Chad Cohen

Period 11

1920’s Review

1. Characteristics of the 1920’s: The 1920’s were about change. Like the change in
religion verses the theory of evolution, the change in the way women acted, and
the Harlem Renaissance.
2. “red scare” and the Palmer Raids:
• The “red scare” was after the Russian Revolution when Lenin takes
control of Russian and makes it communist. Then communist parties
started to spring up in the US, and people got scared that the US would
become communist.
• Palmer Raids was when palmer elected Hoover as his assistant, and they
went hunting for communists and anarchists. He and his men arrested
hundreds, but never turned up any controversial conspiracies.
3. Public reaction to the series of strikes-feelings about unions/organized labor:
People were fearful that the strikes and unions were headed by communists and
freaked people out. This caused workers to move away from unions.
4. Role of the KKK: As peoples fears of communism grew many feared that
immigrants were communist. This fear brought out the KKK who killed natives
which was what people wanted.
5. Growth of new technology: New technology made house work easier, also made
things cheaper, and busted the economy because if people didn’t own the new
things they were isolated. The new technology brought on credit and debt which
in turn made the economy worse which led to the great depression.
6. Key events that changed American lifestyles: Prohibition which started organized
crime, new technology brought on a new era of spending, flappers changed the
way women were seen, and the Harlem Renaissance changed the views of African
Americans.
7. Immigration laws: brought on by the scares of communism, and the strong
Nativisim. The original law started the limitations but an update to the law made
the gap of how many immigrants can come in a year.
8. Economy of the 1920’s: It was ok coming out of WWI but the effects of the
money coming in getting slower made dept. New technology boosted the
economy, but buying on credit caused people to buy what they couldn’t afford,
and caused debt which lowered the economy.
9. “Return to Normalcy”: Meaning the return to the time before the progressive era
where the government didn’t interfere with business and people.
10. Societal Trends in 1920’s: Flappers, KKK, Harlem Renaissance, and being
gangsters.
11. Changing roles of women: Women became more active in the business, and their
change in the way they dress and act. Flappers wore their hair and dresses short,
no corsets, and they drank, smoked, and talked about intercourse freely.
12. Foreign Policy in the 1920’s: The policy was isolationism where the US wouldn’t
interfere with foreign policies and other countries wouldn’t interfere with the US.
They also got other nations to reduce their arms.
13. Tariff levels in the 1920’s: Tariffs in the 1920’s were raised to promote people to
buy US made goods. Which made it hard for Europe and France to pay America
back.
14. Government relationship with business: Harding’s “return to normalcy” promoted
going back to a time where the Government wouldn’t interfere with business.
15. Post war moods: People were fearful of being overrun by communism, but they
didn’t feel the war settled anything and everyone was still mad.
16. Condition of agriculture: During WWI growing food for the war made the south
prosper but when it ended the south went back into poverty, and most of the
African Americans went the North.
17. Largest industry in the 1920’s: The car industry, and new appliances were big in
the 1920’s because they were new and everyone wanted them. The oil industry in
turn became very big.
18. Sacco and Vanzetti: Italian immigrants who were accused and arrested for
robbery and murder of a factory paymaster and his guards. The witness saw 2
Italians which is why they were accused. They were found guilty and were
sentenced to death, and their were many who protested their arrest.
19. Economic conditions of different groups in the 1920’s: Women in the business
made less money then men, white men were doing good from a mixture of post
war profit and new technology. Blacks some where doing good like in the
Harlem renaissance, but most were doing bad. Southern farmers were doing
poorly like before the war.
20. Issues at the Scopes trial: Scopes was imprisoned for teaching Darwin’s Theory of
Evolution in school. William Jennings Bryan was hired to defend the state for
religion. Clarence Darrow was hired to defend scopes was a famous lawyer. This
trial was majorly important because the large belief in fundamentalism and the
major belief in a higher power during that time.
21. Tax policies of the presidents: Income tax and inheritance tax rates were lowered,
and tariffs were raised to protect business.
22. 18th Amendment and the reason for repeal: The 18th amendment was for
prohibition or outlawing the sale, and making of alcohol. This was repealed when
the rise of bootleggers, speakeasies, and gangsters in the US making a mockery of
the police and laws.
23. Arguments for and against prohibition: Reformers felt that alcohol led to
corruption, crime wife and child abuse, job related accidents, and other social
problem. Religious followers believed drinking was a sin. People who were
against prohibition were people who drank, and people who sold alcohol for a
living. After Prohibition was passed people like gangsters were for prohibition
because they could get money from illegally selling alcohol, but the supporters of
prohibition then apposed it when they saw crime and drinking rates go up. The
18th Amendment caused more drinking, crime, and made a mockery of law.
24. Themes of Harlem Renaissance poetry: The theme of the poetry of the Harlem
Renaissance was about the Hardships of African Americans.
25. Reasons Model T was affordable: It worked on an assembly line so one or a group
of people worked at one station doing the same thing.
26. Harlem Renaissance: A literary and artistic movement celebrating African-
American culture.
27. A. Mitchell Palmer: President who headed the Palmer Raids to find people
accused of being a communist after the red scare.
28. Communism: An economic and political system based on a single-party
government ruled by a dictator. This system put an end to privately owned
property, businesses and factories.
29. Great Migration: The large-scale movement of African Americans from the South
to Northern cities in the early 20th century.
30. Fundamentalism: A protestant religious movement grounded in the belief that all
the stories and details in the Bible are literally true.
31. Growth of mass media: The invention of the radio and the shipping plane made it
easier to get information out. Anyone who owned a radio could here news
broadcasted anywhere in the US and the mail plane made shipping easier and
letter delivery faster.
32. New advertising techniques: new advertising was centered on telling people a
product would make them beautiful or just better. These new techniques were
helped by the radio, and mailing planes which could send out flyers for products
faster.
33. Teaching of Evolution: Fundamentalists didn’t believe teaching evolution in
school was right but it was tested in the scopes trial.
34. Impact of the stock market crash: The Stock Market Crash was the beginning of
the Great Depression and it had a rippling affect throughout the economy and the
nation. It produced a downward spiral that negatively impacted every segment of
the population. The stock market decline caused many banks to fail, which
caused many businesses to fail, which caused unemployment to skyrocket, which
caused consumers to have less purchasing power, which forced existing
businesses to lower their prices, and so forth. It took years to break this vicious
cycle. Take a look at some areas that sustained a tremendous amount of damage
during the Depression.
35. Billy Sunday: A baseball layer turned preacher who was one of the most powerful
revivalists. A powerful fundamentalist who preached about the bible and the sins
of drinking. Supported Prohibition and preached on the radio.
36. Aimee Semple McPherson: A theatrical woman who used Hollywood
showmanship to preach the word to homesick Midwestern migrants and devoted
followers of her radio broadcasts.
37. UNIA/NAACP: UNIA founded by Marcus Garvey in 1918 and was later mover
to NY where he and his followers set up operation offices which flooded with
followers. Promoted black pride, black business, and returning to Africa to get rid
of the oppressive whites there. The NAACP was founded in 1909 by W.E.B. Du
Bois urged Africans Americans to protest racial violence by leading parades and
magazines. They pushed for antilynching laws, and in 1919 3 bills were
introduced to congress, but none of them passed.
38. The Lost Generation was a group of writers that formed in Europe. It consisted of
F. Scott Fitzgerald who wrote The Great Gatsby and This Side Of Paradise, John
Dos Passos, and Ernest Hemingway who wrote The Sun Also Rises and A Farwell
to Arms. The moved to Paris and joined other writers such as Ezra Pound and T.
S. Eliot.
39. Anarchy: Absence of government. A state of lawlessness or political disorder due
to the absence of governmental authority. Utopian society of individuals who
enjoy complete freedom without government. Absence or denial of any authority
or established.
40. Speakeasy: A place usually in a basement where alcoholic drinks were sold and
consumed illegally during times of Prohibition.
41. Louis Armstrong: A young trumpet player who played with Oliver’s Group which
then became known as the Creole Jazz Band. His talent rocketed him to stardom
in the jazz world. He had a great sense of rhythm and his ability to improvise.
Then in 1924 he joined Fletcher Henderson’s band which was the biggest jazz
band in NY. Was one of the most important influential musician in the jazz
industry.
42. Charles Lindbergh: Made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic in his
plane the Spirit of St. Louis. He flew across the coast of Newfoundland and flew
across the Atlantic and landed in Paris, France.
43. Marcus Garvey: An immigrant for Jamaica who believed African Americans
should build their own society, started the UNIA. He promoted black pride, black
business, and going back to Africa to get rid of oppressive whites. He was the
most influential pro black supporter in the 1920.
44. Bootlegger: Liquor smuggler who sold liquor illegally during prohibition.
Brought in from Canada, Cuba, and the West Indies they would smuggle alcohol
in the legs of their boots.
45. William Jennings Bryan: Prosecution lawyer in the scopes monkey trial. He was
a three time democratic candidate and devoted fundamentalist.
46. Langston Hughes: The most well known African American Poet in The New
Negro Movement. Many of his poems talked about the difficult lives of the
working-class African American. Some of his poems moved to tempos of music.
47. F. Scott Fitzgerald: A writer in the 1920’s who wrote about the 1920’s and was in
the Lost Generation. Books like The Great Gatsby and This Side Of Paradise
showed the negative side of the 1920’s.
48. Ernest Hemingway: A writer wounded in WWI who was the best-known
expatriate author. His books The Sun Also Rises and A Farwell to Arms criticized
the glorification of war.
49. Babe Ruth: NY Yankee slugger who hit many home runs during the1920’s. He
became an icon, many tuned into his games on the radio, and he inspired
Americans.
50. Clarence Darrow: Hired by the ACLU to defend Scopes in the Scopes Monkey
Trial because he was one of the best lawyers of his day.