Cultural Tensions
Strict, literal interpretation of the Bible; clashed with modern science.
Fundamentalism
Warren G. Harding’s campaign promise to return to pre-WWI isolationism.
"Return to Normalcy"
A shift toward a culture fueled by mass production and "buy now, pay later" credit.
Consumerism
Mass movement of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North.
Great Migration
Established Prohibition, later enforced by the Volstead Act.
18th Amendment
1925 trial over teaching evolution; symbolized the rift between religion and science.
Scopes "Monkey" Trial
Bribery scandal involving the illegal leasing of federal oil reserves under Harding.
Teapot Dome Scandal
Perfected by Henry Ford to enable mass production of the Model T.
Assembly Line
An intellectual and artistic explosion of African American culture in NYC.
Harlem Renaissance
Post-WWI hysteria fueled by fear of a communist revolution in the US.
First Red Scare
Writers like Fitzgerald and Hemingway who felt disillusioned with post-war materialism.
"The Lost Generation"
"Hands-off" economic policy championed by Coolidge: "The business of America is business".
Laissez-Faire
A precursor to modern credit, allowing consumers to pay for goods in regular increments.
Founder of the UNIA who advocated for Black pride and the "Back to Africa" movement.
Marcus Garvey
Two Italian immigrants executed largely due to their anarchist beliefs and nativist bias.
Sacco And Vanzetti
Movement that embraced new cultural values and scientific thought over traditional beliefs.
Modernism
US loan program designed to help Germany pay WWI reparations to Britain and France.
Dawes Plan
Strategy where companies provided benefits (like insurance) to discourage unionization.
Welfare Capitalism
Term for African Americans who refused to submit to Jim Crow and celebrated their heritage.
The "New Negro"
First law to significantly limit immigration based on a percentage of the existing population.
Emergency Quota Act (1921)
Symbol of the "New Woman" who challenged Victorian gender norms through dress and behavior.
Flapper
1921 meeting to limit naval armaments and ease tensions in the Pacific.
Washington Naval Conference
A period of rising stock prices that encouraged risky speculation before the 1929 crash.
Bull Market
Leading poet of the Harlem Renaissance who wrote about the Black experience in America.
Langston Hughes
Strict law that lowered immigration quotas to 2% of the 1890 census levels.
National Origins Act (1924)