Roaring Twenties VFL

November 15

Roaring Twenties

A time when consumer goods fueled the business boom as America’s standard of living soared, prosperous years for the U.S.

Return to Normalcy

Returning back to normal, restoring life to how it was before the war. Harding said that it would alter the perspective of humanity.

Nativism

Prejudice against foreign-born people, which swept the nation.

Isolationism

A policy of pulling away from involvement in world affairs.

Communism

Threat to American life, an economic and political system based on a single-party government ruled by dictatorship. It put an end to private property, substituting government ownership of factories, railroads, and other businesses.

Anarchists

People who opposed any form of government.

Sacco & Vanzetti

2 Italian immigrants accused of robbery and murder of a factory paymaster and his guard. Both died in the electrical chair.

Quota System

Established the max number of people who could enter the U.S. from each foreign country. The goal was to cut sharply European immigration.

John L. Lewis

The United Mine Workers’ leader, protested low wages and long workdays. After going on strike, the coal miners received a 27% wage increase, and he became a national hero.

Warren G Harding

“Return to Normalcy”, he invited many major powers to the Washington Naval Conference where powerful nations agreed to disarm. After his death, the Teapot Dome Scandal and other corruption damaged his reputation.

Teapot Dome Scandal

Example of corruption. Albert B. Fall leased oil reserves to private companies without competitive bidding, receiving more than $400,000 in “loans, bonds, and cash.”

Albert B. Fall

Secretary of the Interior, a close friend of various oil executives. He leased oil reserves to private companies without competitive bidding, receiving more than $400,000 in “loans, bonds, and cash.”

Ohio Gang

Included in the cabinet, it was President Harding’s poker-playing cronies who would soon cause a great deal of embarrassment. Members became involved in financial scandals.

Calvin Coolidge

He favored the government policies that would keep taxes down and business profits up to allow them more available credit to expand. His goal was to keep government interference in business to a minimum.

Installment Plan

Enabled people to buy goods over an extended period without having to put much down at the time of purchase. Banks provided the money at low interest rates.

Prohibition

The manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were legally prohibited.

Speakeasies

To obtain liquor illegally, one spoke quietly or easily to avoid detection due to prohibition.

Tin Pan Alley

Significantly shaped American pop culture by industrializing music creation and distribution. Introduced new musical styles and themes into the mainstream.

Bootleggers

Smuggler’s practice of carrying liquor in the legs of boots due to prohibition.

Fundamentalism

The Protestant movement grounded in a literal interpretation of the Bible. They were skeptical of some scientific discoveries and theories; argued that all important knowledge could be found in the Bible.

Clarence Darrow

Hired by the ACLU to defend the Scopes, he was the most famous trial lawyer.

Scopes “Monkey” Trial

Was fought over the evolution and the role of science and religion in public schools and in American society.

Flapper

A young woman who embraced the new fashions and urban attitudes of the day. They were more assertive and tried for equal statues as men by smoking and drinking.

Charles A. Lindbergh

America’s most beloved hero, a small-town pilot who made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic.

Harlem Renaissance

A literary and artistic movement celebrating African-American culture, flowering of creativity that eclipsed the city’s problems of overcrowding, unemployment, and poverty.