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Normalcy
Term coined by Warren Harding in an address before the Home Market Club in Boston, this term came to symbolize, to powerful businessmen, the immediate abandonment of the foreign and domestic policies of Wilson. This meant a return to high protective tariffs and a reduction in taxes. -
Warren G. Harding
Republican president, successor of Theodore Roosevelt. His campaign slogan was "A Return to Normalcy." -
The Jazz Age
Jazz music became a symbol of the "new" and "modern" culture of the cities, especially for young people. -
Fundentalism
Set of religious beliefs including traditional Christian ideas about Jesus Christ. -
Movie industry
Centered in Hollywood, California, it became big business. Going to the movies became a national habit everywhere. -
Ezra Pound
An American expatriate poet, musician and critic who was a major figure in the Modernist movement in poetry. -
The radio
The radio became the new mass of media and entertainment after newspapers. Enabled people all over the country to listen to the same things. -
Marcus Garvey
Created the Universal Negro Improvement Association, promoted the "Back to Africa" movement, organized black businesses and established a corps of Black Cross nurses. -
Back to Africa Movement
Founded by Marcus Garvey, a movement that encouraged those of African decent to return to Africa to their ancestors so that they could have their own empire because they were treated poorly in America. -
Modernism
Modernists took a historical and critical view of certain passages in the Bible and believed they could accept Darwin's theory of evolution without abandoning their religious faith. -
Langston Hughes
Wrote during the Harlem Renaissance. He was an African American and was the best known poet in the Harlem movement. -
Harlem Renaissance
Black artistic movement in NYC when writers, poets, painters, and musicians came together to express feelings and experiences, especially about the injustices of Jim Crow. -
Prohibition
The prevention by law of the manufacture and sale of alcohol from 1920-1933. Goal was to eliminate drunkenness. -
18th Amendment
Prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages. -
Flappers
Social and fashion movement by young women who tried to rebel against traditional values by wearing short dresses, rolled stockings, red lipstick/makeup; smoked cigarettes, drank, drove cars. -
Quota System
Established the maximum number of immigrants from any given country. -
Teapot Dome Scandal
A government scandal involving a former United States Navy oil reserve in Wyoming that was secretly leased to a private oil company in 1921. -
Bureau of the Budget
Primary task is to prepare annual budget every January; also controls the administration of the budget, improving it and encouraging government efficiency. -
Ohio Gang
A group of men that were friends with President Harding. Harding appointed them to offices and they used their power to gain money for themselves. They were involved in scandals that ruined Harding's reputation even though he wasn't involved. -
Fordney-McCumber Tariff
Rose the rates on imported goods in the hopes that domestic manufacturing would prosper. Prevented foreign trade, which badly affected the economy since Europe could not pay its debts if it could not trade. -
Sinclair Lewis
A journalist who wrote Main Street and Babbitt, belittled small-town America, and was the chief chronicler of Midwestern life. Master of satire. -
Duke Ellington
One of the most influential jazz bandleaders and composers of all time. -
Election of 1924
The Republican candidate was Coolidge, the Democratic candidate was John W. Davis, and the Progressive candidate was Follette. -
National Origins Act
Restricted immigration from any one nation to 2% of the number of people already in the U.S of that national origin in 1890, which severely restricted immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, and excluded Asians entirely. -
F. Scott Fitzgerald
A novelist who wrote The Great Gatsby. -
Bull Market
Stock market at all time high, stocks selling for more than they are worth. -
Ernest Hemingway
Author who wrote The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms, exemplified the "Lost Generation" of WWI. -
Eugene O'Neill
An innovative playwright who portrayed realistic characters and situations (Strange Interlude). -
Impact of the automobile
Affected everything Americans did; shopping, traveling, commuting, dating, etc. -
The Great Crash of 1929
The stock market dropped violently, losing much of its value and contributing to the start of the Great Depression. -
The Great Depression
Economic crisis and period of low business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly beginning with the stock-market crash. -
Black Tuesday
The day when prices in the stock market took a steep dive, plunging over $10 million dollars. -
Okies
The nickname given to farmers and their families who came from the regions of Oklahoma or Texas to California in search of the "Promised Land." -
Dust Bowl
Parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas that were hit hard by dry topsoil and high winds that created blinding dust storms. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff
U.S. legislation that raised import duties by as much as 50%, adding to the Great Depression. -
Trickle-down economics
Herbert Hoover's economic policy. Help the rich instead of the common people. If the rich get richer, their investments supposedly will lead businesses to expand, and some of that money will trickle down to the people in the form of jobs and salaries. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation
One of Hoover's policies to help the depression. Provided $1.5 billion in loans to railroads, mortgage companies, and banks on the verge of collapse. -
Civilian Conservation Corps
Part of Unemployment Relief Act; employed 3 million men in government camps. -
Civil Works Administration
Provided temporary jobs during the winter - "boondoggling," trivial tasks. -
Public Works Administration
Construction of public works to provide employment, welfare, and stabilize purchasing power. -
Home Owners' Loan Corporation
Stabilize real estate and refinance urban mortgage debt. -
Tennessee Valley Authority Act
Navigation, flood control, electricity, and economic development in the TV, was the first public competition with private power companies. -
Glass-Steagall Banking Reform Act
Established the FDIC to insure bank deposits and prevent bank failures. -
Federal Emergency Relief Act
Money to states for direct payments or wages on work projects, direct aid to unemployed, public works. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act
Gave money to farmers to meet their mortgages, education programs, paid farmers not to farm (to reduce the surplus). -
Emergency Banking Relief Act
Authorized the government to inspect the financial health of all banks. -
National Industrial Recovery Act
Sought to bolster prices, created the NRA and PWA. -
Indian Reorganization Act
Ended the sale of tribal lands (begun under the Dawes Act) and helped restore some land to Indian owners. It also encouraged tribes to restore local tradition and self-government. -
Federal Housing Administration
Stimulated the building industry through small loans to householders, improve housing standards, and insure mortgages. -
Public Utility Holding Company Act
Put an end to the super growth of corporations created by public utility holding companies, expect where "economically needful."
