Roaring 20's

Question 1

Why did some European countries get angry at America after World War I? Be specific.

Answer 1

• The Fordney-McCumber Tariff made it impossible for Britain and France to sell enough goods in the US to repay their debt.
• The US benefited from the defeat of Germany because they were making money off of loans given to both the Allied Countries.

Question 2

Explain President Hardin’s policy on economics. What did he want to do and why?

Answer 2

He wanted to reduce taxes on America’s wealthiest businessmen because he thought it was the wealthy who started and expanded business.

Question 3

What is graft? How is that concept related to the Roaring 20’s?

Answer 3

• Graft is using office positions improperly to become rich.
• President Harding used graft to appoint his friends to gov’t positions.

Question 4

What was the Teapot Dome Scandal?

Answer 4

Government land where bribes were accepted to allow oil companies to drill federal reserves.

Question 5

Explain what the ‘pro-business’ spirit referred to during the 1920s.

Answer 5

Favored government policies that would keep taxes low and business profits up. Allowed profits to increase and unemployment to decrease.

Question 6

What are tariffs? Why did President Coolidge place high ones on imports (goods purchased from other countries)?

Answer 6

• Tariffs are a tax imposed by one country on the goods and services imported from another country.
• President Coolidge placed tariffs on imports to help American manufacturers.

Question 7

Why did President Coolidge reduce income taxes?

Answer 7

It meant people had more money to spend, which would help boost the economy.

Question 8

What was the biggest economic/business success of the 1920s?

Answer 8

The Auto Industry

Question 9

Explain the goal/vision/philosophy of Ford and the impact that Ford had on American society. (You should have at LEAST four bullet points)

Answer 9

• When Henry Ford started selling the Model T in 1908 it was more affordable than the cars sold in the 1800s.
• One of his ideas was to make cars simple and identical instead of doing highly expensive custom manufacturing.
• He wanted to make the process smooth by using interchangeable parts and moving belts.
• One of his goals was to determine how workers should move and at what speed would be the most productive.

Question 10

How did the automobile impact other businesses?

Answer 10

It created new industries such as gas stations, garages, car dealerships, motels, roadside restaurants, etc.

Question 11

How did the automobile impact American society?

Answer 11

It allowed people to be able to live farther from work, move to towns and suburbs outside of cities, and it brought people and families closer together.

Question 12

What is xenophobia? How is it connected to the Roaring 20’s?

Answer 12

Xenophobia is the unreasoned fear of things/people that are foreign. Some schools stopped teaching German language classes and some Americans of German heritage changed their names to be more English sounding.

Question 13

What is nativism? How is it connected to the Roaring 20’s?

Answer 13

Nativism is prejudice against foreign-born people. Anti-Semitism (hatred of Jews) increased.

Question 14

What is Anti-semitism? Why was it in America in the 1920s?

Answer 14

Anti-semitism is the hatred of Jews. It was a result of increased immigration from Europe.

Question 15

What is isolationism? Why did many Americans favor it in the 1920s?

Answer 15

Isolationism is staying out of other country’s affairs/problems. Americans favored isolationism because it kept them out of trouble and conflict.

Question 16

What is communism? Why were Americans against/afraid of it? (You should have at least three bullet points).

Answer 16

• An economic and political system based on a one-party govt ruled by a dictatorship
• It would mean that the government would control businesses and private land
• Meant that there was no such thing as wealth or social classes

Question 17

What was the Red Scare and why was it present in the 1920s?

Answer 17

The Red Scare was the fear of Communism in America during the 1920’s. It was inspired by the Russian communist revolution and Americans were frightened by communism.

Question 18

Explain what the Palmer Raids were and why they happened. Finally, explain the impact they had on American society.

Answer 18

US Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer was in charge of addressing the Communist threat and hunted down suspected communists and socialists. It targeted anarchists as well (people against any form of gov’t). Jailed suspects without allowing them legal counsel, infringed on the rights of the citizens, and deported foreigners.

Question 19

Explain the Sacco and Vanzetti case and what it reflected about American society during the 1920s.

Answer 19

Two Italian immigrants who were anarchist that were arrested for armed robbery and murder. It reflected anti-immigrant perspectives of America at the time.

Question 20

Why were anti-immigration attitudes present during the 1920s in America? (at least three bullet points)

Answer 20

• Many immigrants were willing to work for low wages in hard jobs
• Nativists said that because the US had fewer unskilled jobs available then less immigrants should be let into the country
• The demand for workers went down after WWI and returning soldiers needed/wanted jobs

Question 21

What was the KKK? Why did it become influential during the 1920s? What sort of impact did it have on society?

Answer 21

The Ku Klux Klan consisted of white native-born men known for harassing and targeting African Americans, Jews, Catholics, radicals, and immigrants. They would often attack people in order to scare them into doing something. Started to preserve the U.S. for white native-born Protestants and by the end of the 1920s their power was decreasing.

Question 22

What was the Emergency Quota Act of 1921? Why was it established? What impact did it have?

Answer 22

It limited the number of people who could enter the US from other countries. It was established to sharply curb European immigration to the US but the law was updated in 1927 to reduce the total # of people to be admitted in one year to 150,000. Impacted immigration from Japan, which angered the Japanese.

Question 23

Why was there conflict between workers and business owners during the 1920s? Give an example.

Answer 23

Boston Police hadn’t been given a raise since before WWI, and when asked to be given a raise they were fired, which caused them to strike (The Boston Police Strike). The Steel Mill Strike was when Steel Mill workers wanted the right to negotiate shorter working hours and higher wages.

Question 24

Between 1922-1929, migration to cities increased. Explain why.

Answer 24

The cities were starting to get larger which resulted in high populated cities, lots of cultural diversity, and the main reason people migrated to cities was because people were more likely to tolerate risky behavior like drinking, gambling, and casual dating.

Question 25

Explain the impact that increased immigration to cities had on American culture in the 1920s. Be specific.

Answer 25

Cities became fast-paced and busy, there was lots of cultural diversity, and people were doing naughty things such as gambling, drinking, and casual dating.

Question 26

Explain how rural life and urban life were different in America in the 1920s.

Answer 26

Rural life consisted of small towns with smaller populations, farms, nice communities, very low crime rates, etc., while urban life consisted of highly populated cities, fast-paced and chaotic days, lots of different types of people, and a higher crime rate.

Question 27

What was Prohibition? When did it officially start? What sort of impact did it have on American society?

Answer 27

Prohibition made it illegal to manufacture, sell, and/or transport alcoholic beverages and began in January 1920 in the 18th amendment. However, people started to resent government meddling and saw it as a form of control.

Question 28

Explain the difference between speakeasies, bootleggers, and moonshiners.

Answer 28

Speakeasies were a way of getting alcohol illegally from underground saloons and nightclubs. Bootleggers were smugglers who carried liquor in the legs of boots. Moonshiners were people who made homemade alcohol (usually at night) under the shine of the moon.

Question 29

What was the major flaw of Prohibition?

Answer 29

The gov’t failed to budget enough money to enforce it, which meant they didn’t have enough money to pay police to enforce Prohibition.

Question 30

What were the two major effects of Prohibition?

Answer 30

It created disrespect for the law and led to organized crime in every major city.

Question 31

Explain what organized crime was and why it was influential in the 1920s. Give an example.

Answer 31

Crime that was directed towards a certain objective/plan. Organized crime flourished because they directly went against Prohibition and sold liquor to the public, leading to them becoming wealthy. Territories expanded and gang warfare erupted over turf and control of the liquor.

Question 32

Define fundamentalism, creationism, and evolution. Furthermore, explain why and how there was tension between these concepts. Give an example of that tension. What did this tension represent?

Answer 32

• American fundamentalism was a Christian movement that focused on a literal interpretation of the Bible.
• Creationism was the belief that the universe and the various forms of life were created by God out of nothing.
• The theory of evolution stated that species of plants and animals descended from common ancestors.
• These concepts created tension because each concept is different from each other and went against what the other one was saying. The Scopes Trial is a result of this tension and made it a crime to teach evolution.

Question 33

Explain how roles for women changed in American society during the 1920s. BE DETAILED.

Answer 33

When new attitudes started to emerge among young Americans, women started to assert their independence. They demanded the same freedoms as men. The 19th Amendment allowed women to vote, and some were elected to state and local office, and by 1930 29% of the workforce was women. Flappers were women looking for a little fun in the 1920s. They were known for cutting their hair, raising hemlines, wearing makeup, smoking, drinking, and dancing, and living an independent and free lifestyle.

Question 34

Explain what the Harlem Renaissance was.

Answer 34

A historic influx of talented African American writers, thinkers, musicians, and artists. It also helped create new opportunities for African American stage performers, who only began being offered serious roles on the American stage in the 1920s.

Question 35

Explain what the Great Migration was. Why did it occur? What sort of impact did it have?

Answer 35

Hundreds of thousands of African Americans moving north to big cities. African Americans saw more opportunities in the big cities and sought potential. They felt a strong sense of racial pride and identity in the cities. It attracted a historic influx of talented African American writers, thinkers, musicians, and artists.

Question 36

Explain how the music of the 1920s symbolized the culture of America at the time.

Answer 36

New music genres like jazz that were improvised/composed on the spot, gave people a new variety of entertainment.

Question 37

List at least three famous musicians of the 1920s.

Answer 37

Louis Armstrong, George Gershwin, and Edward Kennedy Ellington

Question 38

Explain why the 1920s was considered the Golden Age of newspapers. How many people do you know today that still gets and/or reads the newspaper?

Answer 38

Every town had a newspaper which included the latest information on musicians, artists, sports, or any interesting topic at the time. Today’s world mostly consists of television, phones, and other electronic devices to get news/information from, but there are still a lot of people who read the newspaper, especially the dads and grandpas while on the toilet.

Question 39

What is a tabloid? Give an example of one today.

Answer 39

Provided more on entertainment, fashion, sports and sensational stories. A tabloid today is something like an ad on television or social media.

Question 40

How did newspapers lead to a common culture in America in the 1920s?

Answer 40

Americans began to share the same information, read the same events, and encounter the same ideas and fashions.

Question 41

Identify some of the ‘fads’ of the 1920s.

Answer 41

Dance marathons, flagpole sitting, and Mahjongg

Question 42

Identify the role Sports played in America in the 1920s. How was the role of sports in the 1920s different from the role of sports in America today?

Answer 42

People would crowd into baseball games to see the players that they called their heroes. In 1929, Americans spent $4.5 billion on entertainment, which mostly included watching sports. In the 1920s, people would spend a bunch of money to see their favorite players and to listen to them on the radio, however today’s world can just turn on the television and watch it there. People today still go to sports games and spend money there, however today people don’t spend as much money on sports as in the 1920s.

Question 43

Identify and explain at least three sports heroes of the 1920s.

Answer 43

• Helen Wills played powerful tennis, and won 31 major tournaments and two Olympic gold medals.
• Babe Ruth was a larger than life American hero who played for the Yankees and hit 60 homers in 1927.
• Jim Thorpe won gold medals in the Olympics in the decathlon and the pentathlon, he played professional baseball, professional football, and was the first president of the NFL.