Were The 1920s An Age Of Change Or Tolerance Flashcards
What economic event is referred to as ‘The Crash’?
The economic boom ended after October 1929
List five reasons why the economic boom came to an end after October 1929.
- Over-speculation in the stock market
- Bank failures
- Decreased consumer spending
- High unemployment rates
- Decline in international trade
What term describes the decade of the 1920s in the USA?
A decade of unrivalled prosperity
What significant change occurred in US immigration policy during the 1920s?
The first restrictions on immigration were implemented
Which white supremacist group reappeared in the 1920s?
The Ku Klux Klan
What was a consequence of the introduction of national prohibition?
The growth of organised crime
What major political change occurred for women in the 1920s?
Women received the vote in federal elections for the first time
What significant political event occurred in Russia in November 1917?
The Bolshevik Revolution created the world’s first communist state
How were immigrants from central and eastern Europe viewed in the USA during the 1920s?
They were feared as being susceptible to un-American ideas
What was the impact of the USA joining the First World War on immigrants from Germany and Austria-Hungary?
Resentment towards these immigrants increased
What was a notable event in the USA during the year 1919?
Considerable industrial unrest and widespread strikes
What caused inflation in the USA after the First World War?
The war itself
How many workers were involved in strikes nationwide during the industrial unrest of 1919?
Over four million workers
What extreme left-wing trade union was involved in the unrest of 1919?
International Workers of the World, also known as the Wobblies
True or False: The 1920s were solely a decade of prosperity without any social issues.
False
What was created in August 1919 to investigate socialist and communist activity in the USA?
A General Intelligence Division of the federal government.
It was the forerunner of the FBI.
What were the Palmer raids?
Raids launched by the federal government against left-wing newspapers and activists in January 1920, resulting in 6,000 arrests.
What was the outcome of the Red Scare by the middle of 1920?
The Red Scare had died down.
What was the Sacco and Vanzetti case?
The trial of two Italian immigrants arrested for the murder of a paymaster, which divided the USA due to circumstantial evidence against them.
What were the main reasons for the conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti?
Their avoidance of military service and support for anarchist ideas.
When were Sacco and Vanzetti executed?
In 1927, after facing a trial and an appeal.
What does the Sacco and Vanzetti case indicate about the 1920s in the US?
It reflects the climate of fear and intolerance towards radical political views.
What was the purpose of the report ‘To the American People’?
It was an appeal against the Palmer Raids, highlighting illegal practices by the Department of Justice.
What illegal actions were reported by the lawyers in ‘To the American People’?
Wholesale arrests without warrants, secret detention, property seizure without warrants, and abuse of suspected radicals.
What did the Department of Justice do to create public sentiment against radicals?
It created a propaganda office and sent out newspapers and magazines to excite public opinion.
What was the Immigration Act of 1917?
A law that denied entry to immigrants who could not read or write, overriding the president’s veto.
What inscription is on the Statue of Liberty?
Bring me your huddled masses yearning to be free.
What was the general attitude towards immigration in the USA during and after WWI?
Opposition to unlimited immigration grew, particularly against those who could not speak English.
What was the first-ever limit on immigration in the USA?
In 1921, the Emergency Immigration Act placed a limit on immigration, restricted to three percent of the total number from a national group already living in the US, based on the 1910 census.
This favored immigrants from the British Isles and Western Europe.
What did the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924 establish?
It made immigration quotas permanent, limiting two percent from a particular region based on the US 1890 census, increasing bias against immigrants from eastern and southern Europe.
Hispanic workers in California were exempt from this Act.
What was the significance of the 18th Amendment?
Ratified in January 1919, it introduced national prohibition in the USA.
What event marked the beginning of the decline of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)?
The David Stephenson murder case in 1925 marked the beginning of the decline of the KKK.
What were the Confederate states?
Between 1861 and 1865, 11 southern states declared independence from the USA to preserve slavery. These states included Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.
Slavery was abolished throughout the USA after the Civil War.
What laws did former Confederate states introduce after the Civil War?
They introduced Jim Crow laws, which deprived black Americans of voting rights and enforced legal segregation until the 1960s.
When was the KKK revived and by whom?
The KKK was revived in 1915 by William Simmons at Stone Mountain, Georgia.
What influenced the revival of the KKK?
The revival was influenced by the publication of the book ‘The Clansman’ and the film ‘The Birth of a Nation’ which portrayed the KKK as heroes.
Who were key figures in the rapid rise of the KKK in the 1920s?
Edgar Young Clark and Elizabeth Tyler used public relations techniques to encourage recruitment.
What was the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre?
It occurred in February 1929 and is often cited as a significant event in the context of organized crime during Prohibition.
What was the total membership of the KKK by 1924?
The KKK had a national membership of four million across the whole of the USA.
What event in 1925 damaged the KKK’s reputation?
The conviction of KKK leader David Curtis Stephenson for the rape and murder of a 28-year-old woman.
What was the KKK’s membership by 1929?
KKK membership had declined to 200,000.
Who was W. E. B. DuBois?
A leading black American supporter of equal rights.
What did DuBois observe about the KKK in Akron, Ohio?
He found that the local Klan was openly active, with prominent community leaders being Klansmen or sympathizers.
What was the cause of the Klan’s resurgence according to DuBois?
The Klan’s resurgence was a legacy of the World War, fueled by fear and hate.
What did the 18th Amendment of the US Constitution do?
It banned the sale, manufacture, and consumption of intoxicating liquor.
What did the Volstead Act define?
Intoxicating liquor as any drink with more than 0.5 percent alcohol.
Which organizations campaigned for prohibition?
The Women’s Christian Temperance Union and the Anti-Saloon League.
What was the primary support base for prohibition?
Small towns and rural areas dominated by white Anglo-Saxon Protestants (WASPS).
How did World War I influence support for prohibition?
Many businessmen opposed alcohol consumption by workers operating complicated machinery.
What was the most widely ignored law in the USA?
National prohibition.
What were speakeasies?
Illegal drinking places set up across the USA during prohibition.
What is moonshine liquor?
Alcoholic drinks made illegally from scratch or using industrial or medical alcohol as substitutes.
What was bootlegging?
The illegal transportation and sale of intoxicating liquor.
What role did organized crime play during prohibition?
Organized crime became heavily involved in the illegal alcohol trade, leading to bribery of officials.
