WWI Culture
What was the idea of 100% Americanism?
Dropping the hyphenated ethnicity one identifies with (like Italian-American) and becoming strictly American. This helped all Americans to support America's side during the war
Who were two of the United States' Allies in WWI?
UK, France, Russia, Italy, Japan
What were some (at least 3) of the new consumer products of the 1920s? What kind of lifestyle did they promote?
Washing machine, vacuum, fridge, electric razor, radio, camera.
They all promoted a life of LEISURE (I'll accept synonyms of this word)
What was "Black Thursday?"
The day stock prices plummeted (Oct 24, 1929). Stock market opened 11% lower than it did on the previous day, almost 13M shares sold.
What were the 18th and 21st Amendments to the Constitution? (Hint: They deal with a similar issue)
Prohibition of Alcohol, and repeal of prohibition of alcohol.
We saw many propaganda posters during World War I. What were two common themes we saw?
Buying Liberty Bonds, Joining the War (army recruitment), Destroying the Germans, Not speaking out against the War
The sinking of the Lusitania increased tensions before the war, but this was 2 years before the US joined. What SPECIFIC event triggered the US joining?
The Zimmerman Telegram: Message sent by German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador in Mexico saying that Mexico would regain lost territory to the US if they joined the war.
Who were the three presidents of the 1920s?
Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover
What did FDR promise to the American people?
A "New Deal"
Calvin Coolidge said "The chief business of American people is ________?"
Business
What was the Great Migration? How was this fueled by the war?
When African-Americans moved from the South to Northern and Western cities in search for job opportunities. The war facilitated this because many white men were joining the army, and the factories needed more workers to support the industrialized war.
What was the effect of the US officially joining the war? Who is winning now and why?
The US joining the war turned the tides in favor of the Allied Powers. This was facilitated by directing all of our industrial power to the war effort.
What was the Harlem Renaissance? Who was the art by and for? What kind of music did they create?
A new art movement by African-Americans, for African-Americans based out of Harlem, NYC. They made a lot of Jazz music, and white people began going to these jazz clubs too, furthering intercultural exchanges.
What was the Dust Bowl? Why did it happen? Where was it most prevalent?
Dust storms, primarily in the Great Plains that were a result of a severe drought and poor farming practices. They were extremely severe and caused major illness, almost no visibility, and death.
Why did the Indiana KKK go to places like South Bend/Notre Dame? (Hint: Religion)
In addition to the KKK not liking African-Americans (also in South Bend) and other marginalized groups, they did not like Catholics either. The KKK were strictly protestant Christians, and they did not like the Irish Catholics in South Bend.
What is an ethnic enclave? How did immigrants joining the war counteract life in these enclaves?
Ethnic enclaves are areas of cities where immigrants from the same heritage all live together, speak their native language, and maintain their old traditions. When these immigrants joined the army, many of them experienced true American life for the first time, speaking English, and celebrating Thanksgiving.
Why was World War I a "scientific" war? Especially in terms of weapons?
Countries were using research and scientific methods to come up with new and efficient ways to kill the most people in the least amount of time. The industrialized war brought many changes to how war would be seen in the future.
Describe the Immigration Acts of the 1920s. What countries were they trying to restrict immigration from?
1921 Act: Restricted immigration from countries to 3% of the 1910 population of the US from the number of foreign-born residents of that country. 1924 Act: Changed to 2% of the 1890 population. Goal was to decrease immigration from Southern and Eastern European countries
Why were tariffs detrimental to helping mitigate the Great Depression?
Tariffs restrict free trade because other countries will respond with tariffs and stop buying as many US products. Free trade was desperately needed during the Depression to bring down the cost of goods for the consumer and to continue to sell United States' products abroad to bring in more income and have more job positions.
What was the 20th Amendment?
The Lame Duck Amendment: Changed the start of presidential terms from March 4 to January 20 and the start of congressional terms from March 4 to January 3.
What were the Espionage and Sedition Acts? What speech did they restrict?
Espionage Act made it illegal to speak out against the US Government and the War effort during wartime. The Sedition Act was used to punish people who did so.
In what ways were Wilson's idealistic 14 Points different from how the war ended with the Treaty of Versailles?
Wilson wanted many things like open trade and diplomacy, nations to rule themselves by nationality, and disarmament of all countries so tensions would not be high to start another war. However, the Treaty of Versailles heavily punished and disarmed ONLY Germany, which led to the rise of Hitler because German spirits were down.
What was the Teapot Dome Scandal? (Mention the "Ohio Gang")
Secretary of Interior Albert Fall leased Federal oil reserves to private oil companies for very cheap. In exchange, he accepted over $300K in bribes from oil companies. Then, Attorney General Harry Daugherty refused to investigate the scandal. These were both members of Harding's corrupt cabinet, known as the "Ohio Gang"
What were some things that Hoover tried to do to mitigate the Depression? (At least 1) Why was it not enough? (Generally)
Got Congressional approval for $140M of Public Works, Encouraged industrialists to maintain wage rates, tried to bail out the banks through the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and relied on charitable donations to help the unemployed.
It was not enough because Hoover relied on the private sector to sort things out as opposed to using the full power of the Federal Government. It was also done too late, Depression was in full effect.
What was the Scopes Trial?
A Tennessee high school teacher (John Scopes) was charged with violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which prohibited teaching evolution in public schools, sparking a national debate about religion and science