Key Figures and Events of the 1920s and Great Depression

William Jennings Bryan

Populist politician, ran for president three times, prosecutor in the Scopes trial.

Al Capone

Famous Chicago gangster during Prohibition.

Calvin Coolidge

30th President; known for pro-business policies and 'laissez-faire' approach.

Sigmund Freud

Founder of psychoanalysis, influenced cultural thinking in the 1920s.

Albert Einstein

Physicist; developed theory of relativity, changed science in the 1920s.

Warren G. Harding

29th President; known for scandals like Teapot Dome.

Herbert Hoover

31st President; blamed for the Great Depression.

Charles A. Lindbergh Jr.

First person to fly solo across the Atlantic.

John T. Scopes

Teacher in the Scopes 'Monkey' Trial for teaching evolution.

Al Smith

Democratic presidential candidate in 1928; first Catholic to run for president.

Black Tuesday

October 29, 1929; the stock market crash that triggered the Great Depression.

Dawes Plan

U.S. plan to help Germany pay war reparations after WWI.

Fordney-McCumber Tariff

High tariff to protect American businesses, but hurt international trade.

Kellogg-Briand Pact

Agreement to outlaw war, signed by multiple countries in 1928.

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist group, grew in the 1920s, promoting racial hatred and violence.

National Origins Act

1924 law that severely limited immigration, especially from Southern and Eastern Europe.

Red Scare

Fear of communism and radicalism in the U.S. after WWI.

Sacco-Vanzetti Case

Trial of two Italian immigrants, Sacco and Vanzetti, accused of murder; seen as a case of anti-immigrant prejudice.

Teapot Dome

Scandal during Harding's presidency involving government oil reserves.

Washington Naval Conference

1921-1922 conference to limit naval armaments and prevent a naval arms race.

1920s workers

Farmers struggled with debt; bankers and automobile manufacturers thrived.

American Foreign Policy in the 1920s

Focused on isolationism and avoiding European conflicts.

US loans to Germany

U.S. loans helped Germany pay war reparations through the Dawes Plan.

Premillennialism

Belief that the end of the world and Christ's return are imminent.

Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy

Disagreement between religious conservatives (Fundamentalists) and liberals (Modernists) over issues like evolution.

Automobile effects on society

Increased mobility, urbanization, and changes in culture and lifestyle.

Stock Market Crash (1929)

Over-speculation in the stock market led to its collapse, triggering widespread panic and loss of wealth.

Bank Failures

Many banks failed due to bad loans, wiping out people's savings and further crippling the economy.

Overproduction

Farmers and factories produced more goods than could be sold, leading to falling prices and widespread unemployment.

Unequal Distribution of Wealth

The wealth gap between rich and poor widened, leading to a lack of purchasing power among the majority of Americans.

High Tariffs (Fordney-McCumber Tariff)

Tariffs hurt international trade, leading to a decline in global commerce and economic strain.