Roaring Twenties Review Sheet
Mr. Armstrong – 8th Grade Social Studies
People:
Warren Harding
Albert Fall
Calvin Coolidge
Attorney General Mitchell
Palmer
Louis Armstrong
Langston Hughes
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Lost Generation
Sacco & Vanzetti
School Teacher Thomas
Scopes
Clarence Darrow (Defendant
Attorney)
William Jennings Bryan
(Prosecuting Attorney)
Al Capone
Henry Ford
Amendments/ Acts:
18th Amendment
19th Amendment
21st Amendment
Volstead Act
Vocabulary, Events and Other Miscellaneous Terms:
Anarchy
Communism
Capitalism
Laissez Faire Economics
Red Scare
Teapot Dome Scandal
Nativism
Installment Buying/ Credit
Debt
Assembly Line
Mass Production
Bootlegger
Prohibition
Speakeasy
Sentiment
Harlem Renaissance
Jazz
Flapper
The Charleston
Palmer Raids
Assimilation
Immigration Restriction
Quotas
Great Migration
Isolationist
Economic Prosperity
Model T
Creationism/ Fundamentalism
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
Scopes/ Monkey Trial
Sacco and Vanzetti Trial
St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
Examples of Household
Appliances
KKK
Important Concepts & Ideas to Understand:

Cities vs. Countryside/Rural Communities: These two locations vary in many ways and are symbolic of the differences in
lifestyles during the 1920s. Cities were centers of new technology, new ideas, diversity, nativist sentiments, industry,
factories, manufacturing and advertising. The cities of America in the 1920s represented a forward or new way of thinking
for the time period. Major cultural, societal, political and economic changes could be witnessed throughout cities. The
countryside or rural communities on the other hand, represented a more “traditional” way of life that was more closely
aligned with religious principles. The countryside often represented communities that were not as willing or quick to accept
the cultural changes that were taking place in America during the 1920s.

Prohibition: Established by the 18th Amendment, prohibition made the making, sale and transportation of alcohol illegal.
Prohibition was supported by some, especially women who had ties to the Temperance Movement of previous generations.
However, more people opposed prohibition and wanted to have the opportunity to interact with alcohol. The people who
opposed prohibition were predominantly those who lived in cities or urban settings. Both men and women engaged in the
illegal sale and consumption of alcohol in the 1920s. Because this law was unpopular, enforcing the laws established in the
Volstead Act became very difficult. The 18th Amendment was ultimately repealed by the creation of the 21 st Amendment
which made alcohol legal.

Nativism & Anti-Foreigner Sentiments: The notion that “true” Americans were those who were native-born to the United
States was very evident during the 1920s. Nativists were people who thought that anyone not native-born to the United States
were inferior to those who were native born. Nativism focuses on treating immigrants and foreigners as inferiors. This idea
was on full display in the Sacco and Vanzetti Trial, and could also be seen when the government began to pass Immigration
Restriction Acts that set quotas on the number of immigrants permitted to enter the United States. The Red Scare and the
KKK were also symbolic of nativist sentiments.

The “Old School” & “New School” Way of Thinking: The 1920s was filled with new ideas and approaches to topics and
issues that had otherwise had a predominantly one-sided narrative. The new approaches and ways of thinking during the
1920s were influenced largely by science. This conflict of ideas and values was on full display in the Scopes Trial which
represented the conflict between creationism/fundamentalism and Darwin’s theory of evolution. Many people living in the
countryside were more aligned with traditional values and ideas that were associated with religion. People living in urban
settings were typically more representative of newer approaches and beliefs to various topics or issues.

A Consumer Economy: The United States economy during the 1920s was often categorized as a “consumer economy.” The
reason for this was because Americans were purchasing or consuming more manufactured goods than any other time in
American history up to that point. The assembly line and mass production allowed for more products to be made in a shorter
period of time, and also lowered the cost of such products. Advertising, installment plans or buying on credit, also
contributed to the consumer economy. Products were now more affordable and more desirable by the American public. Some
of these new products included automobiles, household appliances like the refrigerator, vacuum, radio, toaster, as well as
cigarettes, Coca-Cola, and other food or beverage related products. Many of the major companies or corporations were
operating with little regulation or oversight from the Federal government. This practice of letting the economy essentially run
itself is known as “laissez faire economics.” Both President Harding and Coolidge were proponents of such a system, as they
felt that less government intervention would allow the economy to enjoy prosperity similar to how it had during WWI.