U.S. History: The 1920s Study Guide
Warren G. Harding- U.S. President, Ran on “Return to Normalcy” in 1920 Election.
Calvin Coolidge’s economic philosophy- Country’s prosperity rested on the shoulder’s of business leadership.
F. Scott Fitzgerald-writer who created colorful and glamorous characters who reflected the excess lifestyle of the 1920s.
Langston Hughes- Writer who became a leading voice of the African-American experience in the United States.
Marcus Garvey- Jamaican leader of the “back to Africa” movement.
John T. Scopes- Put on trial for teaching evolution in a Tennessee classroom.
Babe Ruth- baseball player of the 1920s famous for hitting homeruns.
Charles Lindbergh- First person to fly solo in a transatlantic flight.
Emergency Quota Act and National Origins Act- admission to the United States was based on immigrant’s ethnic identity or national origin. Quotas favored Northwestern European immigrants over Southern and Eastern Europeans. The National Origins Act exempted Mexican immigrants.
18th Amendment- amendment to the Constitution that prohibited the production or sale of alcohol.
Speakeasy- a secret bar where alcoholic beverages were sold illegally.
NAACP- African-American organization that brought national attention to wrongs committed against African-Americans in the U.S.
The Great Migration- Movement of hundreds of thousands of African-Americans from the rural South to the industrial cities of the North.
Harlem Renaissance- The flowering of African-American arts in the 1920s in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem.
Jazz- improvisational music characterized by syncopated rhythms and melodies first developed by African-Americans.
Volstead Act- law passed along with the 18th Amendment to enforce the prohibition of alcohol.
Bootlegging- illegal production of alcohol.
Flappers- young women in the 1920s who bobbed their hair, wore short skirts, and enjoyed drinking illegal alcohol in speakeasies.
The New Morality- lifestyle in the 1920s that glorified personal freedom.
Welfare Capitalism- companies began offering benefits packages to their workers causing a decline in union membership.
Eugenics- pseudo-science that deals with the improvement of hereditary traits.
Fundamentalism- Religious conservatives pushing America to return to traditional values.
Importance of radio- Allowed a variety of educational and entertainment programs to be broadcast into the home. NBC was the first to establish a permanent network of radio stations to distribute daily programs.
New Consumer Culture- mass advertising and new technology led to Americans buying a variety of new goods to make life easier and more entertaining. People could afford to buy higher priced goods on credit installment plans and become more comfortable with debt.