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Social Darwinism
"Survival of the fittest" applied to society. Those who accepted and conformed to societal norms would do well, while those who refused or were incapable wouldn't be as well off. This was supported by sociologists such as Herbert Spencer, Thomas Malthus, and others. The first use of the term was in 1877. -
Frances Willard
A Temperance activist, suffragette, and reformer. Became president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union in 1879. She encouraged all members of the organization to "do everything", basically meaning push to improve all aspects of our lives. -
Tin Pan Alley
A group of popular musicians who were popular in a particular area of NYC. The name is probably a reference to the sound of the many pianos being played in the area at once, which sounded like tin pans being smacked together. These musicians began leaving around the time the Great Depression began, and the term later was just used to represent the American music industry. -
Henry Ford
Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Company, revolutionizing production in the process. He was able to make more cars by forming them on an assembly line. Because they could be mass-produced, cars began to be more readily available to the average American. The new form of mass production also spread to other industries, and many products became cheaper and more accessible. -
The Great Migration
The movement starting in 1916 of African Americans from rural America to the cities. A major place they moved to was New York City, specifically the borough of Harlem. Since they moved away from the South, they had more cultural freedom and could express themselves more freely. -
Jazz Music
A genre of music originating in African American culture. Generally speaking, Jazz was a more expressive form of music than usual, and was popular throughout the United States. This form of music was banned in many places, mostly due to its origins in relation to the time's prevalent Jim Crow Laws and racial prejudice. -
Harlem Renaissance
An African American cultural explosion originating in the Harlem borough of New York City. This saw the rise of many new artists who created new types of poetry, music and art. It was this that gave us the Jazz genre, which proved to be a staple of American music. -
Marcus Garvey
African American who led a "return to Africa" movement. He believed that they had a cultural right and obligation to return to where their ancestors lived. It was rather unsuccessful, because while they experienced racism and bias in the States, Africa didn't even have many basic privileges that American did. -
1st Red Scare
A result of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The Bolsheviks had pushed for communism, and tore down Russia's government to accomplish it. As a result, communism was equated to anarchism, so anyone in the US who supported communism was seen as an anarchist. -
Langston Hughes
An African American author and newspaper columnist from Harlem. He gained popularity and became known as the leader of the Harlem Renaissance. His first major piece, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers", was written in 1920 and published in "The Crisis" in 1921. -
Prohibition & the 18th Amendment
Prohibition was a movement to remove alcohol from daily life, even to the point of making against the law. And that did happen with the 18th Amendment in 1920. Prohibitionists used ethically and logically charged propaganda, that sometimes was very loosely related to alcohol, and scare tactics to promote their cause. -
Warren G. Harding's "Return to Normalcy"
A speech given by Warren G. Harding after WWI. This was also his campaign slogan, and it helped win him the 1920 election by a considerable margin. He simply wanted the US to return to the way we were before the war. -
Teapot Dome Scandal
A bribery scandal that took place during Warren G. Harding's presidency. Navy petroleum was leased to oil companies, with no other offers. It turns out, a Cabinet member, Albert Bacon Fall, had taken bribes from the oil companies to give them the oil. -
Clarence Darrow
A famous lawyer of the time, defended many high profile clients. One of which was John T. Scopes in the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. Worth noting for the sake of that trial specifically, he was agnostic. -
William Jennings Bryan
Called in as an "expert" on the Bible for the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. He was a democrat who opposed the gold standard and entering the first World War. Whatever reputation he did build for himself as a politician was more or less diminished by his performance and some ignorance in the Scopes Trial. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
Tennessee had made it against the law to teach evolution in all public schools in the state. Teacher John T. Scopes decided to put this law to the test. In the trial, this law was ridiculed for its ignorance, but Scopes was eventually, of course, found guilty. This verdict was later overturned on technicality by the Supreme Court, and the law was repealed. -
Charles A. Lindbergh
Worked as a U.S. Air Mail pilot when he made a 33.5-hour non-stop flight from New York to London alone, which got him a Medal of Honor. Later, his infant son was kidnapped and murdered in another state. This case made the U.S. government consider, and eventually make kidnapping a federal offense. -
Stock Market Crash (Black Tuesday)
The US stock market completely crashed on this day. Stock prices plummeted, and many banks crashed subsequently. This was the start of the Great Depression. -
The Great Depression
Beginning after the stock market crash in 1929, this was a period of economic downturn for the United States, and the world as well. Many banks went bankrupt, and many people lost a lot of money. Unemployment rates skyrocketed, and people struggled to get by. -
Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System was widely blamed for the Great Depression. Various reasons included that they didn't print enough money, that they didn't lend enough to banks, and other things. Ultimately, the Depression may have been able to be avoided if the Fed had taken certain actions, but "retrospect is always 20/20". -
The New Deal
A set of actions put forth by Franklin D. Roosevelt intended to better the lives and economy of the American people during the Great Depression. Many of the agencies formed by this "New Deal" are still around even today, and help Americans now as they used to then. The name "The New Deal" was a play on his cousin Theodore Roosevelt's "Square Deal". -
"Relief, Recovery, Reform"
The motto for FDR's New Deal and his campaign overall. His plan was to relieve the strain caused by the Crash and other events, then recover the difference, and finally make reforms to ensure it doesn't happen again. This plan more or less worked, but not entirely. -
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
A government agency that employed young men without jobs and job skills. They were paid good money for the time, but instead of giving the money directly to them, most of it was sent to their families, and they got to use some of it for themselves. This organization mostly focused on environmental projects. -
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
When the stock market crashed, many banks went bankrupt. As they continued to go bankrupt, people kept losing their savings accounts, and it was clear something had to be done. So FDR created this agency in the 1933 Banking Act, designed to protect people's savings accounts in the event that their bank goes bankrupt. -
20th Amendment
Presidents were limited to an 8-year official term. There are loopholes, but you can only be elected twice. This is a result of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt serving many consecutive terms and dying in office. Also, Congress and the Supreme Court didn't like him, and they didn't want anyone else to get as much power or influence as he had because of all his time in office. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt
President for multiple consecutive terms due to how much he helped the public. Enacted what he called "The New Deal", which helped the people get jobs and the economy recover. He was popular with the people, but not the Courts because he tried to manipulate the Courts to help the economy. -
21st Amendment
This amendment undid the 18th Amendment, which prohibited alcohol. This was a few years after the Great Depression had began, and "America just needed a drink." It is the only amendment so far that repealed a previous amendment. -
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
A big issue at the time was companies trading stocks with secret information. The SEC was created to prevent this from happening for the most part. Basically, the goal of this organization was to keep stock trading fair for consumers. -
The Dust Bowl
The Midwest, specifically an area in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas, was suffering major droughts. Simultaneously, farmers had been improperly tending their land. The result was dust storms from the loose soil that destroyed their land, property and forced them to find other ways to make a living. -
Social Security Administration
A New Deal program designed originally to deliver retirement income to the elderly. Money would be collected in a pension by their taxes, and once they retired, they would get their retirement income over time. This program still exists today, though with a few more services. -
1936 Summer Olympics
Olympics were set to be in Berlin, Germany, which was in Hitler's regime at the time. He made it very clear that he didn't want other ethnicities competing in the Olympics, due to his belief that whites were the supreme race. Ironically, Jesse Owens, an African American, won four gold medals. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
First Lady to Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was well known for her human rights progress and activism. Harry Truman, the next president, called her "First Lady of the World" in honor of all she did to progress society. She spent 8 years as the US delegate to the UN General Assembly.
