The Roaring 20s - Vocab Terms


Political & Social Climate

  • Return to Normalcy: Warren G. Harding’s 1920 campaign promise to move away from international intervention and focus on domestic stability after WWI.

  • The Red Scare: National fear and anxiety over the rise of Communism in the Soviet Union and its perceived threat to American capitalism and private property.

  • Palmer Raids: A series of government responses to radicalism involving illegal searches, seizures, and unwarranted arrests of suspected communists and anarchists.

  • The Scopes Trial (1925): Also known as the "Monkey Trial," where John Scopes was tried for teaching evolution in Tennessee; it represented the clash between Modernism and Fundamentalism.

  • Prohibition (18th Amendment): The "Noble Experiment" that banned the manufacture and sale of alcohol, intended to reduce crime but leading to the rise of organized crime and bootlegging.

Cultural Shifts & "The New Woman"

  • The 19th Amendment: Ratified in 1920, it granted women the right to vote; the 1920 election was the first in which women participated.

  • Flappers: Symbols of the "New Woman" who wore shorter hair and skirts, drank/smoked in public, and rejected traditional Victorian social norms.

  • The Great Migration: The movement of hundreds of thousands of Black Americans from the rural South to Northern industrial cities to escape Jim Crow and find jobs.

  • Harlem Renaissance: A cultural explosion of Black art, literature, and music (Jazz) centered in New York City, fostering the "New Negro" movement.

Civil Rights & Nativism

  • Marcus Garvey & Garveyism: A leader from Jamaica who founded the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association); he promoted Black Nationalism and the "Back to Africa" movement.

  • The Second KKK: Re-emerged as a response to the Great Migration and the Red Scare; expanded its targets to include Catholics, Jews, and immigrants, reaching 4 million members.

  • 1924 Immigration Act: A nativist law that banned all immigrants from Asia (reflecting the "Yellow Peril" sentiment) and set strict quotas for other regions.

  • "Yellow Peril": A racist/nativist term describing the distrust and fear of Asian immigrants during the 1920s.

Economy & Technology

  • Henry Ford & the Model T: Revolutionized the industry by making cars affordable for the average American through the assembly line.

  • The Assembly Line: A manufacturing process that increased efficiency and lowered costs, allowing for the mass production of consumer goods like cars and radios.

  • Consumer Culture: A shift toward buying "wants" instead of just "needs," fueled by the availability of credit and the rise of the advertising industry.

  • The Radio: The first mass-communication medium that brought news, music, and sports into the American home, creating a shared national culture.

Key Figures

  • Warren G. Harding: Republican President elected in 1920 who promised a "Return to Normalcy."

  • Alice Paul: A radical suffrage leader who pushed for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) after the 19th Amendment was passed.

  • Clarence Darrow vs. William Jennings Bryan: The two famous lawyers who faced off in the Scopes Trial (Darrow for the defense/science; Bryan for the prosecution/religion).

  • David C. Stephenson: The "Grand Dragon" of the KKK whose arrest for murder led to the public's disgust with the Klan’s hypocrisy and its eventual decline.