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18th Amendment passed, Prohibition begins
Prominent progressive groups fought for and won a ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol in the form of the 18th amendment that attempted to legislate morality and make something illegal that was never considered wrong before. -
Speakeasies open to get around Prohibition
Once legal bars were made into illegal speakeasies, where men and women secretly drank alcohol that was often high in alcohol content due to difficulties in transportation and concealing the bootleg drink. -
"Red Scare" grips the nation
After a successful communist revolution in Russia, fears that a similar event could happen in the U.S. grew between 1919-1920 resulting in the persecution of socialists and radicals, and the crackdown on growing unions. -
Sports becomes major American pastime
As incomes grew, sports became a big business in the consumer economy with names such as "Babe" Ruth becoming more well known than most statesmen and with crowds that payed over $1 Million to watch matches and games. -
The Great Migration occurs
In the Great Migration, 6 million Southern blacks began to move to Northern and Mid-western cities due to limited economic opportunities and harsh segregation laws in the rural South, and made a new place for themselves in society. -
F. Scott Fitzgerald becomes a celebrated author
FItzgerald became a celebrity with his novel "This Side of Paradise" (1920) which was extremely popular with the young, and followed it up with his literary classic "The Great Gatsby" (1925) on the idea of the self-made American man. -
The development of the "New Woman"
As women gained rights such as the right to vote in the 19th Amendment, they grew more empowered and were able to have increased access to birth control devices as well as wear fashionable "flapper" style clothes. -
Handy, "Jelly Roll" Morton, and "Joe" King Oliver give birth to jazz
Several African American musicians pioneered a new genre of music, jazz, that became wildly popular across the nation, but was copied by the entertainment industry with all-white bands who made a lot of money. -
Mass use of the automobile grows
The low prices of Ford's automobiles, as low as $260, allowed a vast number of hardworking people to afford what was one a luxury item for the rich, allowing people to travel faster between their destinations and creating a new economy of automobiles. -
Warren G. Harding wins 1920 election
President Harding restored the Republican Party back to the White House and set out to improve laissez-faire business practices through helping businesses reach the path to profit. -
New racial pride grows in African American communities
As new Northern black communities such as Harlem in New York CIty blossomed in the 1920's, a new racial pride and self-determination among African Americans grew as black culture was able to manifest itself for one of the first times in American history, creating an era known as the Harlem Renassiance. -
Political Leader Marcus Garvey advocates "Back to Africa"
African American politician Marcus Garvey founded the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and pushed for resettlement of African Americans to their "homeland" in Africa to avoid racial tensions in the U.S. -
Corporations are less regulated by Harding economic policy
Once more, corporations are able to relax and expand under the laissez-faire economic policies of the Republican party, and Antitrust laws of the progressive era are even being ignored in some instances, giving big industrialists the chance to reduce competition. -
U.S. Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act of 1921
Following a wave of 800,000 immigrants in 1920, Congress passed a restriction on the number of new immigrants coming from Europe at 3% of people of their nationality already living in the U.S. every year. -
New poets innovate the field of poetry and writing
T.S. Eliot, influenced by Ezra Pound, produced one of the most influencial poems in history with "The Waste Land" and other poets like Robert Frost and e.e. cummings wrote in beautifully unorthodox ways that have influenced modern wirting. -
Policy of Isolationsim takes hold in America
Following involvement in World War I, many Americans were not interested in meddling in European affairs and hoped to keep to themselves and not be bothered by conflict, as proof of the Ameican refusal to join the World Court or the League of Nations. -
America insists on repayment of war debts from Allies
After World War I, America became a creditor nation in the sum of $16 billion and wanted the $10 billion the US Treasury had loaned to the Allies repayed, which caused rifts with the British and French as well as increasing pressure on Germany who had to pay reparations to the Allies for the use of debt repayment. -
The Radio Revolution takes hold of society
New technologies allowed long-distance broadcasting possible, creating large national commercial networks on the radio, which helped draw Americans back to the home and contribute culturally and educationally to the American public. -
Fordney-McCumber Tariff Law passed by Congress
From a fear that an influx of cheap goods would come into the U.S. from Europe, Congress passed a large protective tariff that led to prolonged post-war recovery in Europe since many European manufacturers were left feeling the tariff squeeze. -
Teapot Dome scandal uncovered
This scandal involved the secret leasing of federal oil reserves in Teapot Dome, Wyoming and Elk Hills, California, by the secretary of the interior, Albert B. Fall to oil men for a bribe of $100,000 and was parlty a result of Harding's gullible, trusting nature. -
President Calvin Coolidge is sworn into office
After the death of Harding in 1923, Calvin Coolidge took on the office of president and gave the administration a much needed moral cleansing following several political scandals. -
Immigration Act of 1924 passed
In this Act, quotas for immigrants were furthur reduced to 2% in an attempt to preserve America's existing racial compostion of majority northern European descendants, completely ending an era of virtually unrestricted immigration. -
"Monkey Trial" showdown between religion and Darwinism begins
After a high school biology teacher was indicted for teaching evolution in his class, a historic case between biology and theology shook the nation as Fundamentalism emerged victorious and remianed a strong force in American religious life. -
Darwinian evolution threatens traditional religious teachings
As the teachings of evolution spread, traditional religionists argued for a ban on evolution teaching since they believed that Darwinism was destroying faith in God and was contributing to the breakdown of morals in 1920's youth. -
Poet Langston Hughes contributes to African American literature
Harlem poet Langston Hughes published his classic "The Weary Blues" in 1926 as an experimental jazz and blues poetry book that won several awards and helped pay for Hughes' college education. -
Ernest Hemingway writes "The Sun Also Rises"
Hemingway, heavily affected by the war, wrote about a disillusioned group of American expatriates in Europe, part of the so called "Lost Generation." -
Modern Hollywood movie industry is launched
Hollywood quickly became the movie capital of the world when "The Jazz Singer" began a new era in film as the world's first "talkie" as people flocked to theaters to see their favorite actors and actresses on the big screen. -
The American Stock Market booms
In the late 1920's, the stock market continued to reach new highs with strong bullish energy as Americans continued to invest in multiple companies with a great sense of optimism. -
Eugene O'Neill contributes to playwriting
Eugene O'Neill was a New York dramatist and prodigious playwright who authored more than a dozen productions in the 1920's, his most famous being "Strange Interlude" (1928). -
"Good Neighbor" policy pioneered by President Hoover
The foundation of this foreign policy began a pattern of turning away from imperialistic, interventionist attitudes of the previous years in relation with Latin America, and instead building a reputation of international goodwill. -
President Hoover promotes "self-reliance" policies
In the beginning of his administration, Hoover signed the Agricultural Marketing Act that helped farmers help themselves financially, and he tried to continue this self-reliance policy trend after Black Tuesday out of fear that America would be weaker if it gave out handouts. -
William Faulkner writes "The Sound and the Fury" and "As I Lay Dying"
William Faulkner, a Mississippian, wrote stories of a history-filled Deep South fictional county where he peeled back time from the souls of his detailed characters to create classic pieces of literature. -
Stocks plummet on "Black Tuesday"
In part caused by higher interest rates in Britain, a wave of stock selling triggered a financial panic among stockholders who realized unbelievable losses as the speculative bubble finally burst on Ocotber 29, 1929. -
Overproduction of farm products leads to price drops
Chronic overproduction was widespread in the farming industry, causing prices to drop as low as fifty-seven cents a bushel of wheat and five cents a pound for cotton, negatively affecting the US Economy. -
Thousands of Banks crash with the Stock Market
In the first three years of depression, over 5,000 banks collapsed taking thousands of people's life savings, causing many of them to lose their homes and have to stand in breadlines for food. -
Emergency Banking Relief Act passed
Facing the collapse of the banking system, this new law gave the President power to regulate bank transactions and to reopen failing banks after they had been found to be financially secure in an attempt to boost confidence in the banking system. -
Civilian Conservation Corps created by Congress
The CCC was a public work relief organization, part FDR's New Deal, that provided employment for 3 million young men in areas such as reforestation, firefighting, and flood control. -
Agricultural Adjustment Act enacted by Congress
The AAA was passed to reduce crop surplus and have prices rise while still supporting farmers financially by helping farmers meet their mortgages in order to improve the health of the economy. -
Tennessee Valley Authority passed by Congress
The TVA build a large dam in the Tennessee River that put thousands of people to work in a heavily depressed area while providing cheap electric power, flood control, and improved navigation -
Home Owner's Loan Corporation created
The Home Owners' Refinancing Act created the HOLC which refinanced home mortgages in default to prevent mass foreclosures across the nation and a worsening of the economic depression. -
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation founded
The FDIC promoted public confidence in the US financial system by insuring deposits up to a certain dollar amount in a bank, and became part of FDR's New Deal. -
Prolonged drought strikes Great Plains
A long drought occurred in the vast Great Plains region that caused tons of topsoil to be carried off by strong winds and made farming nearly impossible, triggering the nickname "Dust Bowl." -
Gold Reserve Act passes Congress
This Act authorized a devaluation in the American dollar which required abandoning the gold standard and allowed an influx of gold from other nations to flow in since the purchasing power of American currency was still relatively high. -
Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act passed
This New Deal Act gave the President the ability to adjust tariff rates and approve trade agreements without the immediate approval of Congress in an effort to boost the economy. -
Indian Reorganization Act passed
The Indian Reorganization Act decreased the role of the American government in Indian affairs and gave Indians increasing self-government and recognition from the federal government. -
Federal Housing Administration set up by Roosevelt
The FHA, one of the few New Deal agencies to outlast the Roosevelt era, stimulated the building industry through small loans given to householders in order to improve their homes and to complete new ones. -
FDR creates the Works Progress Administration
A prominent New Deal program, the WPA provided millions of unemployed Americans with work through multiple public works projects such as the construction of roads and public buildings. -
FDR creates Resettlement Agency
The Resettlement Agency relocated struggling urban and suburban families displaced by the depression to planned communities by the Federal government to prevent a growing homeless population. -
Social Security Act of 1935 passed
Social Security, one of the most far reaching laws ever to pass Congress, sought to cushion future economic depressions through regular payments to old, retired workers and other disabled, dependent people. -
John Steinbeck publishes "The Grapes of Wrath"
The mass migration of people in the Great Plains to California due to the Dust Bowl crisis was realistically portrayed by Steinbeck in a novel that spread awareness to the rest of the nation about the severity of the Great Plains drought.
