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HISTORY: America 1920-73 > Divided Society > Flashcards

Divided Society Flashcards

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1
Q

When did prohibition become law?

A

1920

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2
Q

When was prohibition (the Volstead Act) law? (How long did prohibition last?)

A

Prohibition lasted from 1920 - 1933

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3
Q

How did prohibition change the levels of alcohol consumed in the early 1920s?

A

Levels of alcohol consumption fell about 30% in the early 1920s

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4
Q

Why was prohibition introduced? (3)

A

Temperance Movement
Rising crime rate linked to alcohol
Children’s purity + innocence said to be at risk

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5
Q

Effects of prohibition (4)

A

Corruption
Gangsterism
Made criminals out of ordinary people as the liquor trade simply ‘went underground’
Poor quality moonshine sometimes killed people

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6
Q

Name one poor quality moonshine + it’s effect

A

‘Jackass brandy’ caused internal bleeding

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7
Q

What fraction of prohibition agents were dismissed for corruption?

A

1 in 12 prohibition agents dismissed for corruption

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8
Q

Why was prohibition impossible to enforce? (5)

A

Briberies frequently used (of agents + of judges, senior officers
Gangsters operated all over country
Not enough agents
- Agents responsible for very large areas
Each agent was poorly paid

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9
Q

How many prohibition agents were there?

A

4000

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10
Q

How many gangland murders were there between 1927 - 1930

A

500+

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11
Q

Name two infamous gang leaders

A

Al Capone

Bugs Moran

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12
Q

Bootlegger

A

Someone who supplies people + speakeasies with illegal alcohol

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13
Q

Where did the illegal alcohol usually come from + why?

A

2/3 of alcohol came from Canada

The vast border was difficult to patrol

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14
Q

Stills

A

Illegal distilleries producing moonshine (illegal alcohol)

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15
Q

Speakeasy

A

Illegal bar selling alcohol

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16
Q

Amount of speakeasies in the 1920s compared legal bars in previous decade

A

More speakeasies in the 1920s than there were legal bars before the decade

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17
Q

How much did Al Capone make a year from his speakeasies?

A

Made around $60 million a year from his speakeasies

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18
Q

St Valentine’s Day Massacre (4 - what, when, who, how)

A

Infamous gang murder
14 February 1929
Al Capone’s men murdered 7 of rival Bug Moran’s gang
Used a false police car + 2 gangsters in uniform to put Moran’s men off guard

19
Q

When did prohibition end?

A

1933

20
Q

Why did prohibition end? (4)

A

Lead to too many deaths
Hadn’t lead to decrease in crime but crime actually increased
Government income (from alcohol taxes) had decreased by $11 billion
Rising unemployment in late 1920s - alcohol trade could create jobs

21
Q

Between 1850 - 1919, amount a people from Europe that came to America?

A

Between 1850 - 1919, about 10% of population of Europe (some 40 million) left for a new life in America

22
Q

First Americans (3) (who, who took their land, where did they live after)

A

(Native Americans)
White European settlers gradually took their land
- forced to live in reservation areas

23
Q

Old Immigrants (3)

A

White settlers who arrived in America from Europe in 1600s
Then gained independence from British empire
By 1900s, = most powerful + richest group in society

24
Q

Black Americans (3)

A

The slaves brought to America between 1600 - 1800
Slavery then abolished 1865 + slaves set free
Faced segregation + prejudice

25
Q

New Immigrants (4)

A

The wave of people that flooded into America from 1850 onwards
Mainly from Eastern Europe
Irish people that had left after the major famines
Growing number of Chinese + Japanese

26
Q

Why did Immigrants come to the US? (6)

A 
Escaping poverty
Escaping political persecution
Hope of owning land (plentiful supply)
Jobs with higher wages
Adventure
Hope of equality + opportunity
27
Q

3 Immigration laws passed by US Congress

A

Literacy Test, 1917
Emergency Quota Act, 1921
National Origins Act, 1924

28
Q

Literacy Tests (3) (when, what, who usually failed)

A

Introduced 1917
Immigrants had to pass series of reading + writing tests before they could enter
Poorer, less educated immigrants failed so were refused entry

29
Q

Emergency Quota Act (3) (when, number, countries that it favoured)

A

Introduced 1921
Restricted to 357000 immigrants per year
Quota system favoured Immigration from Britain + Western Europe

30
Q

National Origins Act (3) (when, number, continent)

A

Introduced 1924
Reduced immigration to 150000 per year
Prohibited immigration from Asia

31
Q

Lifestyle of immigrants (2) (area, jobs)

A

Poor, overcrowded areas in cities

Low paid menial jobs

32
Q

Life for African Americans living in south (4)

A

Segregation as a result of Jim Crow laws
Denied access to higher education, good jobs + right to vote
Forced to work low-paid, unskilled jobs
Prejudice + discrimination

33
Q

Life for African Americans living in north (6)

A 
Jim Crow laws didn’t exist in north
- still faced discrimination
Given most menial jobs
Lived in squalid ghettos
Better chance of getting a good job + education than in south
- many moved north
34
Q

KKK (5) (when, aim, actionsx3)

A 
Established 1865, revived 1915
Wanted to preserve white supremacy
Terrorised minority groups
Violence used to intimidate
Lynching
35
Q

How many people were lynched by the KKK in the 1920s?

A

400 black Americans

36
Q

By 1923, how many members did the KKK have?

A

5 million members by 1923

37
Q

How did the film ‘The Birth of a Nation’ impact the KKK? (3) (when, how, who showed it)

A

Release of film in 1915
Glorified the klan as defenders of decent American values against evil
President Wilson showed it in the White House

38
Q

Why were KKK members rarely punished? (3)

A

Many held positions of authority
- e.g. judges so KKK members not found guilty in courts
Politicians didn’t take action - scared of losing votes

39
Q

Red Scare (4) (what, why, who under threat)

A

Period when there was an extreme fear of communism

  • Americans frightened by Russian Communist Revolution 1917
  • some believed the same thing would happen in USA
  • Immigrants under suspicion
40
Q

Events that heightened the Red Scare (4) (1919 + 1920)

A

Industrial unrest in 1919 - immigrants blamed for strikes
Discovery of 36 mail bombs in April 1919
– A bomb destroying the front of the house of the Attorney General, Mitchell Palmer
– A bomb exploding on Wall Street in September 1920, killing 38 people

41
Q

Sacco and Vanzetti case (6)

A

Italian Immigrants, anarchists
Accused of 2 murders during armed robbery at a shoe factory
Both arrested 1920 with guns in their car
Tried in court at height of Red Scare in 1921
They were convicted on weak evidence by a prejudiced judge
Both executed 1927 even though a man had come forward + said it was him

42
Q

When were Sacco and Vanzetti executed?

A

August 1927

43
Q

When was Sacco and Vanzetti‘s court case?

A

May 1921

HISTORY: America 1920-73 (6 decks)

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