American Republic Chapter 21 BJU 5th ed

Disarmament

The reduction or limitation of military forces and weapons, often as part of international agreements to promote peace.

Washington Naval Conference

A 1921–1922 international meeting where major world powers agreed to limit the size of their navies to prevent future conflicts.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

A 1928 international agreement in which countries promised not to use war as a way to resolve disputes, though it had no real enforcement.

Red Scare

A period of intense fear of communism and radical political ideas in the United States, especially after World War I and during the Cold War.

Installment Plan

A system of paying for goods over time in small payments instead of all at once, making expensive items more affordable for Americans in the 1920s.

Assembly Line

A manufacturing process where products are made step by step along a conveyor belt, greatly increasing efficiency and lowering costs, as seen in Henry Ford’s automobile production.

Flappers

Young women in the 1920s who challenged traditional norms by wearing short dresses, cutting their hair short, and embracing new freedoms in fashion and behavior.

Prohibition

The period from 1920 to 1933 when the sale, production, and transportation of alcoholic beverages were banned in the United States under the 18th Amendment.

Volstead Act

The law that enforced Prohibition by defining what was considered an illegal alcoholic beverage and setting penalties for violating the ban.

Bootlegging

The illegal production, sale, or distribution of alcohol during Prohibition, often controlled by organized crime groups.

Speakeasies

Secret bars and clubs that illegally sold alcohol during Prohibition, often requiring a password to enter.

Twenty-First Amendment

The 1933 amendment to the U.S. Constitution that repealed Prohibition, making alcohol legal again.

Fundamentalist

A person who believes in a strict, literal interpretation of religious texts, often opposing modern scientific theories and cultural changes.

Scopes Trial

A 1925 court case in Tennessee in which teacher John Scopes was tried for teaching evolution, highlighting the conflict between science and religious beliefs in American society.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A major political scandal during President Harding’s administration in which government officials illegally leased oil-rich land to private companies in exchange for bribes.

Herbert Hoover

The 31st President of the United States (1929–1933), criticized for not doing enough to combat the Great Depression.

Calvin Coolidge

The 30th President of the United States (1923–1929), known for his pro-business policies and limited government approach during the economic boom of the 1920s.

Charles A. Lindbergh

An American aviator who made the first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic in 1927, becoming a worldwide hero.

Sigmund Freud

An Austrian psychologist who developed psychoanalysis and theories about the unconscious mind, influencing psychology and culture in the 20th century.

Al Capone

A notorious gangster who controlled organized crime in Chicago during Prohibition, eventually convicted of tax evasion in 1931.

Albert B. Fall

U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Harding, convicted of accepting bribes in the Teapot Dome scandal.

Warren G. Harding

The 29th President of the United States (1921–1923), whose administration was marked by corruption scandals, though he died before many were revealed.