Topic 2 - 1920s Society Flashcards
What law was passed in 1920 which granted women the right to vote in all states?
19th Amendment
By what percentage did the number of women working increase between 1920 and 1929?
24%
Did women achieve equality in the workplace in the 1920s?
No. Most working women were in low-paid jobs. They were also paid less than men for the same job.
Did women achieve equality in the law in the 1920s?
No. In 1923, women campaigned to Congress to pass the Equal Rights Act, but failed.
Name two female politicians in the 1920s.
Florence Kelley and Alice Paul
By 1930, what proportion of women aged 15 years and older were working (%)?
Only 25% - the rest of the female population worked at home or on their farms.
Name three new styles of behaviour associated with “flappers”.
- Wearing daring clothes
- Having short hair
- Smoking
- Drinking
- Socialising with men without a chaperone
- Kissing in public
Which association in Washington D.C. aimed to persuade young women to behave respectfully?
The Anti-Flirt Association
In what areas of America did women experience greater freedoms and opportunities in the 1920s?
Cities / urban areas
What evidence is there that women in America achieved greater rights in the law in the 1920s?
- Maternity and Infancy Protection Act (1921).
- Equal nationality rights for married women were granted in 1922.
- Child Labour Amendment (1925).
When did Prohibition became law in America?
January 1920 under the Volstead Act (the 18th Amendment was passed the previous year)
What did Prohibition ban?
The manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol
How many “dry” states were there by already 1919?
13 states
Name two temperance groups who campaigned for Prohibition.
- The Anti-Saloon League
2. The Christian Women’s Temperance Union
What did temperance movements argue drinking alcohol led to?
Crime, poverty, violence (e.g. 3000 infants a year were smothered by drunken parents)
Why did business leaders support Prohibition?
They thought their workers would be more productive.
Why did the First World War lead to a rise in support for Prohibition?
Accused of being unpatriotic; grain used to make alcohol should be used to feed soldiers; Germans owned big breweries.
How much did wealthy industrialist John D. Rockefeller donate to the Anti-Saloon League?
$350,000
What happened to the demand for alcohol after Prohibition?
It continued
What was the name of the illegal bars which operated after Prohibition?
Speakeasies
How many speakeasies were there in America by 1930?
Approximately 250,000
What was the name given to the illegal home-brewed whisky some Americans produced?
Moonshine
Name two famous agents who enforced Prohibition.
Moe Smith and Izzy Einstein
Altogether, how many agents were there to enforce Prohibition?
1250
What was the name given to the smugglers who illegal brought alcohol into America?
Bootleggers
What proportion of illegal alcohol transported to America came from Canada?
Two-thirds
Approximately how much money did organised gangs make from the sale of alcohol in the 1920s?
£2 billion
What proportion of Prohibition agents were dismissed for corruption?
1 in 12
Who was a close associate of Al Capone?
Mayor “Big Bill” Thompson
What happened to murder rates in US cities as a result of gangs competing to control the alcohol trade?
They rose (e.g. there were 130 gang-related murders in Chicago from 1926-7)
What was the name of the event in 1929 which saw Al Capone’s men murder seven members of the ‘Bugs’ Moran gang?
The Valentine’s Day Massacre
On average, how many immigrants moved to America a year between 1900 and 1910?
A million
What year did Russia become a communist country?
1917
Why were some Americans fearful of immigrants to the US from Russia and eastern Europe?
They believed they would bring radical, communist ideas to America.
What was the name given to the fear of communism which developed in America in the 1920s?
The Red Scare.
What events were seen to show that communism was at work in America?
A wave of strikes broke out in 1919 (400,000 workers on strike).
How many prominent Americans received bombs through the post between April and June 1919?
36 prominent Americans
Who was nearly killed in one of these bombing attacks?
Attorney General Mitchell Palmer
Who was blamed for the bombing attacks?
Immigrants who were anarchists
How did the government respond to the bombing attacks?
They introduced the Palmer Raids
How many immigrants were deported between 1919 and 1930?
10,000 immigrants
What law did the government pass in 1924 to restrict immigration?
The Johnson-Reid Act
After this law was passed, how many immigrants could move to America a year?
150,000
What was the name of the two Italian immigrants who were trialled and executed in the 1920s?
Sacco and Vanzetti
What crime were they accused of committing?
Armed robbery and two counts of murder
What were the problems with the court proceedings?
Weak evidence and Judge Webster Thayer was seen to be bias towards immigrants.
What laws meant that black people in southern states could be legally segregated from white people?
The Jim Crow Laws
What was the name of the white supremacist organisation which gained popularity in the 1920s?
The Ku Klux Klan
What was the name of the film (1915) which glorified the organisation and helped it to gain popularity?
Birth of a Nation
How many members did this organisation have by 1925?
Approx. 5 million members
Where was the KKK the strongest?
The southern states
Name two American states whose Governors were members of the organisation.
Ohio and Oklahoma
In the early-1920s, how many lynchings were there a year in the south?
50 lynchings
What was the name of the white gangs in northern America which meant African Americans were forced to live in isolated ghettos in society?
“Athletics Clubs”
How did African American’s education, housing and health services compare to white people’s in the north?
A lot worse (e.g. they paid higher rents for poorer housing)
How many black farm workers lost their jobs in the 1920s?
Three-quarters of a million
What was the name of the university set up to educate black people?
Howard University
What political organisation campaigned to end segregation?
NAACP
What area of New York became a centre of creativity and opportunity for African Americans?
Harlem (e.g. this was where the Cotton Club was located, which allowed African Americans to gain prominence as musicians).
By how many hours did the average working week drop in the 1920s?
From 47.4 hours to 44.2 hours
On average, how much did wages increase by in the 1920s (%)?
11%
What happened to the number of radio stations between 1921 and 1922?
Increased from 1 station to 508 stations.
Name two dance crazes jazz music gave rise to.
- Charleston
2. Black Bottom
Name two famous African American jazz musicians of the 1920s.
- Louis Armstrong
2. Bessie Smith
Where was the centre of the major American film industry?
Hollywood, Los Angeles
How many cinema tickets were being sold a week by the end of the 1920s?
100 million tickets (a rise from 40 million in the early-1920s)
Name two prominent film stars of the 1920s.
- Charlie Chaplin
- Clara Bow
- Douglas Fairbanks
- Gloria Swanson
- Rudolph Valentino
When was the first “talkie” movie made?
1927
What guidelines were introduced in 1930 to limit and control what could be shown in films?
The Hays Code
Name two popular sportsmen of the 1920s and their sport.
- “Babe” Ruth (baseball)
2. Jack Dempsey (boxing)
How much did the suburb of Grosse Point Park outside Detroit expand in the 1920s (%)?
700%
