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W.E.B. Du Bois
In 1910, Du Bois accepted the directorship of the recently-formed NAACP and worked there for 24 years. -
Harlem Renaissance
An intellectual, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem, New York, also known as the "New Negro Movement" -
Palmer Raids
Palmer raids were a series of violent and abusive law-enforcement raids directed at leftist radicals and anarchists -
Red Scare
Many in the United States feared recent immigrants and dissidents, particularly those who embraced communist, socialist, or anarchist ideology. -
18th Amendment
Prohibited the manufacture, transportation and sale of alcohol. -
Election of 1920
The election of 1920 was dominated by the aftermath of World War I and the hostile reaction to Woodrow Wilson. Warren G. Harding won. -
The Roaring 20s
Following the end of World War I, the industrial might of the United States was unleashed for domestic, peaceful purposes. Within a few short years, an economic shift took place as the economy transitioned from wartime production to peacetime production. -
Consumerism
Consumerism came into its own throughout the 1920s as a result of mass production, new products on the market, and improved advertising techniques. -
1920-21 Depression
A small economic depression followed up by rapid economic growth. -
The Jazz Age
As the 1920s progressed, jazz rose in popularity and helped to generate a cultural shift. Because of its popularity in speakeasies, illegal nightclubs where alcohol was sold during Prohibition, and its proliferation due to the emergence of more advanced recording devices, jazz became very popular in a short amount of time, with stars including Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, and Chick Webb. -
Art Deco
Art Deco was a dominant design style of the 1920s artistic era that also was influenced by the Dada, Expressionist, and Surrealist movements. -
Golden Age of Hollywood
The 1920s are often referred to as the “Golden Age of Hollywood,” with “talkies” and the first all-color features replacing silent films. -
The Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a cultural period and movement that took place in America during the 1920s from which both new styles of music and dance emerged. Largely credited to African Americans employing new musical techniques along with traditional African traditions, jazz soon expanded to America’s white middle class. -
The Great Migration
Hundreds of thousands of African Americans relocated to cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, Philadelphia, and New York. -
Fundementalism
Disagreed with teaching of evolution in schools. A revival of Christian faith and also helped rebirth the KKK -
18th Amendment
declared the production, transport, and sale of intoxicating liquors illegal, though it did not outlaw the actual consumption of alcohol. Shortly after the amendment was ratified, Congress passed the Volstead Act to provide for the federal enforcement of Prohibition. -
The Emergency Quota Act
This legislation restricted new immigration to 3 percent of the number of residents per year from their country of origin already living in the United States. -
Fordney – McCumber Tarriff Act
Passed to help American businesses by increasing taxes on foreign goods coming into the USA. -
First All-Color Movie
The first all-color feature, The Toll of the Sea, was released in 1922, with the next big leap coming in 1926 with the Warner Brothers Pictures (later shortened to Warner Bros.) release of Don Juan, the first feature with sound effects and music. -
The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot
The ultimate indictment of the modern world's loss of personal, moral, and spiritual values. -
Coolidge Prosperity
Coolidge slashed taxes and supported legislation that encouraged private business. -
Duke Ellington
Was an American composer, pianist, and leader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death over a career spanning more than fifty years. -
Election of 1924
Was won by President Calvin Coolidge in a landslide as he presided over a booming economy at home and no visible crises abroad. -
Immigration Act of 1924
Limited the number of immigrants allowed entry into the United States through a national origins quota. -
The New Negro by Alain Locke
A hopeful look at the future for African Americans in America. -
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
A story of thwarted love that follows a cast of characters living in the fictional towns of West Egg and East Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. -
Monkey Trial
Debate over evolution, and whether an irreconcilable divide existed between religion and science. -
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Portrays American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls and the bullfights. -
First Talkie
In 1927, Warner Bros. released The Jazz Singer, the first sound feature to include limited talking sequences. This release arguably launched what came to be known as the “Golden Age of Hollywood.” -
Strange Interlude by Eugene O'Neill
An experimental play in nine acts. -
Laissez-Faire Economics
Hoover believed an economy based on capitalism would self-correct. He felt that economic assistance would make people stop working. He believed business prosperity would trickle down to the average person. This philosophy was not effective against the depression. -
Stock Market Crash
The stock market crashed, wiping out 40 percent of the paper values of common stock. -
The Great Depression
It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. -
Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act
Hoover protected businesses by signing the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act. It was supposed to protect farmers but ended up imposing 40 percent tariffs on 900 products. That year, the nation's gross domestic product fell 8.5 percent. The unemployment rate was 8.7 percent. -
Start of Dust Bowl
Was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. -
21st Amendment
repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition on alcohol. -
National Industrial Recovery Act
Created National Recovery Administration (NRA) and legalized industry collaboration for price controls and collective bargaining for labor. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act
Created Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) and introduced measures to reduce crop supply, stabilize prices and support farm incomes. -
Emergency Banking Relief Act
Gave the president emergency powers over the US banking system, under which he called a ‘bank holiday’ to allow evaluation of all banks and closure of insolvent ones. -
Glass-Steagall Banking Act
Created Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to insure personal bank accounts and separated commercial from investment banking – The ‘Firewall.’ -
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Insured bank deposits against bank failure, up to a certain level. -
Securities Act
First major federal legislation to regulate the offer and sale of securities. -
Indian Reorganization Act
Land returned or added to tribal holdings, development of tribal businesses promoted, a system of credit established, a return to self-governance. -
Virgin Islands Company
Rehabilitated the sugar and rum industries of the Virgin Islands; reduced unemployment; provided various farm services and loan programs; coordinated with a homesteading program. -
Gold Reserve Act
Called in all private gold and created a government hoard (Fort Knox). -
Securities Exchange Act
Law governing the secondary trading of securities in the United States of America. -
Income and Wealth Taxes
Greater emphasis on progressive taxation and taxation on wealth; consistent revenue increases achieved. -
Banking Act
Restructured and centralized the Federal Reserve Bank. -
Soil Conservation Act
United States federal law that allowed the government to pay farmers to reduce production so as to conserve soil and prevent erosion. -
U.S. Travel Bureau
Helped increase recreational travel & tourism within the United States.
