I. Between the Wars (1919-1941) “The Roaring 20’s” and “The Great Depression”

 

   A. “The Roaring 20’s” (1919-1929)

       

        1.  What happened in the U.S. during “The Roaring 20’s”?:

            

             a. Isolationism

 

                1)  What is Isolationism? – after WWI, many Americans wanted to isolate

                     themselves from problems occurring outside of the U.S.

                    a) During the 1920’s and 1930’s, the U.S. avoided alliances with

                        other nations.

               

                2) Examples of isolationism during the 1920’s: 

                    a)  The U.S. did not join the League of Nations – The League of Nations

                         was a peace-keeping  organization created by President Wilson to

                         prevent war after World War I, but many Americans did not want the

                         U.S. to join.

                    b)  Emergency Quota Act (1921) – A law passed by Congress to limit the

                         number of immigrants who could come to the U.S. each year.

                    c) “The Red Scare” –

                        (1)  What was the “Red Scare? – Americans worried that communist

                              immigrants from the Russian Revolution might try to create a

                              communist government in the U.S. (this is called the Red Scare

                              because communists used red flags and red arm-bands in the Russian

                              Revolution).

                        (2)  “Palmer Raids” – In the 1920’s the U.S. government arrested

                              4,000 Americans who were “suspected” of being communists.

                              (a) The Palmer Raids were led by Attorney General A. Mitchell

                                    Palmer.

                              (b) Some of the people arrested in the Palmer Raids were deported.

                              (c) Many believed that the Palmer raids were illegal because

                                   they violated the Constitution.

                    d) KKK (Klu Klux Klan) –

                        (1) What is the KKK? - A white supremacist group started after the

                              Civil War to deny rights to African Americans; KKK used threats

                              and violence in the 1920’s to deny rights to any group that they

                              believed were “un-American”.

                                (a)  In the 1920’s “The KKK” beat and lynched people who were

                                       immigrants, Jewish, Catholic, and African American.

                                (b)  lynching – putting to death of a person by the illegal action of a

                                       mob.

 

 

            

             b. Daily life changed for many Americans:

                 

                 1)  “Automobile Age” started.

                       a)  In the 1920’s, people started to drive cars to work and to go on

                            vacation.

                       b) The Ford “Model T” was the first low cost car that most Americans

                            could afford to buy.

                       c)  How did the car change America?:

                            (1) People begin to travel for pleasure.

                            (2) Suburbs were created because people don’t need to live where they

                                 worked.

                 

                2)  “Mass Media” started.

                       a)  What is mass media? – Types of communication that can reach large

                            numbers of people

                       b)  Examples of mass media in the 1920’s:

                            (1)  Radio - KDKA (in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania) The first radio

                                   station in the U.S.

                            (2)  Records - Jazz music (music with African and southern roots that

                                   had unusual rhythms and melodies) became very popular in the

                                   1920’s; the 1920’s are sometimes called “The Jazz Age”.

                                 (a) Louis Armstrong – African American trumpeter; the most

                                      famous artist from the “Jazz Age”.

                            (3) Movies

                                 (a) “Birth of a Nation” (1914) – first “full length” movie

                                 (b) “The Jazz Singer” (1927) - the first full length movie with sound;

                                       starred Al Jolson

             

                 3)  “Installment Buying” started.

                       a)  What is installment buying? – buying products by promising to pay

                            small regular amounts over a period of time.

                       b) How did installment buying change the economy?:

                            (1) People could buy more products (cars, homes, appliances)

                            (2) The U.S. companies made a lot of money in the 1920’s

                            (3) The U.S. economy became the largest economy in the world.

         

                  

                 4) Prohibition started. – Prohibition was the national ban on the manufacture,

                     sale and transportation of liquor (for religious and health reasons) in the U.S.

                     after the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1920.

                      a) Famous Terms and People from Prohibition:

                            (1)  “bootlegging” – a term for manufacturing and selling illegal liquor

                                   during Prohibition (today this term is used to describe the illegal

                                   manufacture and sale of copyrighted material; movies, music,

                                   computer games).

                            (2)  Carrie Nation – famous leader of the Prohibition movement in

                                   the U.S.; she was arrested many times before Prohibition for

                                   attacking bars and taverns with a hatchet.

                            (3)  Al Capone (“Scareface”) – violent leader of organized crime in

                                   Chicago, Illinois; Capone made huge profits from bootlegging.

                     b) Prohibition ended with the passage of the 21st Amendment in 1933

                            (1) Why did Prohibition fail?:

                                  (a) “Bootlegging” gangsters started to kill each other in order to

                                        protect their business (see Al Capone).

                                  (b) It was hard to enforce the law; there too many people 

                                        believed that liquor should be legal.

             

            c.   The U.S. Economy changed in the 1920’s

                  

                  1)   How did the U.S. economy change in the 1920’s?:

                         a)  The U.S. became the richest nation in the world. 

                              (1) The U.S. gross national product (GNP) nearly doubled in the 20’s;

                                    from $60 billion to $100 billion.

                              (2) Today, the U.S. is still that world’s richest nation; GNP $14

                                    trillion in 2006 (the #2 economy is Japan at $4 trillion)

                        b)  Labor Unions encouraged workers to strike in the 1920’s:

                              (1) Unions are formed by workers to get better pay and

                                    working conditions; the first unions were formed by workers

                                    in the 1800’s

                              (2) In the 1920’s, many unions went on strike (steel workers, police)

                                    because their pay did not keep up with rising prices after WWI.

                              (3) Many of the strikes failed because many Americans believed

                                    that foreign communists ran the unions and encouraged the strikes.

                              (4) Union membership dropped in the 1920’s.

                 2) People made a lot of money buying and selling stock in the Stock

                     Market:

                      a) As the economy expanded, the value of American companies increased.

                      b) Many Americans made money investing in companies through the Stock

                          Market

                      c) Many Americans used installment buying to invest in stocks; when the

                          stocks increased in value the profits were used to pay off the loan used

                          to buy the stocks (this is often called buying stock “on margin”). 

 

            d. Politics in the 1920’s

                   

                 1) Two Presidents in “The Roaring 20’s”:

                     a) Warren Harding (Republican) (1921-1923) President at the beginning

                         of the “Roaring 20’s”; Harding died in office in 1923.

                         (1) Harding appointed his friends to offices in his government.

                         (2) “Teapot Dome” Scandal (1922) – some of Harding’s friends took

                               $400,000 from a company that wanted to drill for oil in Teapot

                               Dome, Wyoming.

                         (3) Harding’s administration is considered to be one of the most corrupt

                              in U.S. history.

                    b) Calvin Coolidge (Republican) (1923-1929) President at the end of

                         the “Roaring 20’s”.

                         (1) Coolidge supported businesses and expansion of the U.S. economy

                              (a) Coolidge supported “laissez-faire” economic policies; he

                                   lowered taxes on businesses and reduce regulation of businesses.

                              (b) Coolidge raised tariffs (taxes) on to foreign goods so that

                                   Americans would buy U.S. goods instead of imported goods.

                       

 

 

 

                                 

 

                    

     

                        

 

 

The Roaring 20’s                                           Name:

Vocabulary

 

Instructions:  Use the glossary to provide complete definitions for each of the following terms.

Where a definition is provided, copy the definition into your notebook.

 

 

normalcy (see p.705) – There is no set definition for this word.  In fact, some people don’t think

                         it is a word.  Take your best guess based on the reading!

isolationism

socialism - An economic system in which some large industries (telephone, electric,

                 health care) are run by the government.

communism – An economic system in which there is no private property and the government

                      owns and runs all of the businesses. 

free enterprise

capitalism

anarchism

immigrants –

nativism

lynching

urban – The city.

rural – The country; isolated areas.

suburbs

Prohibition

bootlegging

trade union

strike

gross national product

 

 

The Roaring 20’s                                           Name:

Vocabulary

 

Instructions:  Use the glossary to provide complete definitions for each of the

following terms.

 

**If you have defined a term in a previous assignment, you do not need to define the

    term again.  However, you will need to know all of the definitions for these terms

    for the nest unit test.  Also, you must be able to present all of these definitions to

    in order to receive a grade.

 

stock

stock exchange

dividend

on margin

isolationism

evolution

creationism

laissez-faire

tariff

import

export

 

 

Review                                                             Name:

The Roaring 20’s

 

Instructions:  Use the textbook and class notes to complete each section of this review.  Read the

directions before beginning work on each section.  Complete this assignment on a separate sheet

of paper.

 

Vocabulary:  Provide complete definitions for each of the following terms

 

normalcy                      isolationism                               socialism

communism                  free enterprise                           capitalism

anarchism                     immigrants                                nativism

lynching                        urban                                        rural

suburbs                        Prohibition                                bootlegging

trade union                   strike                                        gross national product

stock                            stock exchange                         dividend                      

on margin                     evolution                                  laissez-faire                  

tariff                             import                                      export                         

creationism

 

Main Ideas: Use the textbook and class notes to answer each of the following questions in a

complete sentence. 

 

1.  After World War I, President Harding stated that many Americans wanted to return to

    “normalcy”.  What did he mean by this statement? 705

2.  After World War I, the U.S. followed a policy of “isolationism” in its affairs with other

     nations.  What is “isolationism”?  Does the U.S. follow this policy today?

3.  How Americans lived changed in the 1920’s.  Give 4 examples to support this statement.

4.  The “Automobile Age” began in the 1920’s.  Which car started the Automobile Age? 

     Who invented this car?

5.  Give 2 examples of how the car changed America.

6.  What is “mass media”?  List 3 examples of mass media from the 1920’s.

7.  Why are the 1920’s sometimes called “The Jazz Age”?

8.  Which event from World War I caused “The Red Scare” to occur in the U.S. in the 1920’s?

9.  What were “Palmer Raids”?  Why do you think some Americans believed that the Palmer

     Raids were against the law?

10.  What was Prohibition?  Why did Prohibition fail?

11.  Read the definition for “trade union”.  Based on the definition, why do workers form trade

       unions?  Do you think the “Red Scare” helped or hurt unions in the 1920’s? Explain your

       answer.

12.  How did “installment buying” change the U.S. economy during the 1920’s?  How did

       installment buying change the U.S. gross national product during the 1920’s?

13.  How did installment buying effect the Stock Market in the 1920’s?

14.  List the 2 Presidents from “The Roaring 20’s”.

15.  What was the “Teapot Dome” scandal?  Who was President when this event occurred?

16.  Describe Calvin Coolidge’s economic policies during his time a President.

17.  Who was John Scopes?  Why was he arrested in Tennessee in the 1920’s? 718

 

People:  Explain why each of the following people were important during “The Roaring 20’s”.

Use your answers to the Main Idea questions to help you.

 

John Scopes                  Charles Darwin                         Calvin Coolidge

Warren Harding            “Sacco and Vanzetti” 701          A. Mitchell Palmer

Al Jolson                       Louis Armstrong                       Ku Klux Klan

Henry Ford                  

 

 

People                                                                                    Name:

“The Roaring 20’s”

 

 

Charles Darwin   - British scientist who published “On the Origin of Species” in 1859.  This book

proposed the theory that all species of life have evolved over time from a few common ancestors. 

Darwin called this process “natural selection”.  Darwin’s ideas are the basis for the “Theory of

Evolution”.

 

John Scopes – A high school teacher who deliberately broke a Tennessee law making it illegal to teach

evolution in the public schools.        His trial in 1925 was seen as a struggle between those who support

the theory of evolution and those who accept the story of the creation of man as told in the

Bible (often called “creationism”).    

                               

Calvin Coolidge – 30th President of the United States (1923-1929).  He was President at the end of

the “Roaring 20’s”. Vice-President for Warren Harding and became the President after Harding’s death

 in 1923.  He supported “laizze-faire” economic policies which reduced taxes and regulations on U.S.

businesses in the 1920’s.  He increased tariffs on foreign goods to protect American businesses from

foreign competition.  Some historians believe his policies led to the Great Depression (few regulations

and high tariffs), while other historians believe his policies greatly improved the U.S. economy

(lower taxes).

 

Warren Harding - 29th President of the United States (1921-1923); died while President in 1923. He was

President at the beginning of the “Roaring 20’s”.  Harding promised a return to “normalcy” after WWI. 

To Harding, “normalcy” meant and end to U.S. involvement in foreign affairs and a return to life as it was

before WWI.  Harding reduced taxes and passed laws limiting immigration.

               

“Sacco and Vanzetti” – In 1920, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were convicted robbery and

murder in Massachusetts.  Both men were eventually executed in 1927.  Some historians argue that

Sacco and Vanzetti were innocent and were executed simply because they were immigrants.  Other

historians argue that there is evidence to support the final verdict.

               

A. Mitchell Palmer – U.S. Attorney General (1919-1921).  He ordered the arrest of Americans who were

suspected of being communists during the “Red Scare”.  In recent years, some historians have condemned

the “Palmer Raids” an unconstitutional arrest of Americans without a warrant. At the time, Americans

supported the Palmer Raids as part of the Sedition Act passed during WWI.

 

Al Jolson – Jazz singer and actor in the 1920’s.  He starred in the first “talking” movie; The Jazz Singer

 in 1927.

                               

Louis Armstrong – African American jazz musician and trumpeter.  He is considered by many historians

to be the greatest jazz musician in American history.

                               

Ku Klux Klan – White supremacist organization created after the Civil War to deny rights to former

slaves (African Americans).  In the 920’s, the KKK used threats, violence and lynching to deny rights

 to groups who they believed were “un-American”; African Americans, immigrants, Catholics and Jews.

 

Henry Ford – Founder of the Ford Motor Company.  Henry Ford perfected the use of the assembly line

and mass production to create reliable and cheap automobiles.  The Ford Model T started the

“Automobile Age” in the U.S. and changed how Americans lived and worked.