events of the 1920s

By 18jcampbell

  • KDKA in Pittsburgh

    Was the worlds first commercial radio station. This station started a radio boom across the nation and the world.

  • 19th Amendment

    The 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. This was important because now women have the right to vote so people in general are being seen more as equal.

  • Prohibition begins

    Prohibition in the United States was a nationwide constitutional ban on the sale, production, importation, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. This led to alcohol being smuggled everywhere and also led to speakeasys.

  • Congress enacts Emergency Quota Act.

    This restricted immigration into the United States. Mainly people of Northern Europe who had similar cultures to that of America were likely to get in.

  • The boll weevil ruins cotton

    Most American farmers were in deep debt within a few years of the end of WWI. The devastation of the cotton crop drove thousands of southern farmers into bankruptcy. This disaster contributed to a continued pattern of migration north by African Americans.

  • stock market begins its spectacular rise.

    Investors began purchasing stocks on margin, a risky technique involving the purchase of stocks with borrowed money and using the purchased stock shares themselves as collateral. Many initially became wealthy, but were unable to pay debts when the stock prices fell in 1929.

  • National Origins Act replaces Emergency Quota Act.

    Congress restricted immigration by establishing national quotas. Asians and people from southern and eastern Europe were subject to discrimination.

  • KKK members stage a major march through Washington, D.C.

    Interest in the Ku Klux Klan increased as immigrants continued t enter the Unnited States. With more than five million members, the Klan marched to show its strength and political clout.

  • Scopes trial takes place in Dayton, Tennessee.

    Biology teacher taken to curt and eventually fined for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. This case reflected one instance of a clash between modern and traditional values in the 1920s

  • Langston Hughes publishes “The Weary Blues.”

    Showed an African-American perspective through poetry. It became a major example of the creativity associated with the Harlem Renaissance.

  • Sacco and Vanzetti are executed.

    Italian immigrants and anarchists accused of robbery and murder during a period called the Red Scare. Their trial and execution reflected the decade's fears about threats to the government and prejudices about foreigners.

  • Charles Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic.

    Completed the first solo transatlantic flight in 33 1/2 hours.

  • Herbert Hoover is elected U.S. president.

    Hoover's reluctance to employ government resources to address economic problems helped worsen the effects of the Depression.