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Nativism (Immigration)
Immigration skyrocketed post-WWI. Nativism returned among Protestants and workers fearing competition, and isolationist sentiment was popular in this era as well. -
Bootlegging (Prohibition)
Speakeasies were common in cities and bars; they were locations in which one could find muggled liquor. City police were paid off to do nothing about it, and organized crime/gangsters fought for control of the lucrative illegal industry. -
18th Amendment (Prohibition)
The 18th Amendment banned the manufacture, trade, and sale of alcoholic beverages. -
Harlem Renaissance (1920's African American Identity)
As many African Americans moved north, a large community developed in Harlem. Harlem soon became known for its concentration of artists, actors, musicians, and writers - thus creating the Harlem Renaissance. -
Modernism (Religion)
As a protestant philosophy split occurred, many took the changing American life in stride. Modernists were historical and critical in their view of the bible and incorporated Darwin's evolution into their beliefs. -
Fundamentalism (Religion)
More traditional, or rural, protestants condemned modernism. These fundamentalists accepted the Bible's word as the end-all-be-all truth, believed in creationism, and blamed modernists for declining morals. -
Louis Armstrong (1920's African American Identity)
Louis Armstrong was one of the most influential jazz musicians. Armstrong was the first player to base his improvisations primarily on the chord changes, rather than ornamenting and making variation on the given melody as was more commonly done in Early Jazz. -
Langston Hughes (1920's African American Identity)
Hughes was a popular African American poet, activist, novelist, and playwright during the 1920's and was a lead figure in the Harlem Renaissance. He wrote largely on the richness of African American culture, such as in his poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers. -
Bessie Smith (1920's African American Identity)
Also known as the "empress of blues", Bessie Smith was an influential jazz/blues singer who made many recordings during the Harlem Renaissance. -
Marcus Garvey (1920's African American Identity)
The United Negro Improvement Association was brought to Harlem by Garvey, an immigrant who advocated black nationalism and racial pride, and even a back-to-Africa movement. He jailed for fraud. -
T. S. Eliot (1920's Literature)
T. S. Eliot wrote a number of plays, poetry, and non-fiction works throughout the 1920s. As part of the modernist movement, he often wrote about the emptiness of modern life. -
Ezra Pound (1920's Literature)
Ezra Pound wrote many 1920's poems, and was another big figure in the modernist movement. Pound also expressed disillusionment with modern culture. -
F. Scott Fitzgerald (1920's Literature)
In the 1920's, Fitzgerald wrote This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, and The Great Gatsby. He was considered a member of the "lost generation" and captured society and the jazz age in his novels. -
Ernest Hemingway (1920's Literature)
In the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway wrote Indian Camp, The Sun Also Rises, and A Farewell to Arms. His novels reflected American disillusionment with patriotism and propaganda post-war. -
Sinclair Lewis (1920's Literature)
Sinclair Lewis wrote a number of novels in the 1920s, including Main Street and Babbit, which satirized middle-class America and chronicled Midwestern life. -
Assembly Line (1920's Economy)
Henry Ford invented the assembly line method of factory work, although it wasn't widely implemented by most major industries until the 1920s. It increased efficiency and productivity - creating a fast paced economy. -
Automobiles (1920's Economy)
It was estimated that so many cars were manufactured and bought that every family in the United States typically had a car of their own. This new form of transportation was then able to replace the use of railroads economically, and many other industries, such as rubber, steel, etc., depended on automobile sales. -
Energy Technologies (1920's Economy)
Use of electricity and oil also increased, appliances, factories, and automobiles; this resulted in new ways to make and use goods, thus boosting business. -
Increased Productivity (1920's Economy)
Companies began using more time-and-motion studies and principals of scientific management. Once Henry Ford introduced the assembly line, production changed completely. -
Consumerism (1920's Culture)
In-home electricity allowed for a booming appliance industry, and automobiles were big as well. Advertising was bigger than ever, stores offered credit, chains grew and often beat out the smaller neighborhood stores. -
Entertainment (1920's Culture)
Radios became a new method of mass communication and entertainment and expanded rapidly throughout households, providing broadcasts on news, sports, soap operas, quiz shows, and comedies. The film industry in Hollywood also finally boomed. -
Popular Heroes (1920's Culture)
Although politicians were frequently praised in the past, they were no longer the cultural heroes. The United States drew their attention towards popular sports stars and other celebrities. This also caused great attention to be payed towards sports such as baseball, golf, football, etc. -
City Life (1920's Culture)
By 1920's, over half of the American population had lived in urban areas. Thus displaying more open and popular tastes, morals, which allowed cities to greater distinguish themselves from rural areas. -
Jazz (1920's Culture)
Jazz was brought north by African Americans and made popular by phonographs and radios, jazz was a symbol for new culture and often listened to by younger people as a sign of rebellion against older culture. -
Republican Control (1920's Politics)
A majority of the executive branch throughout the 1920's was dominated by Republican control. During this time, there was an increase in business affairs, and a decrease in farmer and union utilization. -
Business Doctrine (1920's Politics)
President Theodore Roosevelt's death, combined with the downfalls of war, compounded into this fear of "what comes next"; which allowed for there to be a return of traditional Republicans. This then allowed for there to be an enforced idea of governmental affairs being separate from business affairs. -
Warren Harding (1920's Politics)
President Warren Harding, part of the Republican party, was well liked - nonetheless, his abilities as a leader were faulty. In an attempt to make his presidency more stable, he appointed able men to his cabinet such as Charles Evans and former president William Howard Taft; many of these "able men" would go on to be dishonest and contribute to the downfalls of Harding's presidency. -
Works Progress Administration (New Deal Programs)
Despite Roosevelt's efforts, unemployment rates were still skyrocketing within the United States. This administration was created in an attempt to provide jobs to those who did not have one, and they focused on building structures such as post offices, schools, etc. They would also provide employment to struggling artists. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act (New Deal Programs)
Passed the same month as the Tennessee Valley Authority Act, this bill paid farmers who sold commodities such as dairy, wheat, etc. to leave their fields unsown. This was formed in an attempt to avoid agricultural surpluses, boost prices, and keep more farmers out of debt. -
Ending Prohibition (New Deal Programs)
During the Great Depression, Theodore Roosevelt was determined to end the repeal on alcohol within the United States. He was successful in doing so, and people were allowed to buy alcohol, rather than smuggle it into the U.S. The ratification of the 21st amendment allowed for this new law to be official. -
June’s National Industrial Recovery Act (New Deal Programs)
This act guaranteed workers the right to unionize and collectively advocate for higher wages and better work hours. This act also allowed for there to be limited antitrust laws, and it established the federally funded Public Works Association. -
Tennessee Valley Authority Act (New Deal Programs)
After Theodore Roosevelt created the TVA, he was able to advocate for the government to build dams along the Tennessee River. These dams controlled flooding and provided inexpensive hydroelectric power for the people who lived in that area. -
Farming (1920's Economy)
As industrialization increased, the use of farming decreased significantly. The only time that farming proved to be significant were during wartime demands. Farmers were forced to heavily rely on these war needs, which would often times put them in debt when their crops were not in high demand. The technological advances in the 1920's farming industry helped production, but did not help with their ongoing debt. -
Calvin Coolidge (1920's Politics)
Coolidge obtained the position of president of the United States. During his time, he broke the Boston police strike in Massachusetts, and he strongly believed that there was an importance in silence within politics. This was then translated in his actions towards separated a solitary government from business affairs, and his support from the Republican party was notable overwhelming. -
Election of 1928 (1920's Politics)
After Calvin Coolidge refused to run for president a second time, candidates Herbert Hoover and Al Smith quickly jumped on the opportunity to become president. After many debates and campaigns, Herbert Hoover earned the position of President of the United States, wherein he would hold office throughout the onset of the Great Depression. -
National Labor Relations Act (New Deal Programs)
Otherwise known as the Wagner Act, the creation of this group of people enabled supervision among union officials, and monitor companies in order to prevent them from treating their workers unfairly. Thus making more steps towards healthier work environments within the United States. -
Quota Laws (Immigration)
Congress passed a law to limit immigration to 3% of the number of citizens also from the given country. Thus, the quota for northern Europeans was much higher than the "undesirable" southern Europeans. -
Black Thursday (Stock Market Crash)
Black Thursday was marked the beginning of the 1929 Stock Market Crash. This was the day before the Dow Jones had fallen and the trading volume was 12.9 million. A crash seemed close; multiple banks stepped in and bought stocks to restore confidence and keep the whole thing from coming down. -
Black Tuesday (Stock Market Crash)
The bankers' ploy to buy stocks in effort to keep the market afloat worked, but a massive fall in the Dow Jones on Monday prompted all-out panic. On Black Tuesday share prices collapsed, and everyone frantically tried to sell their stocks, but no one wanted to buy. Confidence in the economy was destroyed, and many tried to withdraw all of their savings from banks - money those banks did not have on hand, forcing them to close. -
Laissez-Fair (Herbert Hoover's Policies)
Herbert Hoover hoped that the economic situation within the United States would self correct if it was based on capitalism. He believed that providing any kind of economic assistance to the people would motivate them to stop working. However, this mindset was not beneficial during the Great Depression, and these downfalls eventually caused him to loose the election of 1932. -
Volunteerism (Herbert Hoover's Policies)
During Herbert Hoover's attempt to end the Great Depression, advocated for volunteerism to become normal. Volunteerism was the idea that individuals should go out of their way to help others in order to assist in the every growing poverty rates within the United States. This was all in an attempt to relieve overall suffering and pain among society. -
Okie Migration (Dust Bowl)
As farming became impossible in the area, thousands of "okies" - or people from Oklahoma and the surrounding area - migrated to California in search of work. Often these displaced farmers couldn't find work even after moving. -
Drought (Dust Bowl)
Much of the Midwest suffered a severe drought, ruining farmers' crops. In addition, high winds created dust storms (as shown in the picture) out of the dried soil, turning the region into a "dust bowl". -
Emergency Banking Relief Act (New Deal Programs)
This act was put into place due to banks oftentimes being extremely unsafe to put money in. FDR took action for with cause and attempted to shut down all U.S. banks for four days. During this time, he introduced this act which allowed for the treasury department to provide loans to banks in need and limit the possible failure of these banks. -
Glass-Steagall Act (New Deal Programs)
Also known as the Banking Act. This act would go on to establish the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), this gave the government the power to investigate and supervise commercial banks and prevented banks from paying interest on checking accounts. Several of the acts that this corporation could do, however, were later eliminated later in the 20th century. -
Civilian Conservation Corp (New Deal Programs)
This proved to be the most successful relief during the Great Depression, this program provided employment to unmarried men. Wherein, they would find work in planting trees, restoring forests, and creating camp grounds. These workers would receive free food, clothing, and housing, but this program would go on to end in 1942. -
Rural Electrification Administration (New Deal Programs)
This administration was created in an attempt to provide electricity to rural areas within the south. This would go on to completely change the lives in individuals living in this area, considering that they were now provided access to radios, refrigeration, etc. -
Home Owners Loan Act (New Deal Programs)
This enabled the creation of the Homeowners Loan Corporation (HOLC), which provided money for the creation of small homes and allowed homeowners to pay loans off for their homes for 30 years. This also prevented the possible foreclosure and would go on to create 25-30 year loans. -
Indian Reorganization Act (New Deal Programs)
After the continuous controversy surrounding land being taken away from Native Americans, finally there was an act that guaranteed part of their stolen land back to them. Natives also created a system of self-government and financial credit. -
Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration (New Deal Programs)
Within the United States, they were able to extend their political influence and support through this administration. The U.S. gave thousands of unemployed individuals the opportunity to be part of this public works program to improve conditions in Puerto Rico. -
Social Security Act (New Deal Programs)
Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act in 1935, thus guaranteeing pensions to millions of Americans, and set up a system of insurance that helped with unemployment and had the government help with children who were living dependent lives/were disabled.
