Radmon Context

Question 1

Poem = valley of ashes?

Answer 1

T.S. Elliot’s poem the wasteland – wants a revival of the past

Question 2

Law of prohibition?

Answer 2

18th amendment in 1918 (prohibition)

Question 3

1880s name and meaning?

Answer 3

Guided age - implying that under the glittery, or gilded, surface of prosperity lurked troubling issues, including poverty, unemployment, and corruption

Question 4

What did GNP rise from?

Answer 4

GNP rose from $74 bill in 1920 to more than $104 bill in 1929

Question 5

What happened to farming prices?

Answer 5

Farming commodity prices fell – in a depression 4 years before the crash

Question 6

Women’s right to vote?

Answer 6

Women got the right to vote in 1920, 19th amendment

Question 7

Women’s employment?

Answer 7

25% more women were employed

Question 8

Hedonism?

Answer 8

Hedonism – pursuit of pleasure

Question 9

Materialism?

Answer 9

Materialism – attaches importance to money

Question 10

Conspicuous consumption?

Answer 10

Conspicuous consumption – buying goods to display wealth

Question 11

What was Americans immigration policy?

Answer 11

America had an open door policy, by 1920 more than 40 mill had arrived

Question 12

How many different nationalities in America?

Answer 12

Blend of over 130 different nationalities – melting pot

Question 13

Why were people scared of immigrants?

Answer 13

Feared that immigrants had extremist views like communism – red scare

Question 14

Treatment of suspected communists

Answer 14

Mitchell Palmer claimed there were around 150,000 communists in the country, started rumours, attacked left wing groups, 6000 non communists were held in prison without trial

Question 15

Where was Cather from?

Answer 15

Cather was born in Virginia 1873 and later moved to Nebraska like Jim

Question 16

How much land did Indians loose?

Answer 16

By 1934 Indians had lost about 2/3 of the land they had held in 1887

Question 17

Homestead act?

Answer 17

1862 Homestead Act passed – for a small fee the head of house could get 160 acres of land, if they could live on it and improve it for 5 years, they got it for free

Question 18

Why did people fail in the west?

Answer 18

Many failed as west was too dry and buying a plot, well, seeds and fences could cost $1000

Question 19

Women as teachers?

Answer 19

Women set off in the west to teach in the 1840s and 1850s but only received 40-60% of a male teachers salary, once married they were forced to give up their jobs

Question 20

Women in government?

Answer 20

By 1925, 145 women had seats in 35 state governments

Question 21

Ideal woman poem

Answer 21

Patmore’s poem ‘the angel in the house’ which was inspired by his wife Emily, charts their traditional marriage. The wife was devoted and docile towards her husband with it stating ‘man must be pleased’

Question 22

Farming change in 30s?

Answer 22

1930s saw the start of machine farming

Question 23

Roosevelt impact?

Answer 23

FDR New Deal saw the start of social housing and a minimum wage

Question 24

What did California become

Answer 24

California became a promised land – gold rush, railways, boom in agriculture

Question 25

WPA peak?

Answer 25

1938 was a peak year for the WPA where jobs were provided to more than 5 mill and 40,000 new buildings were constructed