review of the 1920s

What is a “red”? Why were they feared in the 1920’s?

someone with communist sympathies, connection with Russian Revolution

Why were recent immigrants often portrayed as political

agitators in the 1920s?

Usually members of working class, many had radical

beliefs (anarchists, socialists, etc.)

Identify two examples of immigration restriction

during the 1920s.

The quota system (set limits on # of imms from each country), 1923 Japanese

Exclusion Act

Why was there a wave of strikes in 1919? How did

employers respond?

Workers wanted to gain what they had missed out on

during WWI, employers called them revolutionaries and

Communists

What were the primary issues that workers were

striking for?

Shorter hours, five day work week, living wage

What group wanted to form “one big union” to fight

against the “employment class”?

Industrial Workers of the World or the “Wobblies”

Whose trial was a clear example of anti-immigrant

sentiment? Who took up the cause of their innocence?

Sacco & Vanzetti, many celebrities and

intellectuals

Identify two examples of anti-immigrant sentiment

from the twenties.

Sacco & Vanzetti, Al Smith, KKK, quotas & restrictions

What group worked to oppress everybody who was not a White Protestant? Why

did this group grow in the 1920’s?

KKK, tension in cities between poor whites and

blacks and immigrants

What Attorney General started the “Red Scare”?

Why?

Mitchell Palmer, thought fighting Communism would help advance his political

career

What legal organization was formed in response to the

Palmer Raids? Name a leading member of this

organization.

ACLU, Clarence Darrow

List three characteristics of life in rural America in the

1920s.

cultural homogeneity, religious fundamentalism, farming, traditional values, country music & ice cream socials,

tough economic times

Identify three characteristics of urban America in the

1920’s.

cultural diversity, new immigrants, religious

diversity, speakeasies & jazz, manufacturing, booming

economic times

What the basis of the Christian Fundamentalist movement?

Name a well known fundamentalist preacher of the

1920s.

a literal interpretation of the Bible, Billy Sunday or

Aimee Semple McPherson

What was the charge in the Scopes’ Monkey Trial? What

did the trial represent?

teaching evolution, clash between rural (esp.

fundamentalist) and urban values

What encouraged consumption of all kinds of new goods in the twenties?

new marketing techniques (advertising, installment

plans, mail order catalogs, etc.)

Why were so many Americans in a hurry to get rich quick in the 1920’s? What two areas did they

invest in to accomplish this?

new American dream defined by possessions, stock market and real

estate

What is “buying on the margin”?

taking a loan on profits existing stock to buy more

stock

Why is buying on the margin a problem?

market crashes, stocks lose their value, and nobody can pay back their loans

Why were so many farmers struggling to make ends meet during the 1920s?

Overproduction (still producing at WWI levels) led to low crop

prices, and many were carrying debt from new equipment

purchases

What happened to all the new manufacturing capacity that had been built up producing war materials during WWI?

It transitioned to producing new consumer goods (appliances, clothing,

cosmetics, etc.)

List two new electronic conveniences of the 1920s.

vacuum cleaner, washing machine, radio,

refrigerator, toaster

What were the two big auto manufacturers in the 1920s?

Ford & General Motors

How did the automobile change American life?

demand for roads, faster transportation, closed

distances, greater contact

Why were Republican Presidents like Harding and Coolidge so popular in the

1920’s?

isolationist and pro-business

Identify 2 ways Harding’s tenure was scandalous.

womanizer, seized alcohol at poker parties,

embezzlement by cabinet members, Tea Pot Dome

Who took over after Harding died & cleaned up after the

scandals?

Coolidge

Describe Coolidge’s business philosophy.

hands off, pro-ownership

What kept Al Smith from winning the 1928

Presidential election?

urban, new immigrant, Roman Catholic

How many farmers lost their farms in the ‘20s? What institutions lost a lot of

money as a result?

1/2 million, the banks

What amendment made alcohol illegal? How

successful was it in reducing consumption of alcohol?

18th, not very

Who took over distribution of alcohol during prohibition?

organized crime (bootleggers)

Identify two things that helped “liberate” America in

the ‘20s.

Jazz, Radio, Movies, Literature of the Lost

Generation, Automobiles

Name two ways women established new

independent attitudes in the 20s.

Bobbing Hair, wearing shorter skirts, moving out on their own, voting, rejecting the sexual double standard

What amendment gave women the right to vote? Did the votes of women significantly change the

American political scene?

19th, no

Name two types of jobs commonly held by middle

class women.

nursing, teaching, higher level clerical

Name 2 big athletes of the Twenties.

Babe Ruth, Red Grange, Bill Tilden, Jack Dempsey,

Gertrude Elderle, Bobby Jones

Name two famous entertainers of the ‘20s.

Charlie Chaplin, Gillespie, Clara Bo, Valentino, Al

Jolson, Paul Robeson, Mills

Name two types of jobs commonly held by lower

class women.

factory, lower clerical, janitorial

What was the Harlem Renaissance?

the flourishing growth of the arts in Harlem in the

1920’s

Name 2 authors that were part of the Harlem

Renaissance.

Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Claude McKay

Why was the Harlem Renaissance most

significant?

Was the first time Blacks were able to exert major influence

over American culture, gave a voice to the Black experience

Name two writers that were part of the “Lost

Generation”. Why were they lost?

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, H.L. Mencken; disillusioned

by destruction of WWI

Name one of the most influential architects of the

1920’s.

Louis Sullivan & Frank Lloyd Wright