FOCUS QUESTIONS
The popular image of the 1920's is of flappers and the Charleston. Indeed the country changed radically during this decade into one with which we would be more familiar today - a mass consumption society, strong economy, big time spectator sports and entertainment, fads and superheroes, mobility, suburbs, etc. But notice as you read the chapter how strong the popular resistance was in m any quarters to the brave new world thus created. Today’s societal changes provoke similar resistance in many.
1. Prejudice, Immigration, and Anti-Foreignism
a. The authors attribute much of the anti-foreignism of the post-World War I period to disillusionment after Wilson’s idealistic crusade in Europe had resulted in so little. The ______________________ Revolution in Russia in 1917 sparked fears that every labor dispute was stirred up by foreign “communists” bent on overthrowing the capitalist system and installing a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” The “_______ Scare” of 1919-1920 was led by Attorney General A. Mitchell ____________, who rounded up some _________ thousand suspected subversives on flimsy evidence (Remember him when we get to the rabid anticommunist of the 1950's, Sen. Joseph McCarthy). Another example cited is the famous case of Nicola _____________ and Bartolomeo _________________ , whose Italian origin and anarchist political leanings were at least a contributing factor to their hysterical trial and ultimate execution for murder. Why do the authors say that the Red Scare “was a godsend to conservative business people”?
b. In this atmosphere, the once moribund Ku ____ ______ expanded to some ________ million members and marched openly on Washington, expanding its agenda well beyond its anti-black crusade to oppose anything not purely Anglo-Saxon. The government moved to sharply cut back the “new wave” of immigrants now coming from the poorer regions of southern and eastern Europe. In the ____________ __________ Act of 1921, immigration was restricted through the use of annual quotas related to national origin of the population as of 19_____ census. Three years later, the ___________ Act of 1924 further reduced unwanted immigrants by pegging the quotas to the census of 18____, when there were far fewer people of eastern and southern European origin. Look at the chart on page 724. How would you describe the change in immigration patterns between 1914 and 1924.
2. Booze and Monkeys
a. The temperance ladies finally got their way and booze was outlawed in 1919 by the __________ Amendment to the Constitution (repealed in 1933). Gangsters such as Al _________ took advantage of Prohibition to sell “bootleg” liquor. Remembering that Wilson wanted to “make the world safe for democracy,” what do the authors mean when they say that this Amendment and its enabling ____________________ Act “made the world safe for hypocrisy”? What does “hypocrisy” mean in this context?
b. A high school education was largely mandatory in the 1920's under the progressive theories of Prof. John ___________ of Columbia. However, the “fundamentalists” got their day in court when science teacher John ____________ was brought to trial in Tennessee for the “crime” of teaching the evolutionary theories of Charles _____________ rather than the biblical interpretation of creation. The old war-horse, William Jennings ______________ came in to prosecute the case, but he was bested in the battle by criminal lawyer Clarence ____________ and he died a few days after the trial.
3. Automobile Revolution
Just as the railroad was the catalyst for the Gilded Age industrial boom, the automobile was the centerpiece of 1920's prosperity and cultural change, led by the “scientific management” theories of Frederick W. ____________ and the assembly line mastery of Henry ________. The chart on page 734 shows that a Model T cost about ________ months, wages for the average worker in 1924, down sharply from ____________ months wages in 1908. If a schoolteacher now makes $30,000 per year after tax and an average new car costs $20,000, it takes _______ months, salary to pay for a new car today!) The automobile had huge “spin-off effects” on the country.
A. Advertising: What is the image being portrayed of the Model A in the ad on page 735?
B. Name a few non-automotive businesses that benefitted from the auto boom.
C. Name a few social changes that were spurred by the effect of the automobile.
4. Communications and Cultural Revolution
a. As you read these pages about the massive cultural changes in the 1920's, note one or more significant things in the following areas:
airplane
radio
movies
women’s role/rights
sexual mores
music
literature
African-American culture
b. Reflecting on this section, do you have any thoughts on what it would have been like to have been a middle class, urban young person in the 1920's? What would be the pros and cons?
5. Wall Street Boom
Wealth accumulation in the 1920's was encouraged by the pro-business policies of people like Secretary of the Treasure Andrew ____________. On the stock exchanges, the authors say that “speculation ran wild” and led to an excessive _______________ (bull or bear) market. What do you think the word “speculation” means in this context? Are people still “speculating” in stocks, real estate, or other such investments today?
