1920s Postholes
Book Chapter (s): Chapter 9, section 4, pages 348---357; Chapter 10 pages 358---396
I. Political
A. Fear: Communism and Immigration
1. Essential Question: Why was communism such a threat in 1920s America?
Secondary Questions:
1. Who assassinated President William McKinley? Why?
2. Why were there so many strikes following WW I?
3. Why did Russia leave World War I early?
4. What influence did the Russian (Bolshevik) Revolution have on how the US viewed
communism?
5. Why were immigrants linked with radical political thought like communism?
6. How did eugenics impact the way Americans viewed immigrants from Southern and
Eastern Europe?
7. What were American’s attitudes towards labor unions following WW I?
8. Why did so many different workers join the Seattle Strike?
9. What evidence existed that Sacco and Vanzetti were innocent?
10. What parts of communist theory was the biggest threat to Americans?
Terms:
Anarchist
communism
Sacco & Vanzetti Trial
Palmer Raids
J. Edgar Hoover
Red Scare
FBI
Eugene Debs
socialism
Seattle General Strike (1919) Great Steel Strike (1919)
Ludlow Massacre
2. Essential Question: Why were immigrants feared in the 1920s?
Secondary Questions:
1. How did eugenics impact the way Americans viewed immigrants from Southern and
Eastern Europe?
2. Why did the KKK gain more influence during the 1920s?
3. Why were immigrants linked with radical political thought like communism?
4. What did nativists believe in?
5. What impact did the Dillingham Commission have on the decision to restrict
immigration in 1924?
6. How did the National Origins Act impact Hispanic immigration to the US?
7. Why did immigration shift to Southern and Eastern Europe after 1880?
8. Why did Americans link immigrants to the massive strikes going on in the 1920s?
9. Why did unions push for immigration restriction?
10. How did the National Origins Act impact immigration from Europe?
Terms:
Eugenics
KKK
nativism
anarchists
National Origins Act (1924) The Passing of the Great Race
alien
Dillingham Commission (1921)
Emergency Quota Act (1921)
Americanization
B. Women’s Suffrage
1. Essential Question: What impact did women voting have on 20s society?
Secondary Questions:
1. Why was the 19th Amendment passed?
2. How did women’s roles change in the 1920s?
3. What impact did WW I have on women getting the right to vote?
4. How did people view the new “flapper” girl?
5. What impact did the automobile have on the spread of flapper culture?
6. How did fashion change after the war?
7. What role did the increase in post-war prosperity have on women?
8. How did flappers challenge women’s roles in society?
9. What opportunities did women have after WW I?
10. Why did women protest to get the right to vote during WW I?
Terms:
Flappers
19th Amendment
Birth Control League League of Women Voters
National Women’s Party
suffrage
Gibson Girl
Willa Cather Edna Ferber
II. Social
A. Racial tension
1. Essential Question: What were the factors the contributed to the race riots in
the 1920s?
Secondary Questions:
1. Why did African Americans move North during WW I?
2. Why were race riots so widespread in the US during the 1920s?
3. What were the economic factors that contributed to the race riots in the 1920s?
4. What happened to African American prosperity following WW I?
5. What contribution did African Americans make during WW I?
6. Where did African Americans live when they moved North? Why?
7. How did the Harlem Renaissance contribute to the perception of African Americans?
8. Why did Marcus Garvey have a big following in the cities?
9. How did African Americans view the riots in the 20s?
10. What impact will the riots have on race relations?
Terms:
Great Migration, part I
Marcus Garvey
Claude McKay
Jazz
ghettos
Tulsa Race Riots
Harlem Renaissance
The Crisis
Chicago Race Riots
Langston Hughes
UNIA
B. Roaring 20s
1. Essential Question: Why were the 20s called “Roaring?”
Secondary Questions:
1. How did the automobile contribute to the spread of culture in the 1920s?
2. What were the reasons why Prohibition was passed?
3. Why was prohibition hard to enforce?
4. Why did people dislike the behavior, dress, and morals of the flappers?
5. How did the new opportunities for women after WW I impact their roles in society?
6. How did religion influence society in the 1920s?
7. What influence did the radio have on American society during the 20s?
8. What factors contributed to the start of the Harlem Renaissance?
9. Why were the 1920s believed to be a prosperous time for Americans?
10. What new leisure activities existed during the 1920s?
Terms:
Prohibition
Flappers
Fundamentalism
Speakeasies
Al Capone
Scopes Trial
th
st
18 /21 Amendments
The Lost Generation
evolution
Volstead Act
Harlem Renaissance
2. Essential Question: What social tensions existed within American society
during the 20s?
Secondary Questions:
1. How did the radio and the automobile contribute to the spread of culture in the
1920s?
2. How were the flappers different from the Gibson girls of the pre-war society?
3. Why were immigrants from Europe disliked during the 1920s?
4. Why did prohibition fail?
5. Why was there a clash between religion and science during the 1920s?
6. How did culture change during the 1920s?
7. What impact did the growth of suburbs have on America in the 1920s?
8. What group of Americans did not directly benefit from the prosperity of the 1920s?
Why?
9. How did WW I impact American society?
10. What were the main factors that contributed to the race riots of the 1920s?
Terms:
KKK
Scopes Trial
Gibson girl
Prohibition
Red Scare
Race riots
Flapper
National Origins Act
Fundamentalism
Speakeasies
Harlem Renaissance
III. Economic
A. Post war prosperity?
1. Essential Question: Was there real economic prosperity following WW I?
Secondary Questions:
1. What economic impact did the Treaty of Versailles have on the US?
2. Why was there a crisis for farmers during the 1920s?
3. Was the prosperity of the 1920s even? Who was left out of the prosperity and why?
4. What impact did advertising have on consumer spending?
5. How did the radio influence American culture?
6. What impact did WW I have on farmers?
7. What happened to the size of the middle class during the 1920s? Why?
8. How did the government influence the economic prosperity of the 1920s?
9. What happened to leisure time after WW I? Why?
10. What factors existed which indicated that the prosperity of the 1920s was not going
to last?
Terms:
Dawes Plan
Consumer goods
welfare capitalism
speculation
credit
tariffs
installment buying
Fordney-McCumber Act
Lost Generation
reparations
margin
mass media