unit 5 The Roaring Twenties, Great Depression & New Deal – Vocabulary Review

These vocabulary flashcards cover key people, events, legislation, and concepts from the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and the New Deal era to aid HIST 1051 exam preparation.

Return to Normalcy

Post-WWI slogan of Presidents Harding and Coolidge stressing pro-business policies and isolationism.

Mass Production

Assembly-line manufacturing that dramatically increased output and lowered costs in the 1920s.

Henry Ford

Automobile pioneer whose moving assembly line made cars affordable for millions.

Consumer Culture

1920s trend toward purchasing radios, appliances, and other goods—often on installment plans.

Buying on Margin

Purchasing stocks with a small down payment and borrowing the rest; fueled 1920s speculation.

Harlem Renaissance

1920s African American cultural movement centered in New York, showcasing literature, art, and jazz.

Langston Hughes

Harlem Renaissance poet known for works celebrating Black life and culture.

Louis Armstrong

Jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose improvisational style shaped American music.

Flappers

Young women of the 1920s who defied traditional norms with short hair, short skirts, and independent lifestyles.

Prohibition

Nationwide ban on the manufacture, sale, and transport of alcohol from 1920–1933.

18th Amendment

Constitutional amendment (1919) that instituted Prohibition in the United States.

Volstead Act

Legislation that enforced the 18th Amendment’s ban on alcohol.

Speakeasies

Secret bars where alcohol was illegally sold during Prohibition.

Al Capone

Notorious Chicago gangster who profited from bootlegging during Prohibition.

21st Amendment

1933 amendment that repealed Prohibition.

Immigration Act of 1924

Law that set strict quotas favoring Northern Europeans and severely limiting other immigrants.

Ku Klux Klan (1920s)

Revived white supremacist group targeting immigrants, Catholics, Jews, and Black Americans.

Scopes Trial

1925 court case debating the teaching of evolution, symbolizing science vs. religion.

Overproduction & Underconsumption

Economic imbalance of the late 1920s where factories and farms made more goods than people could buy.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929—the stock market crash that signaled the start of the Great Depression.

Rugged Individualism

Herbert Hoover’s belief that individuals, not government, should solve economic problems.

Bonus Army

WWI veterans who marched on Washington (1932) seeking early bonus payments; dispersed by the army.

New Deal

FDR’s program of relief, recovery, and reform to combat the Great Depression (1933–1941).

Three Rs

New Deal goals: Relief for the needy, Recovery of the economy, and Reform of the financial system.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Relief program providing jobs to young men in conservation projects.

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

New Deal agency that employed millions on public works, arts, and literacy projects.

Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA)

Provided direct aid and grants to states for the unemployed.

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA)

Paid farmers to reduce crop production to raise prices and farm income.

National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA)

Set industry codes for wages and prices; later struck down by the Supreme Court.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

Reform agency that insures bank deposits to restore public confidence.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Agency created to regulate the stock market and prevent abuses.

Social Security Act

1935 law establishing pensions for the elderly, unemployment insurance, and aid to dependents.

Court-Packing Plan

FDR’s failed 1937 proposal to add justices to the Supreme Court after it struck down New Deal laws.