AcDec Social Science Bolded Terms

5:5:3 ratio

The formula adopted to prevent a naval arms race by assigning a fixed proportion of major ships to the United States, Britain, and Japan in a treaty negotiated at the Washington Naval Conference.

Abrams v. United States

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 future First Amendment jurisprudence.

Alienists

Term used to describe psychiatrists, doctors who specialized in the workings of the human mind.

American Federation of Labor (AFL)

The nation's largest labor union with a membership of over four million in 1919; during World War I, AFL leadership embraced patriotic rhetoric and mostly observed a truce with management in support of the war effort.

Armstrong, Louis (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; bank runs 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.

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

A large contingent of World War I veterans encamped in Washington, D.C., to lobby for the early payment of war bonuses; the Bonus 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.

Bow, Clara (1905−65)

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

Bryan, William Jennings (1860−1925)

A Democratic Congressman, three-time presidential candidate, and Secretary of State, who became the standard bearer of the anti-evolution movement in the early 1920s.

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)

The precursor of the FBI, the BOI spearheaded the aggressive federal crackdown on suspected subversives and radicals in late 1919 and early 1920.

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.

Capone, Al (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.

Catt, Carrie Chapman (1859−1947)

Suffragist who led the movement's more moderate wing, the North American Women's Suffrage Association.

(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

The 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.

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.

Coolidge, Calvin (1872−1933)

President of the United States from 1923 to 1929; nicknamed 'Silent Cal' for his laconic demeanor.

Coughlin, Father Charles (1891−1979)

A Roman Catholic clergyman, nicknamed the 'Radio Priest,' who built a national following of millions by broadcasting weekly sermons.

Darrow, Clarence (1857−1938)

A liberal champion of individual liberty and the most renowned defense attorney of his age.

Daugherty, Harry (1860−1941)

Attorney General of the United States under President Warren G. Harding; known for overseeing massive corruption within the Justice Department.

Dawes Plan

A set of recommendations offered by American banker Charles Dawes that were designed to stabilize the postwar European economy.

Debs v. United States

1919 Supreme Court decision upholding the conviction of labor leader and Socialist presidential candidate Eugene Debs.

Du Bois, W. E. B. (1868−1963)

African-American intellectual, civil rights activist, and co-founder of the NAACP.

Dust Bowl

Beginning in 1930, years of severe drought brought destructive dust storms to the Great Plains.

Ederle, Gertrude (1905−2003)

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

Eighteenth Amendment

Ratified January 16, 1919; it prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transport of alcohol.

Elaine Massacre

An outbreak of racial violence during which white vigilantes targeted and murdered more than two hundred African-American sharecroppers.

Equal Rights Amendment

A 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.

Fairbanks, Douglas

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

Fall, Albert

New Mexico Senator and Secretary of the Interior in the Harding Administration; Fall was 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.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott

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

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

Ford, Henry

The pioneering industrialist and auto-manufacturer whose innovative use of the assembly line and introduction of a five-dollar workday revolutionized American manufacturing.

Four Square Gospel

The 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.

Freud, Sigmund

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.

Garvey, Marcus

The 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.

Gompers, Samuel

The 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.

Grange, Red

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

Grant, Madison

A leading American eugenicist whose book, The Passing of the Great Race, popularized pseudoscientific racism and promoted anti-immigrant prejudice.

Great Depression

The 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

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

Great Mississippi Flood

A catastrophic flood in the spring of 1927 that displaced hundreds of thousands of people and caused billions of dollars of property damage.

Harding, Warren G.

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

A 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.

Hemingway, Ernest

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

Holmes, Oliver Wendell Jr.

A Supreme Court Justice who authored a landmark opinion restricting First Amendment protections during national emergencies (Schenck v. United States).

Hoover, Herbert

A successful mining engineer and humanitarian who served as Commerce Secretary from 1921 to 1929 before becoming U.S. President in 1929.

Hoover, J. Edgar

The virulently anti-Communist 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)

An 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')

A radical labor union that embraced wildcat strikes and advocated revolution; IWW 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

A 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

A 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.

Jones, Bobby (1902−71)

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

Kahn, Albert (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

A 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)

A 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

The brainchild of President Woodrow Wilson, this international body was conceived as a place where member nations could peacefully resolve conflicts and avoid future wars.

Leopold and Loeb Trial

A 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.

Lindsay, Ben (1869−1943)

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

Lodge, Henry Cabot (1850−1924)

A 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 label coined for the cohort of young American writers who formed a vibrant expat community in Paris in the 1920s.

Lynd, Robert Staughton and 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

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

McPherson, Aimee Semple (1890−1944)

A successful evangelical preacher who packed the colossal Angelus Temple in Los Angeles for spectacular productions that blended the Gospel with Hollywood glitz and glamor.

Mellon, Andrew W. (1855−1937)

Pittsburgh billionaire, banker, and industrialist who served as Secretary of the Treasury from 1921 to 1932 in three different Republican administrations.

Model A

The much-anticipated follow-up to the Model T, the Model A debuted in December 1927 and helped Ford Motor Company stage a comeback.

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.

Monitor Top

A 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.

National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA)

Major suffrage organization headed by Carrie Chapman Catt.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

A civil rights organization founded in 1909 to fight against racial discrimination and violence in the United States.

National Women's Party (NWP)

A suffragist organization led by Alice Paul that was known for its embrace of provocative and radical protest tactics.

New Negro Movement

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

Nineteenth Amendment

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

(the) Ohio Gang

The nickname for the coterie of officials and advisors within the Harding Administration who used their political appointments and connections for graft and corruption.

O'Keeffe, Georgia (1887−1986)

An American modernist artist known for her evocative landscapes and floral paintings.

Ozawa v. United States

A 1922 Supreme Court decision rejecting a Japanese immigrant's assertion of 'whiteness' in a bid to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Palmer, A. Mitchell (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.

Palmer Raids

A 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

A 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.

Paul, Alice (1885−1977)

Leading feminist and suffragist known for her radical protest tactics that included chaining herself to the White House gates.

Pickford, Mary

A Canadian-born American motion picture actress known as 'America's sweetheart' of the silent screen; married to Douglas Fairbanks.

Planned obsolescence

A strategy of deliberately reducing the lifespan of a product to force consumers to replace the item more often.