Notes

Primary Source Document #1: Consumer Goods

THE NEW STANDARD OF LIVING: ...It is helpful to list again the specific goods, services and qualities which comprise the new American
standard of living.
SHELTER:
● More apartment living
● Electric lights
● Radios
● More attractive villas
● Electric appliances
● Phonographs
● Washing machines
● Telephones
● Furnaces and oil heaters
● Refrigeration
● Five-foot shelves
● Plumbing and bathtubs
● Sleeping porches
● Glittering cocktail
services
● Overstuffed furniture

And less space

CLOTHING:
● More variety
● More accent on
underwear
● More fat reducers
● More style
● More commercial laundry
● Permanent waves
● More silk pressing, and
cleaning work
● More colorful vestments
for men
● Rayon
● More cosmetics

And poorer quality

FOOD:
● More variety with fewer
calories
● More attractive service
● More restaurant eating
● More fresh vegetables
● More milk products
● More tea houses
● More fresh fruit
● More packaged foods
● More drugstore bars
● More tin cans
● More delicatessen shops
● More candy and
● More quick lunches
● More chewing gum

And less home cooking

SUNDRY [Misc.]:
● Motor cars
● More golf
● Moving and talking
pictures
● Clubs, including night
clubs
● More traveling
● More new children’s toys
● More high school and
college education
● More books
● More cigarettes
● More magazines
● More jazz
● More comic strips
● More parks &
playgrounds
And more noise and speed
Mass consumption has also dealt a body blow at the time-honored doctrine of thrift. We are urged on the highest authority to spend rather
than to save. Only by spending can we make the wheels of industry turn. We are urged deliberately to waste material. Throw away your razor
blades, abandon your motor car, and purchase new...

Primary Source Document #2: Credit

A writer in the American Mercury reports the case of a mechanic in Texas who received, when work was available, $6 a day. Sundry
[several] high powered salesmen had sold him a second-hand automobile for which he had contracted to pay $30 a month; a set of plush
and fumed-oak parlor furniture for an equal monthly sum; a piano, a gold watch, a baby carriage, and a diamond ring. The sum total of his
monthly installments came to more than his total monthly wages, provided he worked every day which he didn’t. . . .

We as Americans are so loaded up with monthly payments [on the installment plan] that we have to cut down on pork chops and warm
underwear. Already manufacturers of essentials like the Pacific Mills (textiles) and the Endicott Johnson Corporation (shoes) are finding
that installment buying is cutting into their business. Thus the whole national manufacturing program is liable to be made top heavy with
non-essentials, while the lower income groups find themselves actually suffering because they cannot buy the necessities which the family
needs. In this vicious circle there is the possibility of a very ugly day of reckoning. . . .

If installment buying of non-essentials continues to grow as it has been growing, it is difficult to predict anything but disaster. Either the
movement must be checked, and that very soon, or else ways and means must be discovered for increasing the purchasing power of the
workers. If real wages can be made to go up fast enough, they can absorb the installment burden, which leaves it pretty squarely up to the
manufacturing and banking interests. If they want to sell their luxury goods and keep the country prosperous at the same time, they must
increase real wages.

Primary Source Document #3: Advertising in the 1920’s
Advertisements

How do these advertisements motivate
consumers to buy their goods?

What does this ad tell you about American

culture in the 1920’s?

Flash Cleaner
Silent Movie Theater
Advertisement

Electric Refrigerator
Silent Movie Theater
Advertisement

Radio
Advertisement from the
newspaper “Successful
Farmer”

Model-T Ford
Advertisement from national
magazines

Boncilla Soap

All good presentations have a clear purpose, and an argumentative presentation will have a clear argumentative purpose. In groups of 3 -4, You will create and present an 8 - 10 minute presentation (slideshow) that addresses the focus question below:

What factors caused the stock market crash of 1929?

Requirements:
Review the documents for your assigned question.
Provide a bit of background/context to your assigned topic.
Present at least two arguments from the documents assigned. You must present a minimum of two arguments from the documents.

I GAVE YOU THE DOCUMENTS IN MY PREVIOUS MESSAGE. USE IT.

Provide the key points/highlights from the documents (evidence).
Back up each argument with specific evidence from the documents (i.e. quotes, etc.)
Provide analysis for the documents you present. Keep in mind the historical context, audience, purpose, and point of view to guide your analysis. You do not have to provide the H.A.P.P.Y. for each document; pick what is most relevant to the argument.
Where do you stand? Pick a side! Present your thesis statement or main idea clearly, and remember it should present your argument and be specific.
Use images relevant to your points as evidence. Images are powerful and are important pieces of an effective presentation.
Practice presenting before the actual presentations.
Always cite your sources!


HELP ME COMPLETE THIS PRESENTATION. GIVE ME AS MANY SLIDES AS NECESSARY AND WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE IN THE SLIDE. I WILL POST THE EXACT INFORMATION YOU GIVE ME INTO A SLIDESHOW. REMEMBER THIS IS 8-10 MINUTES
OUTLINE EXACTLY WHAT I SHOULD INCLUDE IN THE SLIDESHOW. GIVE ME ALL THE INFORMATION. USE EVERYTHING I GAVE YOU PLUS ANY MORE INFORMATION YOU THINK SHOULD BE IN THE SLIDESHOW. MAKE IT DETAILED.