The Roaring Twenties and Great Depression

📋 Course Outline

1. 1920s prosperity and mass consumption
2. Wall Street Crash of 1929
3. Causes of the Great Depression
4. The Great Depression in America
5. Hoover’s response to the crisis
6. Roosevelt and the New Deal
7. The Blitz and the British home front
8. London as a global city
9. Brexit and the Irish border
10. The Good Friday Agreement
11. History of Malta

📖 1. 1920s prosperity and mass consumption

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Roaring Twenties: A period of rapid U.S. economic growth in the 1920s that expanded production and consumption.
• Mass production consumer goods: A manufacturing approach that spread household items widely, making modern appliances common in many homes.
• Expanded credit: Borrowing supported by a booming banking industry, letting people buy goods and invest with limited upfront money.
• Fordist assembly line: A production system linked to Henry Ford that increased output and lowered costs, boosting affordability of cars.

📝 Essential Points

• America’s economy grew 42% during the 1920s, fueling a boom in production and spending.
• Mass production spread household appliances like washing machines, vacuum cleaners, and refrigerators into many homes.
• By the mid-1930s, 60% of households owned radios.
• Henry Ford’s assembly line let the Model T cost $300, helping drive auto-industry growth.
• The U.S. produced almost half of the world’s output after World War I because much of Europe had been destroyed.