roaring twenties

• Warren G. Harding


  president in 1920 "normalcy" after WWI who won in a landslide victory
• Fordney-McCumber Tariff


  (policy) inc. taxes on some U.S. imports to 60%--the tax protected U.S. businesses from foreign competition—made it impossible for Britain + France to sell enough goods in U.S. to repay debts
• Calvin Coolidge


  pro-business president; favored gov. policies that would keep taxes down + business profits up & give businesses more available credit to expand
• consumerism


  acquisition of goods in ever-greater amts. after annual income salary incrsd. by more than 35% during the post-war period
• installment plan


  ez credit "a $ down and a $ forever" enabled people to buy goods over extended period w/o having to put down much money at the time of purchase
• What was the result of the Washington Naval Conference?


  the 5 major naval powers agreed to disarm
• Name 2 domestic policies that President Harding enacted + why did he reduce taxes on the wealthiest Americans


  reducing the federal budget, reducing taxes for the wealthy (expand business and stimulate growth)
• Name 1 effect the automobile + the use of electricity had on American life


  an inc. in # of paved roads (automobiles), an alternating electrical current made it possible to distribute power over longer distances (electricity)
• xenophobia


  unreasoned fear of things/people seen as foreign/strange
• nativism


  prejudice against foreign-born ppl
• isolationism


  policy of pulling away from involvement in world affairs
• communism


  an economic + political system based on a single-party gov. ruled by a dictatorship--to equalize wealth + pwr., communists put end to pvt. property + substitute ownership of factories, railroads, + other businesses
• anarchists


  ppl who opposed any form of gov.
• What effect did WWI have on the attitudes of many Americans?


  it led to prejudice against foreign-born ppl
• What were Americans most fearful of the Red Scare?


  a communist takeover of the country
• What was the primary goal of the quota system?


  limit # of ppl entering America from foreign countries
• Why did union membership decline during the 1920's?


  most African Americans were excluded from unions + difficult to organize members who spoke diff. lang.
• prohibition


  the 18th Amendment; manufacture, sale, + transportation of alcoholic beverages were legally prohibited
• speakeasies


  to obtain alcohol, drinkers went to these underground to hidden saloons + nightclubs; when inside one spoke quietly of "easily" to avoid detection
• bootleggers


  smuggled alcohol in from Canada, Cuba, + the West Indies
• fundamentalism


  Protestant Christian movement grounded in a literal/nonsymbolic, interpretation of the Bible—they were skeptical of some scientific discoveries + theories—argued all important knowledge could be found in the Bible
• Scopes Trial


  fight over evolution, role of science, religion in public schools & in American society
• What did Reformers believe abt. alcohol during the Prohibition


  Reformers who believed that alcohol was sinful led the drive to pass Prohibition
• How much $ did Al Capone the gangster generate from bootlegging + how did he take control of Chicago's liquor business?


  $60M a year, Capone took over by killing off his competition
• flapper


  liberated young woman who embraced the new fashion + urban attitudes of the day
• double standard


  principles granting greater sexual freedom to men than to woman—required woman to observe stricter standards of behavior than men did
• Name 2 ways flappers rebelled against the earlier styles

  + attitudes of the Victorian Age


  embraced new fashions, altered their attitudes toward marriage
• Following WWI, what became very true abt. women in the workplace?


  a booming economy created a demand for women as clerical workers
• Charles A. Lindbergh


  he made the 1st nonstop solo flight-across the Atlantic
• Irving Berlin


  important composer who wrote 1.5K songs, appeared on Broadway shows + Hollywood movies remembered for "White Christmas"
• F. Scott Fitzgerald


  author; coined the term "Jazz Age" to describe the 20s + revealed the period's gaiety & freedom, portraying wealthy & attractive ppl leading imperiled lives in a gilded surroundings
• Ernst Hemingway


  a WWI vet who authored books that criticized the glorification of war
• Why did radio become the most powerful communications media to emerge in the 20s?


  created a shared national experience of hearing the news as it happened
• Why did the artistic movement known as modernism appeal to Americans?


  it illustrated both the dreams + realities of American life
• Marcus Garvey


  immigrant from Jamaica; believed African Americans should build a separate society—encouraged his followers to return to Africa—"Back to Africa" movement—Universal Negro Improvement Association
• Harlem Renaissance


  a literary + artistic movement celebrating African American culture
• Langston Hughes


  best known poet; described difficult lives of working class African Americans
• Louis Armstrong


  a young trumpet player in 1922 who became famous for his astounding sense of rhythm + his ability to improvise
• Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington


  a jazz pianist + composer who led a ten-piece orchestra at the Cotton Club
• What was the major reason the organization of the NAACP was created to help African Americans?


  they fought for legislation to protect African American's rights