Document-Based Question Essay:
The Roaring ’20s
Name __________________________
Class ___________________________
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DOCUMENT BASED QUESTION:
1920s
The answer to the essay question is to be written on separate paper.
In developing your answer to the essay, be sure to keep in mind the following definition:
discuss means “to make observations about something using facts, reasoning and argument; to present
in some detail”
This question is based on the accompanying documents. This test is designed to test your ability to work with historical
documents. As you analyze the documents, take into account the source of each document and any point of view that
may be presented in the document.
Historical Context:
At the end of World War I, the United States sought a "return to normalcy.”
What it found however, were awkward conflicts between new and old ways of
life. The 1920s were a time of great change economically, socially, and
politically in the United States. Consumerism, technology, and a clash of values
all contributed to less than “normal” America.
Task:
Using information from the documents and your knowledge of social studies,
answer the questions that follow each document in Part A. Your answers will
help you write the Part B essay in which you will be asked to
Discuss three ways in which society changed in the 1920s.
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PART A
SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
Document 1
BOOM CYCLE
1
What are three ways in which the economy of the 1920s was typical of a boom cycle? Be specific!
a ____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
b ____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
c ____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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Document 2
2a
What is the subject of this map? ______________________________________________
2b
How many years passed between the first state granting women suffrage and the 19th
Amendment in 1919? _____________________________________________
2c
How many states did not allow any women to vote before the 19th Amendment was passed?
___________________________________________________________________
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Document 3
3
List three ways in which the women in these photos are rebelling against social norms.
a. ______________________________________________________________________
b. ______________________________________________________________________
c. ______________________________________________________________________
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Document 4
If people who are known as leaders … shall in their respective
communities become known for their defiance of some part of the code
of law, then they need not be astonished if presently they find that
their example is followed by others, with the result that presently the
law in general comes to be looked upon as a set of irksome and
unreasonable restraints upon the liberty of the individual.
President Warren G. Harding's comments on morality and Prohibition enforcement, quoted
in "The President's Appeal to Halt Law Breaking" Literary Digest April 15, 1922.
4a
What law is President Harding referring to?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
4b
What does President Harding feel will be the effect of community leaders ignoring laws?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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Document 5
5a
In what way is the man on the left receiving an “object-lesson?” ________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
5b
What prevalent attitude of the 1920s does this cartoon represent? ______________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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Document 6
I am fed up
With Jim Crow laws,
People who are cruel
And afraid,
Who lynch and run,
Who are scared of me
And me of them.
I pick up my life
And take it away
On a one-way ticket
Gone Up North
Gone Out West
Gone!
-Langston Hughes, 1926
6a
In this document, the author states that he has “Gone” because of what reason?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
6b
What demographic shift (movement of people) does this poem refer to?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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Document 7
7a
What cultural movement inspired the artworks seen here?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
7b
How did this movement change other people’s perceptions of African Americans in the U.S.?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
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PART B
ESSAY
Directions:
Write a well-organized essay that includes an introduction, several paragraphs, and a
conclusion. Use evidence from at least four documents in the body of the essay. Support your response
with relevant facts, examples, and details. Include additional outside information.
Historical Context:
At the end of World War I, the United States sought a "return to normalcy.”
What it found however, were awkward conflicts between new and old ways of
life. The 1920s were a time of great change economically, socially, and
politically in the United States. Consumerism, technology, and a clash of values
all contributed to less than “normal” America.
Task:
Using information from the documents and your knowledge of social studies,
write an essay in which you
Discuss three ways in which society changed in the 1920s.
Guidelines:
In your essay, be sure to:

Check when completed

Address all aspects of the Task by accurately analyzing and interpreting at least
four documents
Incorporate information from the documents in the body of the essay

Incorporate relevant outside information

Support the theme with relevant facts, examples, and details

Use a logical and clear plan of organization

Introduce the theme by establishing a framework that is beyond a simple
restatement of the Task or Historical Context and conclude with a summation of
the theme.
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