The Roaring Twenties
US History Honors
I. THE RED SCARE (1919-1920)
A. The Red Scare

Communism: economic & political system, single-party
government ruled by a dictator and no private property

1919:Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks set up
Communist state in Russia

US Communist Party forms; some Industrial Workers of
the World (IWW) join
A. The Red Scare

Bombs mailed to government and businesses; people
fear Red conspiracy

Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer takes action
B. Palmer Raids

Palmer and Hoover hunt down Communists, socialists
and anarchists

Anarchists oppose any form government

Raids trample civil rights and fail to find evidence of
conspiracy
II. SACCO & VANZETTI TRIAL
Sacco & Vanzetti Trial
A. Sacco and Vanzetti Trial

Red Scare feeds fear of foreigners, ruins reputations, and
wrecks lives

1920: Sacco and Vanzetti (Italian immigrants) who were also
anarchists were arrested…
◦ Charged with robbery and murder
◦ Trial does not prove guilt

Jury finds them guilty; widespread protests in US and
aboard

Sacco and Vanzetti executed in 1927
III. NATIVISM & THE NEW KKK
A. Nativism

Nativists: fewer unskilled jobs available which means
fewer immigrants needed

Between 1919 and 1921 over a million foreigners
entered the country
B. The New KKK

The most extreme expression of nativism in the 1920s
was the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan

KKK opposes blacks, Catholics, Jews, immigrants, and
unions

Klan controls many states’ politics

By 1925 the Klan had 5 million members
IV. THE QUOTA SYSTEM
A. The Quota System

Quota System sets maximum number of immigrants that
can enter the US from each country

1924: European arrivals cut to 2% of number of residents in
1890

Discriminates against southern and eastern Europeans

Prohibits Japanese immigrants which will cause ill will
between the US and Japan
CHECK POINT
The Red Scare, the National Origins Acts of the 1920s,
and the verdict in the Sacco and Vanzetti trial are
examples of negative American attitudes toward
A.
B.
C.
D.
immigrants
business leaders
African Americans
Labor union leaders
Which characteristic of the 1920s is illustrated by the
trial of Sacco and Vanzetti?
A.
B.
C.
D.
hostility toward woman’s suffrage
support for segregation
opposition to separation of church and state
intolerance toward immigrants
During the 1920s, Congress passed a series of
immigration laws that were primarily designed to
A.
B.
C.
D.
increase immigration from Asia
expand the workforce for the growing economy
limit immigration from southern and eastern Europe
prohibit immigration from Latin America
The influence of nativism during the 1920s is best
illustrated by the
A.
B.
C.
D.
increase in the popularity of the automobile
emergence of the flappers
expansion of trusts and monopolies
growth of the Ku Klux Klan
A major goal of the immigration acts of the 1920s was to
A.
B.
C.
D.
allow unlimited immigration from Southeast Asia
assure equal numbers of immigrants from all nations
favor wealthy and well-educated immigrants
use quotas to limit immigration from southern and
eastern Europe
V. PROHIBITION EXPERIMENT
A. The Prohibition Experiment

18th Amendment launches Prohibition Era
◦ Supported by religious groups, rural South & West

Prohibition: illegal to produce, sell or transport alcohol

Government does not budget enough money to enforce
the law
B. Defying the Law

Prohibition did not stop people from drinking alcohol at
home or in public

In the cities it became fashionable to defy the law by
going to speakeasies (bar or club)

Bootleggers smuggle alcohol from surrounding
countries (Canada)

City police were paid to look the other way
C. Organized Crime

Prohibition contributes to organized crime in most
major cities (NYC and Chicago)

Al Capone controls Chicago liquor business by killing
his competitors

By mid-1920s only 19% support Prohibition

18th Amendment in force until 1933

It will be repealed by the 21st Amendment
VI. THE SCOPES TRIAL
A. American Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism: movement based on literal interpretation
of Bible

Fundamentalists skeptical of some scientific discoveries and
theories
◦ They reject the theory of evolution
◦ Believe all important knowledge can be found in Bible
B. The Scopes Trial

The entire nation followed the Scopes Trial both in the
newspapers and on the radio

1925: Tennessee passes law making it a crime to teach
evolution in schools

American Civil Liberties Union backs John Scopes
challenge of the law

The debates evolution, role of science and religion in
schools
C. The Aftermath

Scopes was found guilty but the conviction was later
overturned on a technicality

Laws banning the teaching of evolution remained on the
books for years

Darrow (Scope’s lawyer) had thoroughly discredited
fundamentalism
VII. WOMEN IN THE 1920’S
A. Revolution in Morals

Young men and women of the 1920s revolted against
sexual taboos

Some were influenced by the writings of Sigmund Freud

The work of Margaret Sanger and other advocates of
birth control achieved growing acceptance in the
twenties
B. Flappers

Young women shocked their elders by wearing dresses
hemmed at the knee

‘Bobbing’ their hair

Smoking cigarettes

Driving cars

Taking office jobs before they married
CHECK POINT
During the 1920s, controversies concerning the
Scopes trial, national Prohibition, and the behavior of
“flappers” were all signs of disagreement over
A.
B.
C.
D.
the return to normalcy
traditional values and changing lifestyles
causes of the Great Depression
the benefits of new technology
The failure of national Prohibition led to a public
awareness that
A. crime rates decline when the sale of alcoholic
beverages is banned
B. economic prosperity encourages social conformity
C. unpopular laws are difficult to enforce
D. geographic conditions affect law enforcement
The national policy of Prohibition ended when the states
A.
B.
C.
D.
strengthened food and drug laws
legalized alcohol for medical purposes
ratified the 21st amendment
banned interstate shipment of alcoholic beverages
In 1920, women gained the right to vote as a result of a
A.
B.
C.
D.
presidential order
Supreme Court decision
national election
constitutional amendment
The Scopes trial of 1925 is an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
the effects of assimilation on American culture
a clash between scientific ideas and religious beliefs
an increase in violence in American society
government intervention in racial conflicts
National Prohibition, as authorized by the 18th
amendment, stated that
A. Americans must be 18 years old to purchase alcoholic
beverages
B. only imported alcoholic beverages would be sold
C. alcoholic beverages could be sold only in government
run stores
D. the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages was
banned
Which event of the 1920s symbolized a conflict over
cultural values?
A.
B.
C.
D.
election of Herbert Hoover
transatlantic flight of Charles Lindbergh
Scopes trial
stock market crash
The Scopes trial of the 1920s dealt with a conflict
between
A.
B.
C.
D.
communism and capitalism
Protestants and Catholics
science and religion
labor and management
VIII. HARLEM RENAISSANCE
A. Harlem Renaissance

By 1930, almost 20% of African-Americans lived in the
North

Harlem became famous in the 1920s for its
concentration of talented actors, artists, musicians and
writers
B. The Jazz Age

High school and college youth expressed their rebellion
against their elders’ culture by dancing to jazz music

Jazz became a symbol of the “new” and “modern”
culture of the cities
CHECK POINT
Langston Hughes and Duke Ellington are noted for their
contributions to the cultural movement of the 1920s
known as the
A.
B.
C.
D.
Gospel of Wealth
Lost Generation
Harlem Renaissance
Gilded Age
“Public Ignores Prohibition Restrictions”
“Evolution and Creation Debated in Scopes Trial”
“Women Bring Change to the Industrial Workforce”
What do headlines such as these from the 1920s illustrate?
A.
B.
C.
D.
conflict between traditional and modern values
trend toward mass consumption of consumer goods
hostility of certain groups toward ethnic minorities
debate over the role of government in the economy
During the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, African
American authors and artists used literature and art to
A.
B.
C.
D.
end segregation of public facilities
promote affirmative action programs
celebrate the richness of their heritage
urge voters to elect more African Americans to
political office
The changing image of women during the 1920s was
symbolized by the
A.
B.
C.
D.
passage of an equal pay act
drafting of women into the army
popularity of the flappers and their style of dress
appointment of several women to President Coolidge’s
cabinet
The Harlem Renaissance promoted African American
culture by
A. increasing factory employment opportunities for
minorities
B. encouraging immigration from Africa
C. focusing attention on artistic contributions
D. bringing an end to legalized racial segregation
Which pair of events illustrates an accurate cause and
effect relationship?
A. Sacco and Vanzetti trial – ratification of the woman
suffrage amendment
B. rebirth of the KKK – formation of the Populist Party
C. Red Scare – demand for limits on immigration
D. high food prices – start of the Great Depression
The convictions of Sacco and Vanzetti in the 1920s most
closely reflected the
A.
B.
C.
D.
increase in nativist attitudes
federal government’s war on crime
corruption of political machines
rise in labor unrest
In the 1920s, both Langston Hughes and Duke Ellington
made major contributions to
A.
B.
C.
D.
economic growth
educational reform
the creative arts
political leadership
During the 1920s, the United States changed its
immigration policy by passing new laws that
A. provided incentives to attract more immigrants to
factory jobs
B. encouraged Chinese immigrants to enter the country
C. allowed unrestricted immigration of war refugees
from Vietnam
D. established quotas that reduced the number of
immigrants from certain countries
What was a main result of national Prohibition during the
1920s?
A.
B.
C.
D.
respect for the law decreased
woman’s suffrage was restricted
racial prejudice increased
religious tolerance grew