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Federal Reserve System
Founded December 23, 1913, the Federal Reserve System is the central banking system of the U.S. It came into effect when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Federal Reserve Act. It was created to provide a safer, flexible, and stable financial system. -
Prohibition
in 1917, Woodrow Wilson issued a temporary wartime prohibition to save grain for producing food. That same year, Congress passed the 18th amendment, banning the sale and usage of liquor. During the 1920, prohibition created safety, legal, and political issues, causing people to break laws and put the lives around them in danger. Women were big contributors to the Prohibition Era. -
The Great Migration
The Great Migration involved the movement of more than 6 million African Americans from rural south to northern cities. They seeked economic opportunities and were escaping the harsh segregation laws. Although this seemed desirable, African Americans had to fight for living space, suffer poor working conditions, and constantly fight economic and political set backs; while all battling the resurgence of a KKK party. -
Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes was one of the most important writers of the 1920's. Throughout this time, his poems and short stories are influenced by his life in Harlem, New York. They represented life for Blacks. -
Tin Pan Alley
The Tin Pan Valley was a group of New York Music Publishers and songwriters. They dominated popular music of the United States in the 1920's. It included Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. -
Frances Willard
The head of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, Willard fought endlessly for women's right to vote. She influenced women to expand their lives outside of their homes and families. She urged world leaders to enact prohibition, not only on alcohol, but other addictives. -
Social Darwinism
Promoted by Herbert Spencer, Social Darwinism is an application of the theory of natural selection to social, political, and economic issues. It is also known as the natural selection of people best suited to existing living conditions and which a position of laissez-faire is advocated. It was rejected by early Progressives. -
Henry Ford
In 1903, Henry Ford established the Ford Motor Company. Ford not only built the model T, he revolutionized mass auto production with the introduction of the assembly line and cheaper and easier ways to fix automobiles. Over half of cars in 1920 were Model T's. -
Harlem Renaissance
Taking place between the end of World War 1 and the mid-1930's, the Harlem Renaissance was the literary, artistic, and intellectual movement that assimilated a new black culture in America. It was full of racial pride and brought up civil and political rights. This time period included artists such as Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Arna Bontemps, and Zora Neale Hurston -
1st Red Scare
The 1st Red Scare was a time period when most Americans feared communist, socialist, and anarchists ideas. World War 1 and The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia were just part of the cause of the first Red Scare. The government seized immigrants and suspected radicals out of the country. The largest raid occurred on January 2, 1920 when 4000 suspected radicals were seized. -
William G. Harding's "Return to Normalcy"
In his 1920 campaign speech, Harding outlined his hope for the United States. After a decade of progressive politics, he wanted the country to return to "normalcy". He rejected the activist and idealist views of Roosevelt and Wilson. This speech gave Harding the highest percentage of popular votes up to that time. -
Marcus Garvey
Founding the Universal Negro Improvement Association in 1912, Garvey's goal was to unite of African descendants and to establish country and government of their own. In August 1920, UNIA held it's first international convention in Madison Square Garden. Garvey spoke in front of 4 million members of having pride in African history and culture. -
Jazz Music
Throughout the 1920's, jazz music was integrated into every part of American culture. It was originated in New Orleans but eventually spread across the other world. It influenced fashion, societal status, poetry, and women's liberations. Jazz musicians included Louis Armstrong, Joe Oliver, Edward Ory, and Jelly Roll Morton; who formed the "King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band". -
Teapot Dome Scandal
The Teapot Dome scandal was the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the secretary of the interior, Albert Bacon Fall. Fall granted Teapot Dome rights to Sinclair, which led him to serve 6 1/2 months in prison. The events leading up to the scandal included U.S. Navy officials realizing a need for a new oil supply other than coal. It was the biggest scandal in the country’s history before the Watergate Scandal. -
Clarence Darrow
Clarence Darrow was an trial defense attorney who took part in the Scopes Monkey Trial. He argues with William Jennings Bryan over religion in the court room. In 1927 Darrow and the ACLU appealed the case before the Tennessee Supreme Court. John Scopes' conviction was overturned. The anti-evolution law remain in place. -
William Jennings Bryan
In 1925, the Scope Monkey Trial reveal Bryan's ignorance and shallowness. Against the teaching of evolution, he won the trial, arguing against John Scopes and Clarence Darrow. Before this, Bryan's worked peace, prohibition, and woman suffrage. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
In Dayton, Tennessee, a school teacher by the name of John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution. This was in violation of a Tennessee law passed March 21, 1925. John Scopes was found guilty and given a $100 fine. In 1927, the Supreme Court overturned the Scope Monkey Trial verdict on a technicality but left the constitutional issues untouched until 1968. -
Charles A. Lindbergh
Lindbergh was the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean. He gained instant international fame and people gave him nicknames such as "Lucky Lindy" and "Lone Eagle". Before the attach on Pearl Harbor, Lindbergh campaigned against voluntary involvement in WW2. -
Stock Market Crash “Black Tuesday”
The most devastating market crash in United States history, billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. The machinery could not handle the amount of trading between investors. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 sent America into the Great Depression. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a key contributor to the social reform movements of the twentieth century. She appointed women in the White House, improved unemployment, and addressed the concerns of the youth. After Franklin'd death, she was a delegate to the United Nations. -
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was a time period when severe dust storms great effected Texas, Oklahoma, California, Colorado, and Kansas. It was caused by farmers continuously planting crops in the same area. With the Dust Bowl came economic, ecological, and social problems to American citizens. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Elected in 1933, Franklin Roosevelt was the only president to be elected four times. In his first 100 days, he proposed the "New Deal". This would give relief to the American citizens who were unemployed, in danger of losing their homes or farms, and recover failed businesses. He founded Social Security and focused on foreign affairs between wars. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the longest-lasting and worst economic downfall of the United States. In the peak of the Great Depression, 1933, 13 million Americans were out of jobs and about half of America's banks had failed. It began soon after the Stock Market Crash and President Roosevelt lessened the effects of the Depression but the economy didn't fully turn around until 1939. -
20th Amendment
the 20th Amendment states that Congress shall meet once a year on the 3rd day of January. The amendment was ratified to reduce the amount of time Presidents and Congress members had to push policies before new legislators took over. The amendment also established that the new president would start his term on January 20th. -
The New Deal
In his first inaugural address, Franklin Roosevelt promised to bring relief to the economy by providing jobs as apart of the New Deal. He was on a quest to end the Great Depression. The first days of Roosevelt's presidency included the passage of banking reform laws, emergency relief programs, work relief programs, and agricultural programs. -
"Relief, Recovery, Reform"
Known as the Three R's, introduced by Franklin Roosevelt, addressed problems of unemployment and economic crisis. Relief stood for the immediate action taken to slow down the economies downfall. Recovery represented the temporary programs to restart consumer demand. And reform represented permanent programs created to avoid another depression and stop the start of other economic disasters. -
Tennessee Valley Authority
The Tennessee Valley Authority was created to provide navigation, flood control, electricity generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and economic development to the Tennessee Valley. This area was greatly effected by The Great Depression. It was signed by congressional charter on May 18, 1933. -
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
When Franklin Roosevelt sign the Banking Act of 1933, the FDIC was founded. It was created in response the bank failures of the 1920's and 1930's. The FDIC provides stability to the economy and banking system. -
21st Amendment
America's fourteen year prohibition came to an end when the 21st Amendment was passed on December 5, 1933. The 21st Amendment repealed the 18th Amendment. It states that "The transportation or importation into any state, territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited." -
Securities & Exchange Commission
Founded June 6, 1934, the SEC protects investors from dangerous or illegal financial practices or fraud. The SEC requires full financial disclosure by companies offering stocks, bonds or funds. It was a part of the New Deal. -
Social Security Administration
Founded by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the SSA provides for the general welfare with old-age benefits, provisional protection of blind persons, dependent and crippled children, maternal and child welfare, and public health. It also accompanies unemployment compensation and raises revenue. It came into effect with the signing of the Social Security Act of 1935. -
Dorthea Lange
Dorthea Lange is best known for her famous photography of The Great Depression. She photographed migrant farm workers and their families in the mid-west. Lange captured the hunger, heart break, and poverty that came with the Great Depression.
