Life in Postwar America

The 1920s

The year is 1920. World War I has ended. As Americans struggle to rebuild broken lives, the voices of angry workers can be silenced no longer. Despite public criticism, many risk their jobs to strike and join unions. The streets become a battleground for fair pay and better working conditions.

Life in Postwar America

I.  Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues

a.  Postwar Trends

b.  Fear of Communism

i.  The Red Scare

ii. The Palmer Raids

iii.  Sacco and Vanzetti

c.  Limiting immigration

i.  The Klan (KKK) rises again

ii. The Quota System

d.  A time of labor unrest

i.  Major strikes-Boston police strike, Steel mill strike, Coal miner’s strike

ii. Labor movement loses appeal

II.  The Harding Presidency

a.  Harding struggles for peace

i.  High tariffs

ii. Reparations

b.  Scandal hits Harding’s administration

i.  Harding’s cabinet

ii. Scandal plagues Harding

iii.  Teapot Dome Scandal

III.  The Business of America

a.  American industries flourish

i.  The impact of the automobile

ii. The young airplane industry

b.  America’s standard of living soars

i.  Electrical conveniences

ii. The dawn of modern advertising

c.  A superficial prosperity

i.  Producing great quantities of goods

ii. Buying goods on credit

Vocabulary: I can use key vocabulary words and identify the significance of the key people and events of the 1920s.

-KARL MARX -A. MITCHELL PALMER -NICOLA SACCO -BARTOLOMEO VANZETTI --NATIVISM -ISOLATIONISM -COMMUNISM -REDS -ANARCHISTS -RED SCARE -PALMER RAIDS -QUOTA SYSTEM

-EMERGENCY QUOTA ACT OF 1921 -WARREN G. HARDING -OHIO GANG -TEAPOT DOME SCANDAL

-CALVIN COOLIDGE -HENRY FORD -MODEL T/TIN LIZZY -INSTALLMENT PLAN -ROUTE 66

-URBAN SPRAWL

The 1920s

The year is 1920. The Great War has just ended. Boosted by the growth of the wartime industry, the U.S. economy is flourishing. Americans live life to the fullest as new social and cultural trends sweep the nation.

Roaring Life of the 1920s

I.  Changing Ways of Life

a.  Rural and urban differences

i.  The new urban scene

ii.  The Prohibition experiment

iii. Speakeasies and bootleggers

iv. Organized crime

b.  Science and religion clash

i.  American fundamentalism

ii.  The Scopes trial

II.  The Twenties Woman

a.  Young women change the rules

i.  The flapper

ii.  The double standard

b.  Women shed old rules at home and at work

i.  New work opportunities

ii.  The changing family

III.  Education and Popular Culture

a.  Schools and the mass media shape culture

i.  School enrollments increase

ii.  Expanding news coverage

iii. Radio comes of age

b.  America chases new heroes and old dreams

i.  Lindberg’s flight

ii.  Entertainment and the arts

iii. Writers of the 1920s

IV.  The Harlem Renaissance

a.  African-American voices in the 1920s

i.  The move North

ii.  African-American goals

iii. Marcus Garvey and the UNIA

b.  The Harlem renaissance flourishes in New York

i.  African-American writers

ii.  African-American performers

iii. African-Americans and jazz

Vocabulary: I can use key vocabulary words and identify the significance of the key people and events of the “roaring twenties”.

-AL CAPONE -CHARLES DARWIN -JOHN T. SCOPES -CLARENCE DARROW -WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN

-SPEAKEASIES -BOOTLEGGERS -FUNDAMENTALISM -SECULAR -EVOLUTION -CREATIONISM

-18TH AMENDMENT -PROHIBITION -21ST AMENDMENT -SCOPES TRIAL -MARGARET SANGER -FLAPPER

-DOUBLE STANDARD -BABE RUTH -CHARLES LINDBERGH -GEORGE GERSHWIN -F. SCOTT FITZGERALD

-ERNEST HEMINGWAY -SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS -AMELIA EARHART -THE JAZZ SINGER -STEAMBOAT WILLIE

-TALKIES -THE GREAT GATSBY -A FAREWELL TO ARMS -TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT -NAACP -UNIA

-HARLEM RENAISSANCE -MARCUS GARVEY -LANGSTON HUGHES -DUKE ELLINGTON -COTTON CLUB

-PAUL ROBESON -LOUIS ARMSTRONG -CAB CALLOWAY -BESSIE SMITH -HARLEM