Continuum Exercise

Who benefitted from the boom during the 1920s?

Theme: What was the dark side of the boom?Topic: Why didn’t everyone benefit from the

boom?

Must – be able to describe which groups did well or lost out during the boom

Should - be able to explain why certain groups didn’t do well

Could – make an overall judgement on how prosperous the USA was during the 1920s

Aims & Objectives

Task 1: Continuum Exercise

Review the character cards below and decide how

successful they were during the economic boom by

writing their names on the continuum

Poor FarmerYou’ve borrowed lots of

money and invested in a new tractor and combine harvester and are producing more food than ever before.

Unfortunately, the republican tariffs mean that you can’t sell your surplus abroad so the price has crashed.

You can barely make enough money to feed your family let alone pay the mortgage.

Black Sharecropper You make your income by

getting a share of the crops that you help to produce which you can then sell

The introduction of mass production and tractors means that the farmer is producing a lot more, but the price of cotton has dropped so low that you can barely make enough money to feed your family.

Both you and your family have to suffer discrimination, segregation and terror due to unfair law and the KKK.

White Farmer LabourerThe introduction of

mass production, tractors and combine harvesters has taken away many of the jobs you used to do.

Many farmers are employing cheaper black workers.

This makes you feel very angry. Some of your friends have joined the KKK.

Assembly Line WorkerYou’ve got an unskilled job

on a low wage in a Henry Ford factory.

You have money to spend but you are living close to the poverty line.

If you try to join a union and fight for your rights then you will be sacked by your employer and possibly beaten up!

New Immigrant From Eastern Europe

You’ve left your old life behind to start afresh in the USA.

You are looking forward to being able to vote, get a job and practice your religion free from discrimination.

However, you can only get low paid jobs and you face lots of discrimination from WASPs

StockbrokerYou’ve grown wealthy by

buying and selling shares during the boom.

You can’t lose as share prices keep on going up!

The low taxes of the Republican government mean that you get to keep your new found wealth and grow richer everyday.

Al-CaponeProhibition has turned you

from a small time crook into a crime lord with an army of gangsters.

You use you money and power to control the city of Chicago and all its politicians, judges and half of its police force.

Every year you make £60 million from selling illegal alcohol and until the St Valentine Day’s massacre, everyone sees you as a Robin Hood character.

Henry FordYou pioneered the assembly

lines that led to the mass production of over 10 million cars by 1929.

You are a millionaire who has 100,000s of employees.

You are one of the most powerful men in the USA and you expect politicians to listen to your views on unions and prohibition.

Middle Class WomanMass production has

filled your home with labour saving devices that has given you new opportunities for leisure and work.

You can use your new car to drive into town and watch a movie.

You can use your education to get yourself a job in an office as a secretary.

Which groups benefitted from the boom during the 1920s?

0

4

3

2

1

-1-2

-4

-3

Unsuccessful

Successful