AP US History

Chapter

31

Study
Guide

Name______________________________________

Period_________

American Life in the Roaring Twenties

1920-1929

Terms and Names: Define each term with complete sentences, using your own words
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
I.
J.

Palmers round-ups
Bible Belt
Horace Kallen/Randolph Bournes views
18th Amendment/Volstead Act
Bootleggers
Al Capone
Hiram W. Evans
Fundamentalists
The Man Nobody Knows
George H. Ruth/Jack Dempsey

K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
P.
Q.
R.
S.

Guglielmo Marconi
Birth of a Nation
Al Jolson/The Jazz Singer
Margaret Sanger
Alice Paul/ERA
Harlem Renaissance
Marcus Garvey
UNIA
Andrew Mellon

Short Answer: Carefully answer each question in paragraph form, using information from the text. It
is best if you can put it in your own words.

1.Describe the background leading to the red scare of 1919-1920. How did states, conservative
businessmen react to the scare? How did the Sacco and Vanzetti case reflect the times?
2.Explain the revival of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1920s. What circumstances contributed to its abrupt
decline?
3.How did America react to the flood of immigrants following WWI? How did the Quota Act of 1921 differ
from the Immigration Act of 1924? How did the quota system stand as a departure from previous
policy? Explain reactions to this policy.
4.Why did prohibition find support in the south and west? What about cities? Why were people nave
about the difficulties in enforcing prohibition? How did people get around it? Was the experiment a
complete failure?
5.Describe the rise of rival gangs in cities due to prohibition. What kinds of businesses did they branch
into besides selling alcohol?
6.Discuss the Scopes Monkey Trial, its major players, the historic clash it presented, and the outcomes,
short and long term.
7.What contributed to the growing prosperity of the early 1920s? What was the nations new love affair
What role did advertising play? How did the use of credit run contrary to tradition?
8.Describe Henry Fords revolution in the automobile industry, and transforming Detroit into the motorcar
capital. Discuss his methods and accomplishments.

9.What new industries emerged in support of the infant automobile industry? How many did these
employ? Describe the good and bad social by-products of the automobile revolution.
10. Make a timeline identifying the beginning steps of American aviation. What effect did Charles
Lindbergh have on the American spirit and identity? How did it impact older methods of
transportation?
11. Describe the contributions the radio made to advertising, family life, entertainment, education, and
culture. Why did Hollywood become the capital of the new movie industry? How did the movies
become a battle of moral beliefs? How did censorship become involved? Were stars popular?
12. The 1920s were a time of cultural change. Describe the place of each of the following in reflecting
the changes: flappers, sexual allure, Dr. Sigmund Freud, Jazz, and the Harlem Renaissance.
13. Construct a chart showing all the major writers of the twenties, their major works, and subject matter.
14. Describe the growing crisis that the American economic system faced in the late twenties. What
contributed to this problem, and what was the governments reaction to the issue?