Untitled Flashcards Set

Bolshevik Revolution (1917) – A revolution in Russia led by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevik Party that overthrew the czarist regime and established a communist government. This event contributed to fears of communism in the U.S.

Red Scare (1919-1920) – A period of intense fear of communism and radical leftist ideas in the United States, leading to government crackdowns on suspected radicals.

Criminal Syndicalism Laws – Laws passed in several U.S. states during the Red Scare that made it illegal to advocate for violent social change or the overthrow of the government.

American Plan – A business strategy in the 1920s that promoted "open shops," meaning workplaces where employees were not required to join labor unions.

Immigration Act of 1924 – A law that established strict immigration quotas, favoring immigrants from northern and western Europe while severely limiting those from southern and eastern Europe and banning Asian immigration entirely.

Eighteenth Amendment (1919) – The constitutional amendment that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages in the United States, leading to Prohibition.

Volstead Act (1919) – The federal law that enforced the Eighteenth Amendment by defining what constituted an illegal alcoholic beverage and outlining penalties for violations.

Racketeers – Criminals who engaged in illegal activities such as gambling, extortion, and bootlegging, often associated with organized crime during Prohibition.

Bible Belt – A region in the southern United States known for its strong Protestant fundamentalist beliefs and opposition to modernist ideas.

Fundamentalism – A religious movement emphasizing the literal interpretation of the Bible and opposition to modern scientific theories, such as evolution.

United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) – A Black nationalist organization founded by Marcus Garvey that promoted African American pride, economic self-sufficiency, and the idea of returning to Africa.

A. Mitchell Palmer – U.S. Attorney General who led the Palmer Raids during the Red Scare, arresting and deporting suspected radicals.

Nicola Sacco & Bartolomeo Vanzetti – Two Italian immigrants and anarchists who were controversially convicted of murder in 1921 and executed in 1927, despite widespread belief that they were unfairly tried.

Horace Kallen – A philosopher who promoted cultural pluralism, the idea that different immigrant groups could maintain their cultural identities while coexisting in the U.S.

Randolph Bourne – A writer and intellectual who criticized U.S. nationalism and supported cultural diversity and the idea of a "trans-national America."

Al Capone – A notorious gangster during Prohibition who made a fortune through illegal alcohol sales and was eventually convicted of tax evasion.

John T. Scopes – A teacher in Tennessee who was tried in the famous 1925 "Scopes Monkey Trial" for teaching evolution, violating a state law that required teaching creationism.

Frederick Taylor – An engineer and management consultant known for developing "scientific management," a system to improve industrial efficiency.

Henry Ford – An American automobile manufacturer who revolutionized industry with the assembly line, making cars affordable to the masses.

Charles A. Lindbergh – An aviator who became a national hero in 1927 for completing the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from New York to Paris.

Margaret Sanger – A birth control activist and founder of Planned Parenthood who advocated for reproductive rights and access to contraception.

Sigmund Freud – An Austrian psychologist whose theories on the unconscious mind and sexuality influenced modern psychology and literature.

Scientific Management – A system developed by Frederick Taylor to improve industrial productivity by analyzing and optimizing work processes.

Fordism – A manufacturing system based on Henry Ford’s assembly line techniques, characterized by mass production and higher wages for workers.

Modernism – A cultural movement that embraced new ideas in art, literature, and philosophy, rejecting traditional values and promoting innovation.

"Lost Generation" – A term describing a group of disillusioned American writers in the 1920s, many of whom lived abroad and wrote about the moral emptiness of postwar society.

Harlem Renaissance – A flourishing of African American literature, music, and culture in Harlem, New York, during the 1920s, celebrating Black identity and artistic expression.

F. Scott Fitzgerald – A novelist of the "Lost Generation" best known for The Great Gatsby, which critiques the materialism of the 1920s.

Ernest Hemingway – A writer known for his concise style and themes of war, disillusionment, and masculinity, author of The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms.

T.S. Eliot – A modernist poet whose works, such as The Waste Land, reflected themes of disillusionment and cultural decline.

William Faulkner – A novelist known for his experimental writing style and portrayal of the American South, including The Sound and the Fury.

Langston Hughes – A key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, known for his poetry that celebrated Black culture and addressed racial issues.