Honors US History - Chapter 25 & 26

both chapters

Capitalism

an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.

anarchist

person who seeks to overturn the established government; advocate of abolishing authority

Reds

Communists

Sacco and Vanzetti

Italian radicals who became symbols of the Red Scare of the 1920s; arrested (1920), tried and executed (1927) for a robbery/murder, they were believed by many to have been innocent but convicted because of their immigrant status and radical political beliefs.

Steel Worker's Strike 1919

A strike in the steel industry that many associated with communism - opponents of the strike claimed strikes would lead to a communist revolution in the US.

Red Agitators

The accused steel strikers who demanded higher wages and an eight-hour work day.

Marcus Garvey

African American leader during the 1920s who founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and advocated mass migration of African Americans back to Africa. Was deported to Jamaica in 1927. Not related to Ryan.

Warren G. Harding

Pres.1921 laissez-faire, little regard for gov't or presidency. "return to normalcy" after Wilson + his progressive ideals. Office became corrupt: allowed drinking in prohibition, had an affair, surrounded himself w/ cronies (used office for private gain). Ex) Sec. of Interior leased gov't land w/ oil for $500,000 and took money himself. Died after 3 years in office, VP: Coolidge took over

"Return to Normalcy" (1920s)

President Harding's proposal to bring America back to how things were before the war.

Ohio Gang

Harding's "advisors" who played poker, drank, and smoked with him in the White House

Teapot Dome Scandal

A government scandal involving a former United States Navy oil reserve in Wyoming that was secretly leased to a private oil company in 1921

Calvin Coolidge

Became president when Harding died of pneumonia. He was known for practicing a rigid economy in money and words, and acquired the name "Silent Cal" for being so soft-spoken. He was a true republican and industrialist. Believed in the government supporting big business.

Isolationism

A policy of non-participation in international economic and political relations

Five-Power Treaty (1922)

This naval limitation treaty, signed by the U.S., Great Britain, Japan, France, and Italy, set a ship ratio for the countries involved and called for the scrapping of 1,900,000 tons of warships.

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

a multi-nation treaty, sponsored by American and French leaders, that outlawed war, but didn't work.

Recession

A slowdown in a nation's economy

installment buying

A consumers buys products by promising to pay small, regular amounts over a period of time

19th Amendment (1920)

Gave women the right to vote

Flapper

Young women of the 1920s that behaved and dressed in a radical fashion

mass media

Forms of communication, such as newspapers and radio, that reach millions of people and create a common culture.

Jazz

a style of music characterized by the use of improvisation, popular in 1920's, especially among young people and African-American community.

Harlem Renaissance

A literary and artistic movement celebrating African-American culture featuring themes like pride and defiance of racism. Also called the "New Negro" movement.

The Lost Generation

A group of American writers that rebelled against America's lack of cosmopolitan culture in the early 20th century. Many moved to cultural centers such as London in Paris in search for literary freedom. Prominent writers included T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Ernest Hemingway among others.

Prohibition (18th amendment)

A total ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol

Speakeasy

A place where alcoholic drinks were sold and consumed illegally during prohibition

Al Capone

A famous Chicago gangster who made a fortune ($60 million in one year) off of bootlegging, and "murdered" his way to the top of the crime network, buying off public officials, the police, and judges. He was not convicted of any wrongdoing, however, until a judge in a federal court convicted him of income-tax evasion and sent him to jail in 1931.

Nativism

A policy of favoring native-born individuals over foreign-born ones

The New Ku Klux Klan

the 1920's movement that was an extremist, ultra-conservative uprising against many of the forces of diversity and modernity that were transforming the American culture

Emergency Quota Act

1921 Act that stipulates only 3% of 1910 immigrants are allowed in

National Origins Act of 1924

Act which restricted immigration from any one nation to two percent of the number of people already in the U.S. of that national origin in 1890. Severely restricted immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe, and excluded Asians entirely

Scopes Trial

a highly publicized trial in 1925 when John Thomas Scopes violated a Tennessee state law by teaching evolution in high school. Highlighted the class between New and Traditional Values in the US.

Herbert Hoover

31st President of the United States.

stock exchange

a market for buying and selling stock

stock market mania

Americans in the 1920's got caught up in buying stocks, investing foolishly in over-valued stock prices. Many people "bough on the margin" in order to try and become very wealthy.

Investing on Margin

taking out loans to buy a portion of a stock

Stock Market Crash of 1929

A severe downturn in stock prices that occurred in October of 1929 in the United States, and which marked the end of the "Roaring Twenties." Despite a few attempts at recovery, the stock market continued to languish, eventually falling almost 90% from its peak in 1929. It took over 25 years for the stock market to get back to the highs of the 1929 market, as the U.S. economy suffered through the Great Depression. Major new legislative and regulatory changes (New Deal) were enacted in an effort to prevent the same situation from happening again.

Defaulted

failed to meet loan payments

Hawley-Smoot Tariff

charged a high tax for imports thereby leading to less trade between America and foreign countries along with some economic retaliation

Hoovervilles

Depression shantytowns, named after the president whom many blamed for their financial distress

public works

projects such as highways, parks, and libraries built with public funds for public use

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Agency established in 1932 to provide emergency relief to large businesses, insurance companies, and banks.

Bonus Army

Group of WWI vets. that marched to D.C. in 1932 to demand the immediate payment of their goverment war bonuses in cash. Hoover called out the Army to end the march, Americans were angry at the government's response.

Election of 1932

Hoover vs. FDR; two competing ideologies - laissez faire vs. government intervention

Emergency Banking Relief Act

gave the President power over the banking system and set up a system by which banks would be reorganized or reopened

Fireside Chats

informal talks given by FDR over the radio; sat by White House fireplace; gained the confidence of the people

Hundred Days

first hundred days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency when a lot of changes occurred

The New Deal

The name of President Roosevelt's program for getting the United States out of the depression. Focused on Relief, Recovery and Reform of the US economic system.

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

New Deal program that hired unemployed men to work on natural conservation projects, such as parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

Federal Emergency Relief Act

Distributed millions of dollars of direct aid to unemployed workers.

Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA)

Gave farmers money to reduce crop size to reduce production and bring up the value of crops

Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)

a federal corporation established in 1933 to construct dams and power plants in the Tennessee Valley region to generate electricity as well as to prevent floods

National Industrial Recovery Act

set standards in wages, production,and prices

Public Works Administration (PWA)

New Deal agency that provided millions of jobs constructing public buildings

Securities and Exchange Commission

monitors the stock market and enforces laws regulating the sale of stocks and bonds

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)

an agency created to insure individuals' bank accounts, protecting people against losses due to bank failures

Dust Bowl

Region of the Great Plains that experienced a drought in 1930 lasting for a decade, leaving many farmers without work or substantial wages.

The Grapes of Wrath

John Steinbeck's novel about a struggling farm family during the Great Depression. Gave a face to the violence and exploitation that migrant farm workers faced in America

Father Charles Coughlin

a critic of the New Deal; created the National Union for Social Justice; wanted a monetary inflation and the nationalization of the banking system

Huey Long

"Kingfish" Rep. senator of LA; pushed "Share Our Wealth" program and make "Every Man a King' at the expense of the wealthy; assassinated

Second New Deal

A new set of programs and reforms launched by FDR in 1935

Works Progress Administration (WPA)

New Deal agency that helped create jobs for those that needed them. It created around 9 million jobs working on bridges, roads, and buildings.

Social Security Act

guaranteed retirement payments for enrolled workers beginning at age 65; set up federal-state system of unemployment insurance and care for dependent mothers and children, the handicapped, and public health

Court Packing Plan

President FDR's failed 1937 attempt to increase the number of US Supreme Court Justices from 9 to 15 in order to save his 2nd New Deal programs from constitutional challenges

Wagner Act (1935)

established National Labor Relations Board; protected the rights of most workers in the private sector to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining, and to take part in strikes and other forms of concerted activity in support of their demands.