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KKK
The Klu Klux Klan, an anti-everything-that-is-not-a-WASP group of the mid to late 1800's saw a resurgence in the 1920's. This is due in large part to the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation which promoted the activities of the first iteration of the Klan. -
Al Capone
Al Capone was a notorious gangster that got his start in bootlegging after prohibition was enacted in Chicago Illinois. Capone was a dangerous character though, as shown in the Valentines Day Massacre in 1929. The fact that a man could become so powerful because of prohibition showed how much of a problem it caused. -
The Red Scare
The Red Scare was a time when several bombs went off in major cities. The people, still filled with the nationalism from World War I, wanted the government to find the “communists” that set the bombs off. Over 6,000 thousand people were arrested during this time because they were considered radicals. During this time period, there was an attempted to eradicate radical liberals. -
Prohibition
Prohibition was the ban of manufacture, sale, and consumption of alcohol in the United States without permission from a doctor. This lasted from 1920 to 1933 and did little to stop the consumption of alcohol. It did ,however, as a side effect of the public's resistance, encourage the smuggling and manufacture of poorly made, unregulated hard liqour which contributed to a massive spike in underground crime activities. -
Palmer Raids
An attempt by the US government to eradicate radical liberals through deportation. The liberals were claimed to anarchists by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. The Raids occurred during the larger Red Scare. -
Volstead Act
The act that enforced the 18th Amendment of prohibition. The act condemned the sale and transport of alcohol, but no the consumption of it. The Volstead Act showed America’s push towards prohibition. -
Sigmund Freud
Was a revolutionary physiologists that believed that the human mind unconsciously thought sexualy. He thought that sexualy repression lead scociety to many of its ill wills. This showed the revolution that was really going on in society, with sex being more acceptable to the American public. -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Ranaissance was an explosion of creativity from New York's Harlem borough in the 1920's which included many famous writers, musicians, and poets alike. -
Sacco and Vanzetti Case
A case in which two known anarchists were accused of robbery and murder in a bank robbery. They were found guilty initially and then went for a second trial. They were still found guilty and were sentenced to death. The trials were thought to be a show of prejudice since they did not receive a re-trial, it was thought that they did not receive it because they were Italian. -
Flappers
Flappers, named after their nature of dancing, were young women in the 1920s that had little regard for the social norms of their elders. This included dressing more freely, listening to jazz, and doing many a thing just to be cool. -
Election of Harding
With Harding’s overwhelming win with 60% of the vote, it showed that the US still wanted the Republican’s isolation methods over the Democrats more foreign policy based ideas. The election of harding ushered in a new time period of corruption in the white house with many members of Harding’s cabinet being corrupt. One of the only characters not be corrupt was Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes. His corrupt officials were Herbert Hoover and Andrew Mellon. -
Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin was a famous silent film actor. His first major success was his film "The Kid" which was one of the first films to mix drama with comedy. -
Emergency Quota Act of 1921
An act used to restrict migration. It was put in place due to a large amount of Southern European immigration into the US and slowed the flow to 3% of the number of people from the same country in the US per year. It showed America’s isolationism and want to be less involved with other countries. -
Washington Naval Conference
A conference in which the United States Japan, and powerful European countries discussed their naval power and trying to reduce them. This showed the US’s want towards disarmament of countries’ weapons and navy. -
Five-Power Naval Treaty
Part of the Washington Naval Treaty that dealt with the disarmament of powerful nations to prevent the militarization that caused World War I. It showed America’s want to disarm all nations to prevent a war like the first World War. -
Four-Power Treaty
A treaty signed by the French, English, Japanese, and Americans to prevent the countries from colonizing Pacific Islands claimed by other nations. This showed more precautionary steps America was taking to prevent another World War. -
Nine-Power Treaty
This treaty allowed an open door policy with China with powerful European countries and Japan. This was enacted to prevent Japan from invading China as the US suspected they would do. -
Marcus Garvey
Marcus Garvey was a Jamaican political leader with heavy influence on racial issues of the times. He met with Edward Young Clarke, a KKK leader, in early 1922 and spoke at length about how all white hate groups were "friends" of the blacks. -
The Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was the beginning of the drift away from western art music and towards new, innovative sounds. Pioneers in this era were Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. -
Fordney-McCumber Tariff
A tariff used to protected American factories and farms. After the war, European goods and food suddenly became very cheap. Americans were losing business and could not compete with the European prices. The government enacted the tariff to protect American goods. It showed the isolationism that the government and the people wanted. -
Teapot Dome Scandal
A scandal in which Albert B. Falls (Secretary of Interior) leased some naval reserves in Teapot Dome Wyoming and some land in California for very cheap rates. He was not allowed to lease the land by any means and it was considered the worst US scandal until Watergate. This incident showed how America was headed towards a corrupt future again. -
Adkins v. Children's Hospital
A case in the supreme court in which it was decided that it was unconstitutional to create a minimum wage law for women. It was a complete regression on the progress that Democrats and Women activists earlier for women’s rights. It was a complete reversal of the Muller vs. Oregon case. -
Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington was the main pioneer of jazz, a genre that led to the populatization of blues, rock, and a plethora of other genres. -
The Lost Generation
The group of writers and poets that were the new writers of the generation. These writers and poets seeked a beauty greater than America’s and decided to move to Paris. This generation was an important chapter in the development of American literature. -
Immigration Act of 1924
A further addition to the Emergency Quota Act that decreased the number of immigrants that decreased the number of immigrants that could come to the US from 3% to 2%. This bill slammed Japanese immigrants from coming to the US. It again showed America’s isolationism -
Dawes Plan
A plan to solve the reparations problem of the postwar world. It solved the German hyperinflation problem after the war but was eventually replace in 1929 by the Young Plan. -
Election of Coolidge
Coolidge was a very conservative republican that believed in isolationism. His election proved that Americans would rather live in an isolated US rather than a country involved in foreign affairs. -
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald was one of the new writers of the “roaring twenties” that wrote The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald was one of the new authors of the time, him and other writers ushered in a era of literature. -
The Scopes Trial
A case formulated against a Tennesee school teacher named John T. Scopes for illegally teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. The prosecution was argued by William Jennings Bryan, a previous presidential candidate. On the defense was Clarence Darrow, a famous criminal attorney of the time. The case judged by John T. Raulston. -
Gertude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle was a famed American swimmer. She was an Olympic champion, part of the team that brought home 99 medals from the Paris Olympics. She is most famous for being the first person to swim the English Channel, which she did in 1926. -
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh is most known for his famous flight in the Spirit of Saint Louis, being the first trans-atlantic solo flight ever taken. -
Ford Model T
The Ford Model T is famous for being the first car ever mass produced. it began production in 1908 and ceased in 1927. It was far and away the world's most popular car in the 1920's. -
Election of Hoover
Hoover won the 1928 election by a landslide, his campiagning escecially in the south winning him many votes against Democrat Alfred E. Smith. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
A treaty signed initially by the US, France, and Germany, but later signed by many other nations. What it stated was that war would not be used as a way to resolve disputes and conflicts between countries. This showed America’s attempted to prevent another world war again. -
Hawley-Smoot Tariff
This tariff raised taxes on over 20,000 imported goods to the highest levels since the Tariff of Abominations in 1828. This tariff is often cited as partially to blame for the extreme severity of the Great Depression. -
Stimson Doctrine
The Stimson Doctrine was an act of foreign policy that dealt with territorial changes in Japan and China. This act meant that the U,S. would not recognize any border changes made by force. -
Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC)
An agency that gave over $2 billion to local and state governments to pay for public projects. This agency was continued in the New Deal and greatly helped the government handle the Great Depression. -
Bonus Army
The bonus army is a name given to nearly 50,000 protesters that marched in Washington D.C. to demand early payment for their service.
