History

Prohibition

A nationwide ban on alcohol production and sale in the U.S. from 1920 to 1933, established by the 18th Amendment.

18th Amendment

The constitutional amendment that enacted Prohibition, leading to the rise of speakeasies and organized crime.

Jazz

A music genre that emerged in the early 20th century, characterized by improvisation and strong rhythms, heavily influenced by African American culture.

Louis Armstrong

A pioneering jazz trumpeter and vocalist known for his innovative playing and influential recordings in the 1920s.

Harlem Renaissance

A cultural, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s, celebrating African American culture.

Langston Hughes

An influential poet, novelist, and playwright known for his contributions to the Harlem Renaissance and his focus on African American identity.

Charlie Chaplin

A famed silent film actor and director, known for his character 'The Tramp' and his contributions to early cinema.

Babe Ruth

An iconic American baseball player, known for his home run record and larger-than-life personality, symbolizing the 1920s sports culture.

Charles Lindbergh

An aviator who made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927, becoming a national hero.

Flapper

A young woman in the 1920s who embraced new fashions and social freedoms, symbolizing the changing roles of women.

Lost Generation

A term referring to a group of American writers in the 1920s who felt disillusioned by the aftermath of World War I.

Ernest Hemingway

A prominent writer known for his concise prose and themes of stoicism and masculinity, a key figure of the Lost Generation.

Eugenics

A social philosophy advocating for the improvement of the human population through controlled breeding, prevalent in early 20th-century America.

Great Migration

The movement of over six million African Americans from the rural South to urban areas in the North between 1916 and 1970.

KKK

The Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group that promoted racial segregation and violence against African Americans, particularly during the 1920s.

The Jazz Singer

The first significant 'talkie' film released in 1927, marking a turning point in the film industry with synchronized sound.

Phonograph

An early device for recording and playing back sound, popularized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Gramophone

A device similar to the phonograph used to play recorded music, becoming widely popular in the early 20th century.

Charleston

A lively dance that became popular in the 1920s, reflecting the upbeat jazz music of the era.

Zora Neale Hurston

An influential author and anthropologist known for her works on African American culture, particularly her novel 'Their Eyes Were Watching God.'

Tulsa Race Massacre

A violent racial attack on the African American community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921, resulting in significant loss of life and property.

Henry Ford

An American industrialist who revolutionized the automobile industry with the introduction of the assembly line and mass production techniques.

Model T

The first affordable automobile produced by Ford Motor Company, which made car ownership accessible to the average American.

Scientific Management

A management theory developed by Frederick Taylor aimed at improving economic efficiency and labor productivity through systematic studies.

Assembly Lines

A manufacturing process where products are assembled in a sequential manner, significantly increasing production speed and efficiency.

Mass Production

The production of goods in large quantities, often using assembly lines, which became a hallmark of the industrial economy in the 1920s.

Consumer Revolution

A period in the 1920s characterized by a surge in consumer goods production and consumption, spurred by advertising and credit availability.

Installment Buying

A purchasing method that allowed consumers to buy goods by paying in small increments over time, fueling consumerism in the 1920s.

Buying on Margin

A practice in stock trading where investors purchase stocks with borrowed money, leading to speculation and contributing to the stock market crash of 1929.

Andrew Mellon

The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury during the 1920s, known for his tax policies that favored wealthy individuals and businesses, stimulating economic growth.

Teapot Dome Scandal

A bribery scandal involving the leasing of federal oil reserves to private companies during the Harding administration, highlighting government corruption.

Washington Naval Disarmament Conference

A conference held in 1921-1922 aimed at limiting naval armaments among major powers to prevent arms races and promote peace.

Modernism

A cultural movement in the early 20th century that embraced new ideas, artistic styles, and a break from traditional forms in literature, art, and philosophy.

Fundamentalism

A religious movement emphasizing a strict interpretation of scripture and traditional beliefs, often in opposition to modernist views.

Scopes Trial

A 1925 legal case in Tennessee that tested the legality of teaching evolution in schools, highlighting the conflict between science and religion.

Red Scare

A period of intense fear of communism and radical leftism in the United States after World War I, leading to widespread paranoia and government crackdowns.

Palmer Raids

A series of government actions in 1919-1920 aimed at deporting suspected radicals and communists, named after Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer.

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti

Italian immigrants and anarchists who were controversially convicted of murder in the 1920s, sparking debates about justice and prejudice.

Quota System

Immigration laws established in the 1920s that limited the number of immigrants from certain countries, reflecting nativist sentiments and discrimination.