The Roaring twenties and The Great Depression

Flapper

A young woman in the 1920's who wore her hair bobbed, wore makeup, dressed in flashy, skimpy clothes, and lived a life of independence and freedom.

Fundamentalism

A belief in the literal interpretation of a particular religion's doctrine or holy books.

Evolution

Theory which holds that inherited characteristics of a population change over generations and that as a result of these changes, new species sometimes arise.

Bootleggers

People who smuggled liquor during the Prohibition.

Speakeasies

Illegal bars where alcohol was served during prohibition.

Harlem Renaissance

A blossoming of African American art and literature that began in the 1920s.

Jazz

American music form that blends several different musical forms from the Deep South; often includes improvisation.

Bolsheviks

A group of Russian radicals, led by Vladimir I. Lenin, who played a major role in the 1917 revolution in Russia.

Communism

A system of government in which there is no private property and there are no economic classes.

Red Scare

Widespread fear of communism.

Palmer Raids

A series of government attacks on suspected radicals in the United States led by the U.S. attorney general, A. Mitchell Palmer.

Anarchists

Radicals who believe in the destruction of government.

Sacco and Vanzetti

Two Italian immigrants arrested for armed robbery and murder. They were anarchists.

Assembly line

A mass-production process in which a product moved forward through many work stations, where workers performed specific tasks.

Productivity

The amount of product made by a worker or machine.

Welfare Capitalism

System in which companies provided fringe benefits to employees in an effort to promote worker satisfaction and loyalty.

Suburbs

Smaller towns that are located outside a larger urban area.

Installment buying

Paying for an item over a period of time with a series of small payments.

Credit

A system of borrowing money from banks to make purchases, and then paying it back later with interest.

Warren G. Harding

An Ohio senator that ran in the 1920 presidential race; coined the phrase 'normalcy'.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A federally owned piece of land in Wyoming; that President Harding's Secretary of the Interior accepted bribes in return for allowing oil companies to drill for oil there in 1921.

Reparations

Payments designed to make up for the damage of something.

Arms race

A struggle in which competing nations build more and more weapons in an effort to avoid one nation gaining a clear advantage.

Gross national product

The total value of all goods and services produced in the nation.

Buying on margin

Buying stocks with loans from brokers.

Federal Reserve System

The nation's central bank.

Black Tuesday

Tuesday, October 29, 1929, the day that the stock market crashed.

Hoboes

A homeless person, typically one who is traveling in search of work.

Great Depression

(1929-1930's) the most severe economic downturn in the history of the United States.

Foreclosure

When a lender takes over ownership of a property from an owner who has failed to make loan payments.

Hoovervilles

Makeshift shantytowns that sprung up during the Great Depression; named for President Hoover.

Drought

A period of very dry weather.

Dust Bowl

A nickname for the Great Plains regions hit by drought and dust storms in the early 1930s.

Okies

Nickname for a farmer who left the Dust Bowl in search of work.

Associative state

The term for President Hoover's vision of voluntary partnership between business associations and the government.

Hoover Dam

A dam built in the 1930s, with funding from the federal government, to control the Colorado River.

Cooperative

An organization that is owned and controlled by its members, who work together for a common goal.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

President who won election in 1932 and advocated for government intervention to stimulate the economy.

Rugged Individualism

A key part of President Hoover's belief that unnecessary government threatened prosperity.

Alcapone

Known as Scarface; Chicago gangster who served time in Alcatraz for income tax evasion.

KKK

Organization that gained enormous popularity during the 1920s and 1930s; aimed to purify the white Anglo-Saxon race.

Vladimir Lenin

Led the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917 and became the leader of the newly communist country.

Banking

President Roosevelt's first priority after swearing in his cabinet.

Walt Disney

Creator of Mickey Mouse; known for his first animated movie, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Budget deficit

Condition when a government spends more money than it takes in.

Invest

To purchase something in hopes that its value will grow.

Federal Reserve

The nation's central bank.

Flappers

Women of the 1920s who defied societal norms in appearance and behavior.

Louis Armstrong

Jazz musician known as 'Satchmo' who significantly influenced jazz music.

Brain Trust

A group of highly intelligent advisors to FDR regarding economic recovery during the Great Depression.

Duke Ellington

Jazz musician/composer and orchestra leader prominent at the Cotton Club.

FDIC

New Deal program that guarantees bank deposits, restoring faith in the banking system.

SEC

New Deal program that prevents insider trading and regulates the stock market.

NYA

New Deal program that provided part-time work opportunities for young people.

FWP

New Deal program that employed writers to produce state travel guides and write histories.

CCC

New Deal program that hired young men for conservation projects.

Court packing plan

FDR's failed attempt to add justices to the Supreme Court.

Safety net

The government's role to provide support during hard times as a result of the New Deal.

Temperance Movement

A movement aimed at abstaining from or outlawing alcohol.

John Scopes

Tennessee teacher accused of teaching evolution in a public school.

Langston Hughes

A key figure of the Harlem Renaissance known for celebrating African American culture through poetry.

18th Amendment

This amendment made the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol illegal.

21st Amendment

In 1933, this amendment repealed the 18th Amendment.

Unequal income distribution by wealth

Measure of financial resource disparity in society, pronounced in the 1920s.

Bonus Army

WW1 veterans who protested for bonuses in front of the U.S. Capitol; met with military force.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A bribery scandal involving President Harding's cabinet and the leasing of federal oil reserves.

Charles Lindbergh

First man to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Babe Ruth

Famous baseball player known for his time with the New York Yankees.

Okies and Arkies

Nickname for those fleeing the Dust Bowl to seek work in California.

Amelia Earhart

First woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

Italian immigrants who were central figures in a controversial trial regarding murder charges.

Harlem Renaissance

Period of artistic and literary creativity that celebrated African-American culture in NYC.

Black Tuesday

The day the stock market crashed, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.

100 days

The initial period of FDR's presidency marked by intense legislative activity.

New Deal

FDR's legislation aimed at relief, reform, and recovery from the Great Depression.

Double standard

Different expectations imposed on men and women regarding behavior.

TVA

New Deal program aimed at flood control and providing electricity in the Tennessee Valley.

AAA

New Deal program that sought to raise crop prices by decreasing farm production.

SSA

New Deal program providing income for retired workers and the unemployed.

REA

New Deal initiative that brought electricity to rural areas.

WPA

Large New Deal program employing millions to build infrastructure.