American Century: Boom to Bust Viewing Guide
Name: ________________________________________
Period: _________________
Date: _____
The 1920s ushered in an era of great social change, general prosperity, Prohibition and what historians refer to
as "modernity." This episode examines these great cultural changes and their effects on the nation. The 1920s,
"roared," as bathtub gin flowed and more and more Americans moved to urban areas. But the decade also saw
limited prosperity for many, especially farmers, and the unrest and discord (anger) between the values of small
town America and the rapid pace of science and technology. The optimism of the decade would end in the most
severe economic depression in American history. This episode presents some of the major events that shaped
the decade including The Scopes Monkey Trial, Prohibition, the rise of leisure pastimes, and the impact of
inventions such as the automobile, radio, movies and electricity.
1. Broadway is one of the most famous boulevards in American. Why is Broadway known as the "Great White
Way?" ________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. How did Prohibition help increase the presence of organized crime in America?
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3. Discuss how the culture of the 1920s broke with earlier stereotypes and helped change the social boundaries
in American society in each of the following ways:
Technological: ________________________________________________________________________________
Geographical: _________________________________________________________________________________
Social: ________________________________________________________________________________________
Economics: ___________________________________________________________________________________
4. The media has had a tremendous influence on the twentieth century. What were the effects of the mass
media on the 1920s? ____________________________________________________________________________
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5. The 1920s saw a burgeoning (growing) of African-American culture and talent, centered in the Harlem
section of New York City. What has been the contribution of the Harlem Renaissance to American art and
literature? ____________________________________________________________________________________
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6. Who were some of the major figures in this movement (literary and social)? ___________________________
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7. In the 1920s, for the first time in the country¹s history, more Americans lived in an urban setting than a rural
one. How did this process of urbanization affect (change) the country? ________________________________
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8. What were some similarities of both urban and rural areas in the 1920s? _______________________________
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9. What were some of the differences of both urban and rural areas in the 1920s? __________________________
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10. How did advertising impact America in the 1920s? __________________________________________________
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11. How has advertising impacted your life in the last year? Be specific. ___________________________________
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12. What were some of the changes for women during the 1920s? ________________________________________
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13. How did the Scopes trial illustrate the clash between science and religion that was a hallmark (major point)
of the early century? ___________________________________________________________________________
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14. Describe the impacts (effects) of Charles Lindbergh’s successful flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
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15. How did Richard Byrd’s successful expedition to Antarctica illustrate the mood of the 1920s?
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16. Explain how the popular jazz song “Blue Skies” illustrated the mood of the 1920s? _______________________
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17. How did the stock market play a part in the collapse of the economy in October 1929? ___________________
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18. What is meant by the phrase, “the 1920’s bubble had burst”? _________________________________________
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