Academic Decathlon - Social Science Key Terms

5:5:3 Ratio

Formula adopted to prevent a naval arms race by assigning a fixed proportion of major ships to the US, Britain, & Japan in a treaty negotiated at the Washington Naval Conference

Abrams v. US

1919 Supreme Court decision that upheld convictions under the Sedition Act; Justice Holmes dissented and introduced the “marketplace” of ideas as an important guide for the future First Amendment jurisprudence

Alienists

Doctors who specialized in the workings of the human mind (psychiatrists)

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

Nation’s largest labor union; During WWI, leaders embraced patriotic rhetoric and mostly observed a truce with management to support the war effort

Louis Armstrong (1901-71)

Considered by many to be the greatest jazz trumpeter of all time, he started his career in New Orleans before moving to Chicago and helping to define a distinct style with his virtuosic solos and improvisational singing

Bank run

A rush by depositors to withdraw savings from banks; drained the insufficient reserves and caused thousands of banks to fail between 1930−32

Birthright citizenship

Principle affirmed by the Fourteenth Amendment that all persons born in the United States are automatically granted citizenship

Black Tuesday

Record stock sell-off on October 29, 1929, that wiped out billions of dollars in market value in the worst trading day in Wall Street history

Bohemians

Feminists, anarchists, socialists, communist revolutionaries, avant-garde painters, sculptors, writers, and many other men and women who rejected the Victorian era’s dominant social norms in favor of a non-conformist lifestyle that celebrated individual self-expression; many lived in New York’s Greenwich Village neighborhood

Bolshevik Revolution

Communist takeover of the Provisional Russian government in October of 1917, led by Vladimir Lenin; its success spread alarm in Europe and the United States that similar revolts might take root

Bonus Army

Large contingent of World War I veterans encamped in Washington, D.C., to lobby for the early payment of war bonuses. Marchers were forcibly expelled by federal troops under the command of Douglas McArthur

Bootlegger

Popular term for those involved in the production, smuggling, and transport of illegal alcohol during Prohibition

Clara Bow (1905-65)

“It” girl, who helped define the 1920s flapper style in her Hollywood starring roles

William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925)

Democratic Congressman, three-time presidential candidate, and Secretary of State, who became the standard bearer of the anti-evolution movement in the early 1920s and memorably clashed with Clarence Darrow during the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925

Buck v. Bell

1927 Supreme Court decision upholding Virginia’s involuntary sterilization law; Justice Holmes’s “three generations of imbeciles are enough” affirmed the logic of eugenics

Bureau of Investigation (BOI)

Precursor of the FBI; spearheaded the aggressive federal crackdown on suspected subversives and radicals in late 1919 and early 1920. It was led by J. Edgar Hoover

Buying on margin

Popular practice during the bull market of the late 1920s that allowed investors to purchase stock with little money down by borrowing against future profits; the practice encouraged rampant speculation

Al Capone (1899-1947)

Italian-American gangster who controlled much of Chicago in the late-1920s through an organized crime network that profited from bootlegging and racketeering; he was convicted of income tax evasion in 1931

Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947)

Suffragist who led the movement’s more moderate wing, the North American Women’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

The Charleston

A popular dance craze of the 1920s that involved rapid, coordinated movements of the arms and legs; banned by many colleges

Chicago Defender

Largest African-American daily newspaper with a subscription of 500,000 at its peak; helped drive the exodus of African Americans from the South to the North through its critical coverage of racial violence and discrimination in the Jim Crow South and editorials promoting the bountiful employment opportunities in the Windy City’s factories and slaughterhouses

Companionate marriage

Popularized by Judge Ben Lindsay as a novel solution to soaring divorce rates in the 1920s; proposed that couples embark on a preliminary premarital partnership to ensure their compatibility before committing to a legal marriage

Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933)

President of the United States from 1923 to 1929; nicknamed “Silent Cal” for his laconic demeanor; presided over a period of economic prosperity

Father Charles Coughlin (1891-1979)

Roman Catholic clergyman, nicknamed the “Radio Priest,” who built a national following of millions by broadcasting weekly sermons from his small parish outside of Detroit, Michigan

Clarence Darrow (1857-1938)

Liberal champion of individual liberty and the most renowned defense attorney of his age; his most famous performances came during the sensational 1924 murder trial of Leopold and Loeb in Chicago and the Scopes Monkey Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, the following year

Harry Daugherty (1860-1941)

Attorney General of the United States under President Warren G. Harding; known for overseeing massive corruption within the Justice Department and orchestrating graft, he resigned in 1924 as details of his influence-peddling became public

Dawes Plan

Set of recommendations offered by American banker Charles Dawes that were designed to stabilize the postwar European economy by relieving some of the burden of Germany’s reparations payments and offering U.S. loans

Debs v. US

1919 Supreme Court decision upholding the conviction of labor leader and Socialist presidential candidate for giving a public speech critical of the U.S involvement in World War I

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

African-American intellectual, civil rights activist, and co-founder of the NAACP; as editor of The Crisis, he fought Jim Crow segregation and led anti-lynching campaigns in the 1920s

Dust Bowl

Beginning in 1930, years of severe drought brought destructive dust storms to the Great Plains that ruined crops and forced destitute farmers to migrate to the West (especially California) in search of work

Gertrude Ederle (1905-2003)

American swimmer who made history by swimming the English Channel in record time in 1926 at age twenty

18th Amendment

Ratified January 16, 1919; it prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcohol. It was repealed in 1933 by the Twenty-first Amendment

Elaine Massacre

An outbreak of racial violence during which white vigilantes targeted and murdered more than two hundred African-American sharecroppers in rural Phillips County, Arkansas, from September 30 to October 2, 1919, before federal troops intervened to stop the killing

Equal Rights Amendment

Constitutional Amendment formally proposed in 1923, but never ratified; written by Alice Paul, the amendment sought to explicitly ban discrimination on the basis of sex

Espionage Act

Enacted by Congress in 1917, it included criminal provisions for the obstruction of the nation’s military conscription efforts

Eugenics

A pseudoscientific movement that fused elements of evolutionary biology and the philosophy of Social Darwinism to assert that human society could be divided into superior and inferior races and that moral character traits and poverty were hereditary; it was used to support racial segregation and forced sterilization laws in the 1920s

Douglas Fairbanks (1883-1939)

Leading man of Hollywood’s silent era; married to Mary Pickford

Albert Fall (1861-1944)

New Mexico Senator and Secretary of the Interior in the Harding Administration; convicted for his role in selling public oil reserves to private oil companies in the Teapot Dome Scandal

Federal Radio Act of 1927

The brainchild of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover, the “National Constitution of the Air” established the federal regulatory framework for radio and brought order to the chaotic new medium

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

Author of the Great Gatsby and herald of the Roaring Twenties, who helped define the era’s hard-partying image in his fiction and personal life

Flapper

Iconic female fashion avatar of the 1920s, known for short skirts, bobbed hair, and rebellious behaviors, including smoking, drinking, and sexual

Henry Ford (1863-1947)

Pioneering industrialist and auto-manufacturer whose innovative use of the assembly line and introduction of a five-dollar workday revolutionized American manufacturing; as the visionary founder of Ford Motor Company, he amassed a huge fortune and gained worldwide fame

Ford Square Gospel

Signature program of Aimee Semple McPherson that emphasized salvation through Christ, the literal interpretation of the Bible, faith healing, and the imminent return of Christ

Fourteen Points

Woodrow Wilson’s detailed blueprint for a lasting peace following World War I; it included support for self-determination, the freedom of the seas, and the creation of an international body, the League of Nations, where nations could resolve conflicts peacefully

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)

Austrian neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis whose theories describing the workings of the subconscious mind gained widespread influence within American society during the 1920s

Fundamentalists

Belonged to a movement within Protestant Christianity that stressed the literal truth of the Bible and rejected the modern interpretation of scripture that had gained traction within liberal denominations

Marcus Garvey (1887-1940)

Jamaican-born leader of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, a mass organization dedicated to the promotion of Black nationalism, a program centered on economic independence and cultural pride

General Intelligence Division (GID)

Established by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in 1919 to identify and suppress radicalism within the United States; a product of the Red Scare, it was the predecessor of the Bureau of Investigation, which became the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Samuel Gompers

Politically conservative leader of the AFL, who led the nation’s largest union during World War I and warned against radicalism in the labor movement

Red Grange (1903-91)

The star halfback for the University of Illinois in 1925 whose popularity signaled the rise of college sports as a national obsession

Madison Grant (1865-1937)

A leading American eugenicist whose book, The Passing of the Great Race, popularized pseudoscientific racism and promoted anti-immigrant prejudice by ordering the peoples of Europe on a civilizational scale and assigning superior and inferior traits to entire nations

Great Depression

Severe global economic downturn that began in 1929 and for the United States lasted a decade; it was marked by high unemployment, financial instability, and grinding poverty

Great Migration

Mass migration of African Americans out of the Southern United States to urban centers in the North, Midwest, and West from around 1910-1970

Great Mississippi Flood

Catastrophic flood in the spring of 1927 that displaced hundreds of thousands of people and caused billions of dollars of property damage; Herbert Hoover led the relief effort, which was marred by racial discrimination

Warren G. Harding (1865-1923)

Republican President from 1921 until his death in office in 1923; known for his dark horse candidacy, campaign pledge to “Return to Normalcy,” and widespread corruption within his administration

Harlem Renaissance

Flowering of African-American artistic, musical, and literary output in the 1920s that led to greater recognition of African-American cultural contributions nationally and globally

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

Renowned writer and leading light of the Lost Generation of expat American writers, known for his sparse prose

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935)

Supreme Court Justice who authored a landmark opinion restricting First Amendment protections during national emergencies (Schenck v. United States) and a ruling that upheld Virginia’s eugenics-inspired involuntary sterilization statute

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964)

A successful mining engineer and humanitarian who served as Commerce Secretary from 1921 to 1929 before becoming U.S. President in 1929; his presidency from 1929 to 1933 was dogged by a mounting economic crisis. Hoover’s response drew criticism, and he was defeatedly soundly in the election of 1932

J. Edgar Hoover

The virulently antiCommunist head of the BOI and FBI, who expanded the agency’s domestic surveillance program to target a wide range of suspected subversives

Hoovervilles

Sardonic slang term for the shantytowns that sprung up across the United States, as destitute Americans felt the sting of the deepening depression

Immigration Restriction League (IRL)

Influential nativist organization whose members included many distinguished elites, including Harvard University’s president

Installment buying

The practice of buying an item “on credit,” which allowed consumers to take home a variety of goods with a small down payment followed by monthly payments that included accrued interest

International Workers of the World (IWW; “Wobblies”)

Radical labor union that embraced wildcat strikes and advocated revolution; its leaders and members became targets of law enforcement and governmental surveillance during the Red Scare

Irreconcilables

A congressional faction, including hardcore isolationists, that was committed to voting against the Treaty of Versailles

Jazz

Popular musical genre known for syncopated rhythms and improvisation that originated among African-American musicians in New Orleans, Louisiana, and quickly spread throughout the nation and the world in the 1920s

Jim Crow

Term used to refer to the legal and social restrictions placed on African Americans and more generally to the widespread practice of racial segregation throughout the Southern United States

Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924

Also referred to as the Quota Act or the National Origins Act, this immigration restriction measure set a numerical quota for all nations pegged to each nation’s share of the U.S. population in 1890. This formula deflated the quotas for countries in Southern and Eastern Europe and inflated quotas for countries in Northern and Western Europe. All immigration from Asia was banned

Bobby Jones (1902-71)

American golf champion who helped popularize the sport with his impressive run of victories in major championships in the 1920s

Albert Kahn (1869-1942)

Architect who designed Henry Ford’s Highland Park factory that emphasized natural light and housed an elaborate mechanical system of conveyors, pulleys, and cranes to facilitate the mass production of automobiles

Kellogg-Briand Pact

1928 treaty signed by the United States, France, and Germany that banned war as “an instrument of national policy”; dozens of additional nations pledged to pursue peaceful resolution to international conflict

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

White supremacist, antisemitic, and anti-Catholic nativist organization that was revived in 1915, grew to nearly five million members in 1925, and exerted tremendous influence over politics in states including Oregon and Indiana

Laissez-faire

French for “hands-off”; refers to the liberal economic principle of limiting government interference with the operation of the free market

League of Nations

Brainchild of President Woodrow Wilson, this international body was conceived as a place where member nations could peacefully resolve conflicts and avoid future wars. The United States did not join it after the Senate rejected the Treaty of Versailles

Leopold and Loeb Trial

Sensational 1924 murder trial of two wealthy Jewish teenagers in Chicago accused of killing a young neighbor for the thrill of it; the trial sparked a national outcry concerning the moral decay of America’s youth and the loss of traditional values

Ben Lindsay (1869-1943)

Controversial progressive Denver judge known for promoting “companionate marriage” in his 1925 book Revolt of Modern Youth

Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924)

Republican Senator from Massachusetts and leader of the “reservationist” faction that was opposed to ratifying the Treaty of Versailles without adding amendments

Lost Generation

The cohort of young American writers who formed a vibrant expat community in Paris in the 1920s

Robert Staughton Lynd & Helen Merell Lynd

Husband and wife sociologists who co-authored Middletown, a groundbreaking study of the residents of Muncie, Indiana, published in 1929

The Man Nobody Knows

1925 bestseller by advertising executive Bruce Barton that reframed the life of Jesus Christ as a case study of successful business management strategies

Aimee Semple McPherson (1890-1944)

Successful evangelical preacher who packed the colossal Angelus Temple in Los Angeles for spectacular productions that blended the Gospel with Hollywood glitz and glamor; “Sister Aimee” reached a listening audience of millions via a weekly radio sermon

Andrew W. Mellon (1855-1937)

Pittsburgh billionaire, banker, and industrialist who served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932 in three different Republican administrations; he was known for his orthodox economic views

Model A

Much-anticipated follow-up to the Model T, it debuted in December 1927 and helped Ford Motor Company stage a comeback. It was a faster, more stylish, and better-equipped vehicle that signaled Ford’s ability to adapt to changing consumer tastes and technological advancements

Model T

The flagship car of the Ford Motor Company; introduced in 1908; nicknamed the “Tin Lizzie,” the utilitarian automobile was hailed for its dependability and affordability. By 1920, it was the most popular car in the nation

Monitor Top

Popular refrigerator model introduced by General Electric in 1927; by 1931, GE had sold one million Monitor Tops

Movie palaces

Large and extravagantly decorated movie theaters with a capacity of several thousand; they thrived in the era of silent film and offered live entertainment, including musical accompaniment and variety shows alongside movies

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

Major suffrage organization headed by Carrie Chapman Catt

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

Civil rights organization founded in 1909 to fight against racial discrimination and violence in the United States

National Women’s Party (NWP)

Suffragist organization led by Alice Paul that was known for its embrace of provocative and radical protest tactics and support for the Equal Rights Amendment

New Negro Movement

An intellectual movement to name and celebrate the distinct cultural achievements of Black Americans in the 1920s

19th Amendment

Ratified August 18, 1920; prohibited states from restricting the right to vote “on account of sex”

(the) Ohio Gang

Nickname for the coterie of officials and advisors within the Harding Administration, led by Attorney General Harry Dougherty, who used their political appointments and connections for graft and corruption

Georgia O’Keefe

American modernist artist known for her evocative landscapes and floral paintings

Ozawa v. US

1922 Supreme Court decision rejecting a Japanese immigrant’s assertion of “whiteness” in a bid to become a naturalized U.S. citizen; the court ruled that the term “white” was restricted to those of the Caucasian race

A. Mitchell Palmer (1872-1936)

Attorney General of the United States under Woodrow Wilson; he led the aggressive federal crackdown on suspected subversives and radicals known as the Palmer Raids from 1919 to 1920

Palmer Raids

Series of federal raids in 1919 and 1920 that resulted in the mass arrest and deportation of thousands of political radicals

The Passing of the Great Race

1916 tract by noted eugenicist Madison Grant, which sounded the alarm, warning that mass immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe would overwhelm the native white population of the United States while diluting its Anglo-Saxon Protestant stock

Alice Paul (1885-1977)

Leading feminist and suffragist known for her radical protest tactics that included chaining herself to the White House gates; she led the successful ratification campaign for the 19th Amendment and the unsuccessful campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923

Mary Pickford

Canadian-born American motionpicture actress known as ‘America’s sweetheart’ of the silent screen; married to Douglas Fairbanks

Planned obsolescence

Strategy of deliberately reducing the lifespan of a product to force consumers to replace the item more often; in the automobile industry, this strategy also involved the introduction of yearly models with slight modifications to stimulate an artificial sense of obsolescence for consumers