Give Me Liberty Ch. 20

How did consumerism and the “American Way of Life” change Americans’ understanding of freedom in the 1920s?

Freedom increasingly meant the ability to buy goods, enjoy leisure, and participate in mass consumer culture, linking personal identity and success to purchasing power.

What characterized the economic growth of the 1920s?

Mass production (assembly lines), new products like automobiles and radios, aggressive advertising, buying on credit, rising leisure industries, and increased incomes for many urban Americans.

Why did certain groups not share in the prosperity of the 1920s?

Farmers, African Americans, many industrial workers, immigrants, and rural Americans faced low wages, discrimination, debt, or falling crop prices and did not benefit equally from economic growth.

Why did union membership decline in the 1920s?

Open shop policies, yellow-dog contracts, welfare capitalism, anti-union court decisions, and fear of radicalism weakened organized labor.

How does Coolidge’s statement that “the chief business of the American people is business” reflect government policy?

The government supported tax cuts, high tariffs, limited regulation, and pro-business policies that prioritized corporate growth over labor reform.

How was free speech suppressed in the 1920s?

The Red Scare, Palmer Raids, deportations, and social pressure targeted radicals and critics, limiting open dissent.

Who supported restricting immigration in the 1920s and why were they successful?

Nativists, labor unions, rural Protestants, and many politicians pushed restrictions due to fears of job competition, radicalism, and cultural change, leading to quota laws in 1921 and 1924.

What issues concerned religious fundamentalists between 1920 and 1932?

They opposed evolution, modernist culture, changing gender roles, and declining traditional Protestant values, as seen in the Scopes Trial.

How did ideas about women’s roles change from 1920 to 1932?

Women gained the vote and greater cultural independence (flappers, workforce participation), but economic and political equality remained limited.

Sacco-Vanzetti Case

A 1920 trial of two Italian anarchists accused of murder that became a symbol of anti-immigrant and anti-radical prejudice during the Red Scare, raising serious concerns about civil liberties and fairness in the American justice system.

Henry Ford

Founder of Ford Motor Company who revolutionized industry with assembly line mass production, making cars affordable and expanding consumer culture while opposing unions and promoting strong corporate control.

“American Way of Life”

A phrase describing American values of consumerism, economic opportunity, and individual success, which in the 1920s came to equate freedom with the ability to buy goods and participate in modern mass culture.

Welfare Capitalism

A system in which companies provided benefits like pensions and recreation to workers to discourage union membership and labor unrest while maintaining corporate control.

“Open Shop”

A workplace policy where union membership was not required, weakening organized labor by promoting the idea that unions limited individual freedom.

Equal Rights Amendment (ERA)

A proposed amendment guaranteeing equal rights regardless of sex that revealed divisions within the women’s movement over whether legal equality would harm protective labor laws.

Flappers

Young women of the 1920s who embraced new fashions and social freedoms, symbolizing changing cultural attitudes toward women’s independence though not full political or economic equality.

Adkins v. Children’s Hospital

A 1923 Supreme Court case striking down minimum wage laws for women, reinforcing liberty of contract and limiting government labor protections.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A corruption scandal involving secret leasing of federal oil reserves that exposed government misconduct and damaged public trust in the Harding administration.

Calvin Coolidge

President who promoted pro-business policies, tax cuts, limited regulation, and the belief that economic growth and business expansion were central to American success.

Isolationism

A post–World War I policy of avoiding political and military alliances while still engaging economically with the world, reflecting public desire to avoid foreign conflicts.

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

An organization founded in 1920 to defend constitutional rights, especially free speech, in response to wartime repression and Red Scare abuses.

Schenck v. United States

A 1919 Supreme Court case establishing the “clear and present danger” test, allowing limits on free speech during wartime when national security was threatened.

Marketplace of Ideas

The principle that truth emerges through open debate and free expression, becoming central to later interpretations of First Amendment protections.

Fundamentalism

A religious movement advocating literal interpretation of the Bible and resisting modern science and cultural change, influencing debates like the Scopes Trial.

Scopes Trial

A 1925 court case over teaching evolution that symbolized the cultural conflict between modern science and religious fundamentalism.

Clarence Darrow

Defense attorney in the Scopes Trial who championed intellectual freedom and challenged religious authority in public education.

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist organization that expanded in the 1920s, targeting African Americans, Catholics, Jews, and immigrants, reflecting widespread racism and nativism.

1924 Immigration Act (Johnson-Reed Act)

A law establishing strict national quotas that drastically reduced immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe and excluded Asians, reflecting racial and nativist attitudes.

Illegal Alien

A term for immigrants residing in the U.S. without legal authorization that gained prominence after restrictive immigration laws reinforced national border control.

Cultural Pluralism

The belief that diverse cultural groups can maintain their identities while coexisting within American society, challenging the “melting pot” ideal.

Assimilation

The process of immigrants adopting dominant American cultural norms, widely encouraged in the 1920s to promote national unity.

“New Negro”

A term describing African Americans asserting racial pride, cultural identity, and demands for equality during the Harlem Renaissance.

Harlem Renaissance

A 1920s cultural movement celebrating African American art, literature, and music that promoted racial pride and reshaped American cultural life.