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Prosperity was not universal: even among the ‘prosperous’, many faced debt, pressure, & instability.
Economist and social theorist Stuart Chase found that the Boom = ‘a rate of advance,’ not ‘a state of affairs.’
Groups benefitting = those with the right skills, drive, & advantages.
People who prospered [BUSY FEW]
a. Business Owners
- Wealthy execs in steel, oil, autos, housing profited; 100 corps controlled 50% of US business by 1930.
- Notable examples: Henry Ford (paid $2.6m tax), Edsel Ford ($2.2m), John D Rockefeller Jr (triple Ford's).
- Bankers like JP Morgan Jr profited from credit/stock booms & foreign loans.
- Some farmers (e.g. salad/dairy near cities) prospered, but small businesses struggled.
b. Upper Middle Class
- Managers, engineers, & professions (lawyers, advertisers, white-collar workers) gained, could afford luxuries like cars.
c. Stock Investors
- Many earned profits in the stock market's bull run, esp. late 1920s.
d. Young & Rich
- Children of wealthy enjoyed leisure (e.g. flappers, college students).
e. Factory Workers
- Skilled urban workers benefited from rising wages, shorter hrs (down 20%), better housing (e.g. electricity, fridges) – esp where Unions.
- Leisure options expanded for those with disposable income.
f. Entertainment & Leisure
- Actors, musicians, sports figures found financial success.
g. Women
- WW1 → growing independence; more women entered jobs, gaining financial independence.
People who missed out [FLOP NUTS]
Many groups excluded from prosperity; inequality increased.
By 1928, the Boom slowed; structural weaknesses became evident.
a. Farmers
- Overproduction → falling prices (e.g. wheat: $1.83 per bushel in 1920 → $0.38 in 1929).
- Avg farmer income = 40% of nat’l avg; 1924: 600k went bankrupt.
- Rural areas lacked electricity, excluding farmers from consumer boom.
b. Low-Wage Earners
- Unskilled/casual workers & 2m who were unemployed excluded from prosperity.
- Wealth gap: top 5% earned 33% of income; 40% of pop. below the poverty line (< $2k/yr).
- Only 3% of semi-skilled workers owned cars.
c. Old Industries
- Coal: Overproduction → mine closures; wages = ⅓ of nat’l avg by 1929.
- Textiles: less demand due to 'flapper' styles using less fabric.
d. Black Americans
- Severe racial discrimination. 1m Black farm workers lost jobs in 1920s.
- Urban jobs = low-paid menial work. New York's black Harlem district overcrowded (250k people in 50 blocks).
- Healthcare disparities: 1 hospital bed per 139 whites v. 1 per 1941 Black people.
- Life expectancy 1929: whites = 59; Blacks = 47.
e. Native Americans
- Extreme poverty on govt-controlled reservations.
f. Unemployed
- New tech displaced workers; 2m unemployed throughout 1920s.
- No welfare safety net → ‘on the bread line’.
Wider Economic Issues:
g. Trade Problems
- High tariffs → other countries retaliated → less foreign purchasing power, harming US exports (esp. farmers).
h. Stock Market
- Overheated: risky practices (e.g. ‘buying shares on margin’ with loans up to 90%).
- Brokers' loans trebled 1926–29 → looming disaster if prices fell.
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