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Frances Willard
An American educator, temperance reformer, and women's suffragist. Her influence was important in the passage of the 18th and 19th Amendments to the United States Constitution. Willard became the national president of Woman's Christian Temperance Union, and remained president until her death. -
Tin Pan Alley
The name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States. The name originally referred to a specific place; West 28th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in the Flower District of Manhattan. This was a significant, signature landmark for many cultural activists during the Jazz Age. -
William Jennings Bryan
An American politician from Nebraska. He served in the United States House of Representatives and as the United States Secretary of State under Woodrow Wilson. Because of his faith in the wisdom of the common people, he was often called "The Great Commoner". -
Henry Ford
An American captain of industry and a business magnate, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and the sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. Even though Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle-class Americans could afford. -
Social Darwinism
Theory that individuals, groups, and peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection like plants and animals. Scholars debate the extent to which the various Social Darwinist ideologies reflect Charles Darwin's own views on human social and economic issues. -
Jazz Music
A music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States. Developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as 'America's classical music'. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. Jazz advocated the progress of African American culture and was a way for African Americans to express themselves. -
The Great Migration
The movement of 6 million African-Americans out of the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West. Until 1910, more than 90 percent of the African-American population lived in the American South. In 1900, only one-fifth of African-Americans living in the South were living in urban areas. By the end of the Great Migration, 53 percent of the African-American population remained in the South, while 40 percent lived in the North. -
Warren G. Harding's "Return to Normalcy"
The idea of returning to the way of life before World War I, was United States presidential candidate Warren G. Harding's campaign slogan for the election of 1920. Harding's promise was to return the United States prewar mentality, without the thought of war tainting the minds of the American people. -
1st Red Scare
A period marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism, due to real and imagined events, real events included those such as the Russian Revolution and anarchist bombings. The American government were fearing the spread of communism in America which would cause major problems. -
Prohibition & 18th Amendment
Prohibition is the illegality of the manufacturing, storage in barrels or bottles, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol. The 18th Amendment made it officially illegal to sell, produce, or possess alcohol in all U.S. states. -
Harlem Renaissance
A cultural, social, and artistic explosion that took place in Harlem, New York. It was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke. The Movement also included the new African-American cultural expressions across the urban areas in the Northeast and Midwest United States affected by the African-American Great Migration, -
Langston Hughes
Hughes was one of the earliest innovators of the new literary art form called jazz poetry. He is best known as a leader of the Harlem Renaissance in New York City. He famously wrote about the period that "the negro was in vogue", which was later paraphrased as "when Harlem was in vogue". -
Tea Pot Dome Scandal
A bribery incident that took place in the United States, during the administration of President Warren G. Harding. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall had leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two other locations in California to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. Fall was later convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies and became the first Cabinet member to go to prison. -
Marcus Garvey
He was a proponent of Black nationalism in the United States. He was a leader of a mass movement called Pan-Africanism and he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA).He also founded the Black Star Line, a shipping and passenger line which promoted the return of the African diaspora to their ancestral lands. -
Clarence Darrow
An American lawyer, a leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and a prominent advocate for Georgist economic reform. He defended high-profile clients in many famous trials of the early 20th century including teacher John T. Scopes in the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
An American legal case in which a substitute high school teacher, John T. Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which had made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state-funded school. Scopes was unsure whether he had ever actually taught evolution, but he purposely incriminated himself so that the case could have a defendant. Scopes was found guilty and fined $100. -
Charles A. Lindbergh
An American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, explorer, and environmental activist. At age 25, he went from obscurity as a U.S. Air Mail pilot to instantaneous world fame by winning the Orteig Prize–making a nonstop flight from New York, to Paris, France. He covered the 33 1⁄2-hour, 3,600 miles alone in a single-engine purpose-built Ryan monoplane, named "Spirit of St. Louis". -
Stock Market Crash "Black Tuesday"
The most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, when taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its after effects. A day of chaos, people forced to liquidate their stocks because of margin calls, overextended investors flooded the exchange with sell orders. -
The New Deal
A series of federal programs nicknamed after a phrase in FDR's nomination speech. Enacted during the great depression as an attempt to fix the stock market that recently crashed. There were many programs that were enacted during the New Deal to support everyone from farmers to the middle class living in American Cities. -
Federal Reserve System
The central banking system of the United States. It was created with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a series of financial panics led to the desire for central control of the system in order to better avoid financial crisis. Depression periods have led to the expansion of the roles and responsibilities of the Federal Reserve System. -
The Great Depression
A severe worldwide economic depression that originated in the United States. It was the longest, deepest, and most widespread depression of the 20th century. The depression started after a major fall in stock prices which led to the Stock Market Crash "Black Tuesday" and thus leading the U.S. into the Great Depression. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 32nd President of the United States. He won a record four presidential elections and emerged as an important figure in world events. Roosevelt directed the United States federal government during most of the Great Depression, creating his New Deal domestic agenda in response to the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. -
Civilian Conservation Corp.
A public work relief program that operated in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men. Originally for young men ages 18–25, it was eventually expanded to young men ages 17–28. The program was designed to provide jobs for young men and to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression. -
"Relief, Recovery Reform"
This was FDR's slogan for his presidential campaign. It was used as a way to give the American people a sense of comfort that FDR had a plan and was going to implement it. -
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
A government corporation providing deposit insurance to depositors in US banks. The FDIC was created during the Great Depression to restore trust in the American banking system; more than one-third of banks failed in the years before the FDIC's creation, and bank runs were common. The FDIC serves as a safety net for banks all over the nation. -
21st Amendment
The Amendment that repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol. Therefor making the production, sales and consumption of alcohol legal again. -
20th Amendment
Moved the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20, and of members of Congress from March 4 to January 3. President can only now serve two-four year terms at maximum. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
An American politician, diplomat and activist. She was the longest serving First Lady of the United States. Along with her husband FDR, she served four terms in office and was a human rights activist, and served as United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly. -
The Dust Bowl
A period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the environment and agriculture of the American prairies. Severe drought and a failure to apply proper agriculture and farming methods to prevent wind erosion caused the phenomenon. -
Securities & Exchange Commission
US Government agency, with the purpose of protecting investors from dangerous or illegal financial practices or fraud, by requiring accurate financial disclosure by companies offering stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities to the public. Serves as security for investors to know that the bank isn't spending the investors money illegally. -
Social Security Administration
An independent agency of the U.S. federal government that administers Social Security, a social insurance program consisting of retirement, disability, and benefits. This administration was created during the FDR era in the 30's as a financial security to help elder people when they are too old to work. -
1936 Summer Olympics
Was an international multi-sport event that was held in Berlin, Germany. To outdo the Los Angeles games of 1932, Adolf Hitler had built a new 100,000-seat track and field stadium, six gymnasiums, and many other smaller arenas. The games were the first to be televised, and radio broadcasts reached 41 countries. Hitler saw the Games as an opportunity to promote his government and ideals of racial supremacy and antisemitism.
