American Lit Context Flashcards
Who is Daisy Buchanan based on?
Ginevra King
How many Americans were in poverty in the Jazz Age?
40%
Culture that defined the Jazz Age
- Rise of consumerism, items seen as more expensive became available to lower classes
- Sarah Grand’s ‘New Woman’
- Suffragettes + Flappers
- Harlem renaissance
- prohibition, moonshine + speakeasies
Context on Immigration in 1920’s America
1924 Immigration Act - solidified a quota based immigration system which inherently prioritised white immigrants from Western Europe + completely prohibited immigration from Asia
New York= ‘the golden door’ for immigrants
What did industrial production drop by in the first year of the Great Depression?
50%
Manifest Destiny
Political + cultural belief that the US had a divine obligation to expand its borders + spread both democracy + capitalism across North America
At its core was a pervasive racist belief in the inherent cultural + racist superiority of white Americans compared to indigenous + Central American people -key tenet behind gov policy + justifying violent displacement + conflict against Indigenous people as the US expanded into the West
What was the original title for ‘The Great Gatsby’?
Under the Red, White and Blue
When was the Rhinelander case?
1924
When was the American Civil war?
1861 - 65
When was the Fugitive Slave Act?
1850
Mississippi Plan
Designed explicitly to prevent Black men from voting in 1890, in spite of Mississippi being he 1st state to send an African American senator to Congress in 1870
Features of Gilded Age
Makes by inflated wealth of many famous names in American business: Rockefeller, Carnegie, Vanderbilt etc, known as ‘captains of industry’ or ‘robber barons for their exploitative business practices, depending on vantage point
1860-1900: 2% Americans owned 1/3 nations’ wealth
What newspaper suggests Brazil is without a race problem?
The Chicago Defender
