Chapter 17: The Jazz Age

US History ll Honors

Who was Langston Hughes?

Langston Hughes was a prolific, original, and versatile writer. He became a leading voice of the African American experience in America. Zora Neale Hurston wrote some of the first major stories featuring African American women as central characters. Other notable writers of the Harlem Renaissance include Countee Cullen, Alain Locke, and Dorothy West.

What is the definition of the Model T?

Ford’s assembly line product, the Model T, an automobile built by the Ford Motor Company from 1908 until 1927, demonstrated the economic concept of elasticity, or how sensitive product demand is to price.

What is the definition of bootlegging?

Liquor also was readily available in rural areas through bootlegging, the illegal production and distribution of alcohol.

What is the definition of speakeasies?

A place where alcoholic beverages are sold illegally.

What is the definition of supply-side economics?

An economic theory created by Andrew Mellon, that lower tax rates will boost the economy as businesses and individuals invest their money, thereby creating higher tax revenue.

Definition of the Assembly Line

A production system with machines and workers arranged so that each person performs an assigned task again and again as the item passes before him or her.

Explain the assembly line.

The moving assembly line divided operations into simple tasks and cut unnecessary motion to a minimum. In 1913, automaker Henry Ford installed the first moving assembly line at a plant in Highland Park, Michigan. By the following year, workers were building an automobile every 93 minutes. By 1925, a Ford car was rolling off the line every 10 seconds.

What effect did the automobile industry have on the American economy?

Cars revolutionized American life. They eased the isolation of rural families and let more people live farther from work. A new kind of worker, the auto commuter, appeared. Other forms of urban transportation, such as the trolley, became less popular.

Definition of Isolationism

Most Americans, tired of being entangled in the politics of Europe, favored isolationism, a national policy of avoiding involvement in world affairs. This is the idea that the United States will be safer and more prosperous if it stays out of world affairs.

What was The United States stance on foreign affairs following WWI?

To many, it appeared that the United States had become isolationist. It had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles and had not joined the League of Nations. But in fact, the United States was too powerful and too interconnected with other countries economically to be truly isolationist. Instead of relying on armed force and the collective security of the League of Nations, the United States tried to promote peace by using economic policies and arms control agreements.

Definition of Mass Production

The production of large quantities of goods using machinery and often an assembly line.

Explain mass production and the impact on workers.

Mass production, or large-scale manufacturing done with machinery, made these changes possible by increasing supply and reducing costs. Workers made more and the goods they bought cost less.

Who coined the phrase, “return to normalacy.”

In his campaign, Harding promised “a return to normalcy” following the war. For Harding and his administration, a “return to normalcy” meant an end to progressive experimentation, an end to high taxes on the wealthy, and an end to government intervention in the economy. In particular, it meant an end to the economic controls imposed during World War I. The Harding administration committed itself to restoring economic growth and prosperity by getting the government out of the economy.

Definition of an Anarchist

A person who believes there should be no government.

Definition of Nativism

Hostility toward immigrants by native-born people.

What was Henry Ford’s goal of increasing sales.

Make the best quality of goods possible at the lowest cost possible paying the highest wages possible.

Definition of Credit

An amount or sum of money placed at a person’s disposal by a bank on condition that it will be repaid with interest.

Explain The Sacco and Vanzetti Trail

On April 15, 1920, two men robbed and murdered two employees of a shoe factory in Massachusetts. Police subsequently arrested two Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, for the crime.

Why were Sacco and Vanzetti, “under the radar?”

It was reported that Sacco owned a gun similar to the murder weapon and that the bullets used in the murders matched those in Sacco’s gun. The evidence was questionable, but the fact that the accused men were anarchists and foreigners led many people to assume they were guilty, including the jury.

Explain The Harlem Renaissance

Nightclubs and music filled these cities, particularly the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Artistic development, racial pride, and political organization combined in a flowering of African American arts. This became known as the Harlem Renaissance.

Where and what is jazz music?

New Orleans native Louis Armstrong moved to Chicago in 1922. There he introduced an early form of jazz, a musical style influenced by Dixieland and ragtime, with syncopated rhythms and improvisational elements. In Chicago, Armstrong broke away from the New Orleans tradition of group playing by performing highly imaginative solos on the cornet and trumpet.

Describe Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith seemed to symbolize soul. She became known as the Empress of the Blues. Smith sang of unfulfilled love, poverty, and oppression—the classic themes of the blues, a soulful style of music that evolved from African American spirituals.

Describe Duke Ellington

Composer, pianist, and bandleader Edward “Duke” Ellington also had a special sound, a blend of improvisation and orchestration using different combinations of instruments.

Definition of The Cotton Club

The most famous nightclub in Harlem (but one that served only white customers).

What legislation did the NAACP goals lobby the House of Representatives for?

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) battled hard against segregation and discrimination against African Americans. Its efforts focused primarily on lobbying public officials and working through the court system. The NAACP’s persistent protests against the horrors of lynching led to the passage of antilynching legislation in the House of Representatives in 1922.

Definition of Cooperative Individualism

President Hoover’s policy of encouraging manufacturers and distributors to form their own organizations and volunteer information to the federal government in an effort to stimulate the economy.

Definition of Disposable

Referring to the money remaining to an individual after deduction of taxes.

Definition of Evolution

The scientific theory that humans and other forms of life have evolved over time.

Definition of Creationism

The belief that God created the world and everything in it, usually in the way described in the Bible.

Definition of Mass Media

A medium of communication (such as television and radio) intended to reach a wide audience.

Definition of Bohemian

The artistic and unconventional, or bohemian, lifestyle of these places allowed artists, musicians, and writers greater freedom of expression.

What impact did Babe Rooth have?

Sports such as baseball and boxing reached new heights of popularity in the 1920s, thanks to motion pictures and radio. Baseball star Babe Ruth became a national hero, famous for hitting hundreds of home runs, which produced an offensive revolution in the sport.

Describe James Demspey

Fans also idolized boxer Jack Dempsey, who was the world heavyweight champion from 1919 until 1926, when he lost the title to Gene Tunney. When Dempsey attempted to win back the title in 1927, one store sold $90,000 worth of radios in the two weeks before the event.

Describe Charles Lindbergh

Lindbergh became famous for making the first solo transatlantic airplane flight in 1927.

What was debated in the Scopes Trial?

Scopes challenged Tennessee law forbidding the teaching of evolution. The case arose when, seeking to test the constitutional validity of the Butler Act, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) placed advertisements in Tennessee newspapers offering to pay the expenses of any teacher willing to challenge the law.

What was John T Scopes on trial for?

John T. Scopes a high school teacher was on trial for violating the state's Butler Act, which prohibited the teaching of evolution in public schools.

Describe Al Capone

Al Capone ruled an empire of crime in the Windy City: gambling, prostitution, bootlegging, bribery, narcotics trafficking, robbery, “protection” rackets, and murder. And it seemed that law enforcement couldn't touch.

What was Al Capone accused of?

On June 5, 1931, Capone was indicted for 22 counts of federal income-tax evasion for the years 1925 through 1929. On June 12 Capone and others were charged with conspiracy to violate Prohibition laws for the years 1922 to 1931.