The 1920s: Key Vocabulary Review

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to the social, political, and economic landscape of the 1920s in the United States.

Isolationism

A foreign policy position that advocates for a nation to avoid involvement in international affairs.

Red Scare

A period of intense fear of communism and radical political ideas, particularly in the U.S. during the 1920s.

A. Mitchell Palmer

The U.S. Attorney General who led the Red Scare, ordering the deportation of suspected radicals.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Italian anarchists who were tried and executed for murder in a controversial case that highlighted anti-immigrant sentiments.

Emergency Quota Act

A 1921 law that limited immigration to 3% of the number of people from each nationality living in the U.S. in 1910.

National Origins Act

A 1924 law that further restricted immigration by establishing quotas based on the 1890 census.

Nativism

The policy of protecting the interests of native-born or established inhabitants against those of immigrants.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist hate group that rose to prominence in the 1920s, targeting minorities, immigrants, and Catholics.

Harding Administration

The presidency of Warren G. Harding, characterized by scandals and a lack of effective leadership.

Teapot Dome scandal

A bribery scandal involving the leasing of federal oil reserves during the Harding administration.

Dawes Plan

A plan established in 1924 to resolve the reparations crisis in Germany by allowing for loans from the U.S.

Prohibition

The legal act of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the U.S.

Scopes Trial

A 1925 legal case in which a teacher was prosecuted for teaching evolution in a Tennessee high school.

Mass Consumption Economy

An economy characterized by the mass production of goods and the use of advertising to stimulate consumer demand.

Jazz Age

A term used to describe the 1920s as a period of cultural flourishing and the popularization of jazz music.

Flappers

Young women in the 1920s who challenged traditional norms by wearing shorter skirts and embracing more liberal attitudes.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s, primarily among African Americans.

Langston Hughes

A leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance known for his poetry and advocacy for African American culture.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

An American novelist and short story writer, known for his critique of the American Dream in the 1920s.

Radio

A new medium in the 1920s that revolutionized communication and entertainment in American households.

Flappers

Women who embraced new fashions and liberal attitudes towards gender roles during the 1920s.

The Great Migration

The movement of six million African Americans from the rural Southern United States to urban areas in the North.

Laissez-Faire

An economic philosophy of minimal government intervention in the economy, predominant in the 1920s.

Consumerism

The cultural and economic orientation that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts.

Babe Ruth

A legendary baseball player who became a national icon during the 1920s for his home run hitting prowess.

Prohibition

A nationwide constitutional ban on the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933.

Economic imperialism

The economic domination of one country over another through financial control, often leading to exploitation.