POLITICAL IDEOLOGY & POWER
This campaign phrase reflected post–World War I exhaustion and shaped Republican victories in the 1920s.
What is “return to normalcy”? Warren G. Harding
This production method transformed industry and consumer access to goods.
What is mass production?
This new technology created a shared national culture.
What is radio?
This period reflected fear of communism and radical political ideas.
What is the Red Scare?
How did mass production contribute to consumerism?
It lowered prices and increased availability of goods, encouraging people to buy more.
Explain how pro-business Republican policies contributed to both economic growth and long-term economic weaknesses.
What is that low taxes and limited regulation encouraged expansion and consumer growth, but a lack of oversight contributed to uneven prosperity and instability?
Explain how the automobile reshaped both geography and social life in the 1920s.
What is that it caused urban sprawl, expanded suburbs, increased mobility, and boosted related industries?
This music genre symbolized modernity and cultural change.
What is jazz?
These government actions resulted in arrests and deportations without full legal protections.
What are the Palmer Raids?
Explain one way technology changed daily life.
Automobiles increased mobility OR radios created shared national culture.
This scandal revealed tensions between political favoritism and public trust in government.
What is the Teapot Dome scandal?
Analyze how the installment plan contributed to both prosperity and risk.
What is that it allowed more Americans to purchase goods, stimulating economic growth, but also increased personal debt and economic vulnerability?
Explain how Louis Armstrong helped shape American culture beyond music.
He popularized jazz nationwide and influenced broader acceptance of African American cultural contributions.
Explain how A. Mitchell Palmer justified his actions during the Red Scare.
He claimed he was protecting national security from radical threats.
How did flappers represent broader social change?
They challenged traditional gender roles and symbolized modern independence.
Compare the economic philosophy of 1920s Republicans to Progressive Era reformers.
What is that Republicans favored limited government and laissez-faire policies, while Progressives supported regulation and reform to control business practices?
How did consumerism reflect changing definitions of the “American Dream”?
What is that success became associated with material possessions rather than solely hard work or land ownership?
These writers critiqued materialism and disillusionment after World War I. Name one and explain their perspective.
Who is F. Scott Fitzgerald? (Critiqued excess and moral emptiness)
OR Who is Ernest Hemingway? (Expressed postwar disillusionment)
Analyze how nativism shaped immigration policy during the 1920s.
Fear of foreigners led to the quota system, limiting immigration based on national origin.
Explain one major contradiction of the 1920s.
Economic prosperity existed alongside fear, intolerance, and limits on civil liberties.
Evaluate the extent to which the federal government in the 1920s strengthened democracy.
While stability and economic growth expanded opportunity, corruption and violations of civil liberties during events like the Palmer Raids weakened democratic principles.
Assess whether 1920s prosperity was sustainable.
Prosperity appeared strong due to production and consumption, but uneven wealth distribution and overreliance on credit made it unstable.
Evaluate whether the cultural changes of the 1920s represented lasting transformation or temporary rebellion.
While some trends were temporary, broader shifts in gender roles, mass media, and national culture had lasting impact.
Evaluate whether fear during the Red Scare posed a greater threat to democracy than the radicals themselves.
What is that government overreach and civil liberty violations arguably posed a larger internal threat than the limited radical activity?
How did modernization contribute to the Red Scare?
Rapid social and political change created fear that traditional values were being threatened.