Text of the 1920s Review

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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