American Boom

The parties were bigger… the pace was faster… the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser and the liquor was cheaper.” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tales of the Jazz Age 1922.)

This is a quote used to describe life in America in the 1920’s; it shows us how America changed drastically just after the Great War.

“The roaring twenties” is a phrase used to describe The United States of America during the 1920’s, this period was full of excitement and money for the American people. “Boom” is a word used to describe how America expanded economically, as more people were making earning more money, more businesses were opening and America experienced the feel good factor. Additionally the word “Boom” can also be used to show the status of the countries success. The Boom was a period when industry expanded and grew rapidly, transport industry also expanded as roads and cars were built. There were many factors that helped contribute to the Boom, individually and together.

The natural strength of the USA did not cause the Boom however it was necessary for the Boom. The USA was rich in natural resources, due to this they didn’t have to import goods from foreign countries. This meant that they could save their money and use their own resources instead of importing; more money meant that businesses could expand and grow bigger. Ever since the 1860’s and 1870’s America was the worlds leading oil producer. Because the US was producing lots of oil more jobs were opening up and this helped contribute to the boom. The car industry was rising as there was a lot of oil which was used as petrol. By the end of the 1920’s American used up seven billion gallons of petrol a year for the cars. This made the oil state of Texas rich. With more jobs opening up and more people earning money this helped the Boom happen. The USA had a large population due to immigration during World War 1, this meant America had a wider market to sell to and companies and businesses were never short on employees, and didn’t need to rely on exports. With more people working and earning money America was vastly becoming rich and stable. America were in the perfect position for an economic “boom”, and as this happened every sector of the economy began to grow.