What methods made it possible to mass-produce automobiles?
It was possible to mass-produce automobiles when Americans took the engine designs from Europe and improved them with better gasoline powered engines that were much more efficient. After such things, people such as Henry Ford and Ransom E. Old began to mass produce cars. The Ford Model T was very complicated to operate and was the first car to be produced in an assembly line. Soon the Model A was released and was the most affordable car ever. Soon, in America’s depression, the cars registered were enough for 1 car every 4.9 people. People loved having a car, mainly because it allowed them to be more independent, especially the younger kids. It also increased production in road companies and gas companies.
The Advent of the Gasoline Age
10. What were the effects of the widespread adoption of the automobile?
The widespread adoption of the automobile created many jobs, up to 6 million jobs at one point because of the high demands. The assembly line was also at the same time improved, since people were timed in their jobs and were found to be much more efficient when they were given times to do something. Many things were now designed with cars in mind, since cities now became suburbs more often than not, which encouraged having a car. Dates were also suited for cars, with drive in theatres. There were many other markets associated with cars, such as gas and road construction that gained strong money after the development of cars. There were also many car accidents and over a million Americans were killed in the cars.
Humans Develop Wings
Know: Orville and Wilbur Wright, Charles Lindbergh
11. What effects did the early airplane have on America?
In America, the effects of the early airplane had drastic effects, one of them giving the ability to fly, a dream of many people, to the world. Planes were barely used in WWI, mostly as spy planes or for simple dogfights between 2 planes in the air. However, after the war planes became commercialized and sent mail from one continent to the other. Charles Lindbergh was an example of the plane making some famous. He flew all the way to Europe and soon became a celebrity and was considered to be the epitome of anti-jazz. It caused the many jazz-esque people to stop doing their things and toast in class.
The Radio Revolution
12. How did America change as the result of the radio?
American life changed as the result of the radio because now, Americans can be truly united under one news station and hear all the news at the same time all over the nation. Back then, since radios were new, there was no limit of how strong a signal can be, thus some were able to reach across all of the states while most of the time there were just smaller local stations. It gathered Americans back home for them to gather their news, and revolutionized how advertisement worked, since now there are listeners. It also changed politics, seeing that many people now listened to the radio, it could only help them to adapt to it.
Hollywood's Filmland Fantasies
Know: The Great Train Robbery, The Birth of a Nation, The Jazz Singer
13. What were some milestones in the history of motion pictures?
Some milestones in the history of motion pictures include the first film ever to be made, The Great Train Robbery was its name. Although quite short, it did tell a story to the viewers and was able to entertain. The first full featured film was The Birth of a Nation, and was criticized heavily for its KKK support and even the President said that movies such as it were writing history with lightning. There were many controversies in film since most early films included naked women. Movies were heavily used during WWI for propaganda. Hollywood was set as the capital for the movie industry because of its sunny weather.
The Dynamic Decade
Know: Margaret Sanger, Flappers, Sigmund Freud, Jelly Roll Morton, Langston Hughes, Marcus Garvey
14. "Far-reaching changes in lifestyles and values paralleled the dramatic upsurge in the economy." Explain.
American life was slowly changing into an urban lifestyle. The census of 1920 came to the conclusion that for the first time ever, more Americans lived in urban life than in the rural. This was very important as a change because now society has began to adapt to the ways of the Jazz and the city folk. Many girls were called flappers and they dressed scantily and also drank a lot and courted boys and openly spoke of sex. This supported Sigmund Freud’s psychology of sexual repression and whatnot. Jazz also spread around and many African American musicians became famous with their unique style of music.
Cultural Liberation
Know: H. L. Mencken, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, William Faulkner, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, e.e. cummings, Eugene O'Neill, Louis Armstrong, Frank Lloyd Wright
15. How did the arts of the 1920's reflect the times?
The arts of the 1920’s reflected the times in literature, art, music and architecture. H. L. Mencken wrote and criticized about America in his American Monthly. F. Scott Fitzgerald was probably the epitome of 1920’s literature, because his life and stories reflect the times heavily, from This Side of Paradise to his masterpiece The Great Gatsby showed the partying life of the newly wealthy after the economic boom. Ernest Hemingway was also a writer that reflected the partying life of young people and also the rich. There were many American poets, and there was a revolution in colored culture called the Harlem Renaissance. There was jazz by Louis Armstrong and also architecture of tall buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Wall Street's Big Bull Market
Know: Margin, Andrew Mellon
16. Was government economic policy successful in the 20's?
Government economic policy after the 20’s was very unstable and seemed to be very fragile since it depended so much on borrowed money. The stock market was now a game, it was either get rich quick or get in debt even quicker. Then there was a passed government idea that was to lower the post war taxes because they were deemed unwanted after the war and useless. There was also the idea to tax the rich directly instead of at their factories and supposedly it failed to help the Americans and actually decreased the government’s income.