Chapter 31 American Life in the “Roaring Twenties” 1919-1929
Theme 1: A disillusioned America turned away from idealism and reform after World War I and toward
isolationism in foreign affairs, domestic social conservatism, and the pleasure of prosperity.
Theme 2: New Technologies, mass marketing techniques, and new forms of entertainment fostered
rapid cultural change along with a focus on consumer goods. But the accompanying changes in moral
values and uncertainty about the future produced cultural anxiety, as well as sharp intellectual critiques
of American life.
Key Terms:
1. Bolshevik Revolution/ The Red Scare
2. The Quota Acts/ KKK
3. 18th Amendment/ Volstead Act
4. Fundamentalism/ The Scopes Monkey Trial
Focus Questions:
1. How did the Red Scare translate into the Ku Klux Klan and the anti-immigrant movement in
American society?
2. What were the arguments for and against Prohibition and what were the consequences? How
did the Eighteenth Amendment come about?
3. What was it about the 1920’s that made it roaring?
4. Who were some of the major literary figures and how did the literature reflect the mood of the
1920’s?
Chapter 32 The Politics of Boom and Bust, 1920-1932
Theme 1: The Republican administration of the prosperous 1920’s pursued conservative, pro-business
policies at home, and economic unilateralism abroad.
Theme 2: The great crash of 1929 led to a severe, prolonged depression that devastated the American
economy and spirit and resisted Hoover’s limited efforts to correct it.
Key Terms:
1. Washington Conference/ Nine-Power Treaty/ Kellogg-Briand Pact
2. Fordney-McCumber Tariff Act / Hawley-Smoot Tariff
3. The Ohio Gang/ Teapot Dome Scandal
4. Hoovervilles/ The Bonus Army
Focus Questions:
1. What was the economic philosophy of the Republican presidents of the 1920’s? Did this
environment help create the Great Depression?
2. Describe the political environment of the election of 1928? How did Hoover win the election?
3. What were the causes of the Great Depression?
4. What were the major foreign policy issues faced by the Hoover administration?
Chapter 33 The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1933-1939
Theme: Roosevelt’s New Deal tackled the Great Depression with massive federal programs designed to
bring about relief, recovery, and reform.
Key Terms:
1. First 100 Days/ The 3R’s
2. Fr. Charles Coughlin, Francis Townsend, and Huey Long/ The campaigns of 1935/ The passage of
the Social Security Act and Wagner Acts
3. Keynesianism/ TVA
4. Fair Labor Standards Act/ CIO
Focus Questions:
1. What were the political differences between Hoover and Roosevelt?
2. What were Roosevelt’s goals of relief, recovery, and reform to help America get out of the Great
Depression?
3. What were the main criticism, from both the left and the right, of Roosevelt’s New Deal
program?
4. How did Roosevelt deal with the business community and what gains did labor make under his
administration?
5. What were the long- and short-term benefits to Roosevelt’s New Deal?