APUSH Unit IX

America Between the Wars

1920-1941

By: Michael Kraft (1-5), Adam Stark (6-9), Brian Reitz (10-13), Eric May (14-
17) Demi Adejuyigbe (18-21), Ragini Mistry (22-25), Gokul Mani (26-29),
Tiffany Shieh (30-33), Tanya Srivastava and Charles Basile (34-37) Tom
Caligiuri (38-41), Vivek Mohan (42-45), Pierce McSwiggan (46-49), Igor
Kushner (50-53), Nikhil (54-57), Saud Ahmed (58-61), Michelle Samadzada
(62-65), Max Glover (66-69), Chris Russell (70-75)

*disclaimer*- There may be errors in this review. If you think something’s

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1. John Dewey- The primary figure in America's progressive education

movement. He thought that good education would aide in social reform of
America. One of the founders of the New School of Social Research.
2. Progressive Education- Education that was to be connected to real life
and combined with practical experience. The tradition of authoritarian
learning was abandoned, and problem solving and creativity was given
more emphasis. This philosophy was developed by Dewey, and explained
by his influential work, The School and Society.
3. Henry Ford- Inventor of the assembly line and the first manufacturer to
produce cheap cars for the masses. His new Model-T cost 1/3 the price of
earlier cars. He gained a bad reputation for his mistreatment of workers,
combating unions, blaming the Depression on the laziness of the masses,
and his blatant anti-Semitism.
4. Charles Lindbergh- Flew across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in The
Spirit of St. Louis, becoming a worldwide celebrity and a symbol of
American ambition. His 19-month son was kidnapped and murdered, and
Bruno Hauptmann was executed for the crime. It is unclear if he was
guilty. The Lindberg Law was passed as a result of the kidnapping.
Lindbergh was an anti-Semite, and believed that Germany was militarily
superior to the US before WWII.
5. The "Lost Generation"- A group of disillusioned American authors who
lived in Europe. These authors were often veterans of WWI, and were
disenchanted with the modern world. This phrase was first seen in Ernest
Hemingway's novel The Sun Also Rises.
6. H.L. Mencken- as editor, newspaperman, iconoclastic critic, and literary
stylist, was a liberalizing influence on American literature and social
thought through the years before and after World War I. After 1930, his
conservative political views tended to take over. In his late years, he
produced a much admired autobiography.
7. F. Scott Fitzgerald- Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald is best known as the
voice of the 1920s. While his artistic reputation rests most securely on
The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald produced works, such as This Side of
Paradise and Tender Is the Night, that have become equally a part of the
myth of America's Jazz Age.
8. Sinclair Lewis- Harry Sinclair Lewis, the first American writer to win the
Nobel Prize for literature, added a new realism to the depiction of life in
middle America. His keen ear for the spoken word and his strong satiric
sense marked such classic novels as Main Street, Babbitt, and Elmer
Gantry. In particular, Main Street was a satire on the small town life.
9. Ernest Hemingway- Ernest Miller Hemingway, author of such classics as
The Sun Also Rises, A Farewell to Arms, and For Whom the Bell Tolls, is
regarded as the quintessential American novelist and one of the great
prose stylists writing in English in the first half of the 20th century. He was
part of the Lost Generation of authors. He committed suicide in 1961.
10. William Faulkner- one of America’s greatest novelists, Faulkner
predominantly depicted the tragic lives of a people inhabiting a fictional
county in rural Mississippi. (He wrote a Rose for Emily, for those of you
enrolled in AP English.) In 1949, he won a Nobel Peace Prize for
Literature.
11. Langston Hughes- a prominent playwriter, poet, and novelist, Hughes is
most known for his depiction of the black experience in Amercia during the
Harlem Renaissance. His most known work is the poem “The Negro
Speaks of Rivers."
12. Harlem Renaissance- a time of cultural revival for African Americans
concurrent with the Jazz Age in the 1920s. Many African Americans
wished for better lives than the ones they were living in the South, so they
migrated north. Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City, is the most
famous enclave of African Americans.
13. "flappers"- a term applied to conventional women of the 1920s. Flappers
were women who renounced their “womanly values.” Attributes of a
“flapper” are smoking and drinking publically, cutting their hair short, and
adapting a comfortable/slightly revealing clothing style.
14. Rosewood, Florida – Location of the Rosewood Massacre that occurred
in 1923, in which white mobs made up of KKK members set fire to the
town and went on a terror spree lynching over 100 black individuals. This
rage was inspired from reports that a black man had sexually assaulted
Fanny Taylor, a prominent white woman, and that the perpetrator was
hiding within Rosewood.
15. Tulsa Race Riot – Occurring in 1921, it is believed to be the worst day of
civil violence in American History. After the failed hanging of African
American Dick Rowl, a white supremacist army emerged destroying over
1000 homes and businesses, eventually burning down the entire town.
The city had to be placed under armed marital law so that the entire
population of blacks weren’t killed.
16. Ku Klux Klan – A white supremacy group taking prominence in the 1920s
that was noted for their radical means of getting their point across
politically. They are often personified for their use of all white ghost
costumes with pointed hoods, covering their entire bodies, as well as their
outspoken hate for all non-white Christian’s but most notably African
Americans.
17. Mitchell Palmer- The Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to
1921, whom was most notable for his creation of the Palmer Raids. These
encompassed the United States Department of Justice and INS using
violent and questionable authority to obtain people suspected of being
communists.
18. Red Scare- The idea that communism was a threat, and would soon take
over the United States. The first Red Scare occurred during the late
1910s, during and after World War I. The second Red Scare occurred
after and during WWII, in the 1940s and 1950s.
19. Sacco and Vanzetti- Sacco and Vanzetti were two Italian anarchists who,
in the 1920s, were executed for purportedly robbing and murdering a
driver while armed. They were found guilty for having anarchist papers in
their pockets, but the trial is famous because they were Italian, leading
many to believe they were executed as part of a rise in nativism.
20. Emergency Quota Act- This act, passed in 1921, limited the amount of
people that could be admitted from any country to 3% of all immigrants of
said country that were currently living in the US. (e.g., if 100,000 Germans
lived in the US, only 30,000 Germans would be allowed to enter the US
after the fact.) This was also known as the Johnson Quota Act.
21. Immigration Quota Act- Passed in 1924, this act was a successor to the
Emergency Quota Act that did the same thing, but changed the law from
3% to 2%, and excluded the immigration of Asians.
22. Fundamentalism- The ideology was spread by conservative evangelical
Protestants who promoted a new vision of religion after 1920. From the
theological point of view, it reflects the pious belief in the literal word of
God in the Bible, the virgin birth of Jesus, the authenticity of miracles and
the death/resurrection of Jesus leading to personal salvation.
Fundamentalists also believed in the spiritual renewal of conversion (“born
again”) and in moral values. They also opposed cultural changes that
threatened their beliefs such as evolution. They rejected Darwin’s theory
of evolution. They also feared that “modernism” was undermining their
moral and social order. To counter modernism, some Christian groups
circulated pamphlets between 1910 and 1915 known as The
Fundamentals, in which they defended Christian teachings (ex. the
accuracy of the Bible) and the importance of conversion and preparation
for the second coming of Jesus.
23. John T. Scopes- He was the subject of the Scopes trial that was termed
as “the trial of the century.” In 1925, Tennessee made it illegal to teach
evolution in school. John T. Scopes was a substitute biology teacher and
 assigned readings from Civic Biology (a banned book). He did this in order
to test the new law.
24. Clarence Darrow- He was a brilliant lawyer who defended the “common
person” in a number of cases involving labor leaders, poor people and
African Americans. He established legal precedents and led to the
questioning of the freedom of speech, civil rights and capital punishment.
He is well known for the Leopold and Loeb trials and the Scopes trial.
25. William Jennings Bryan- He was the “great commoner.” He defended
the poor against the rich and promoted reform and humanitarianism. He
was the voice of the Democratic party during the turn of the 20th century.
He gave the “cross of gold” speech that advocated the use of free silver.
This action led him to win the Democratic presidential nomination and he
gained the support of the Populists. After three failed attempts at
presidency, he threw his support behind Woodrow Wilson in the
Democratic Convention in 1912 and was later named Secretary of State
after Wilson won the presidency. Bryan was also against joining WWI
because he was a pacifist. He remained a proponent of many causes
such as prohibition, a graduated income tax, women’s suffrage, and world
peace and disarmament. He was also a fundamentalist, and was the
prosecutor in the Scopes trial.
26.Volstead Act-
th
27. 18 Amendment-
28.Prohibition-
29.Al Capone-
30. Bootlegging- Between the ages of 1920 and 1923 the government made
distribution of alcohol illegal which made gangs go toward “bootlegging”
which was the illegal distribution and production of alcohol. Most famous
person to do this is Al Capone.
31. “Speakeasies”- formed as a result of the 18th amendment taking place in
order to get around law enforcements. They were gangs of people that
sold/distributed illegal alcohol to other people.
32. Warren Harding-Republican president between the years of 1921-1923.
Was blamed for a rampant corruption in his administration and suffered
from a heart attack and died in which the vice president Calvin Coolidge
had saved Harding from the confronting confrontations of his friends
during his administrations. The most successful foreign policy
accomplishment that he had made was the naval disarmament where
Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, and the United States agreed to a 10-
year moratorium on the construction of capital ships.
33. Charles Evans Hughes- Was appointed Secretary of State by President
Harding In 1921, he later served as a judge of the Permanent Court of
Arbitration and also the Permanent Court of International Justice before
President Herbert Hoover appointed him chief justice of the United States
in 1930.
34. Andrew Mellon- was a wealthy industrialist and financer. He also served
as the secretary of treasury during the Republican administrations of
Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. He was one of the wealthiest men in the
world, but wasn’t known by many people. He spent about 40 years
building up his financial-industrial empire. He lowered individual and
corporate tax rates and substantially cut the federal budget, significantly
lowered national debt. His policies were, however, disliked by many
Americans. He was also involved repayment arrangements for WWI. He
resigned in 1932, and became an ambassador to Great Britain.
35. Albert Fall- Appointed by President Harding to be Secretary of the
Interior, and turned out to be corrupt and took several hundred thousand
dollar bribes for prime oil reserves, was sentenced for a year in jail for this.
36. Teapot Dome Scandal- took place during Warren Harding’s presidency. A
controversy was created when congress allowed the secretary of navy to
lease government owned oil reserves to private companies. This power
was later transferred to the Department of Interior, headed by Albert Fall.
Fall leased the Teapot Dome in Wyoming, and Elkin Hills in California, for
which he received cash gifts and no-interest loans. When this was
investigated by congress, Fall resigned and Harding was accused of
oversight, which led to his death in 1923 before the investigation was
complete.
37. Calvin Coolidge- President of the United States from President Harding's
death in 1923 to the end of his term in 1928. With his no nonsense
demeanor, and his intensive probing into the scandals of the previous
republicans, he escaped association with the shady deals of the
Republican Party. He was not an isolationist; however he did try and keep
America out of foreign alliances & succeeded. Several notable political
actions include, the vetoing of the McNary-Haugen Farm Relief bill, which
postulated that the government buy up excess farm goods and sell them,
making up for the loss with a special tax on farmers, the passing of the
Indian Citizenship Act, and the Immigration Act of 1924. He reduced taxes
and a great sum of the national debt, but he failed to control business
speculations which led to the Great stock market crash a few moths post
his presidency that put the U.S into the Great Depression.
38. Al Smith-Hoover's Democratic opponent, who was disliked by many for his
religion, Roman Catholicism, and favoring the repeal of prohibition, both
factors which helped Hoover win the election.
39. Herbert Hoover- A Republican President elected in 1928, who, in the eyes
of the country, failed to do anything about the Great Depression and lost a
second term to Roosevelt.
40. Hawley-Smoot Tariff- Was a tariff passed into law on June 17, 1930, that
raised tariffs on many imported goods. This led to other countries raising
their tariffs in response, and may have been a major cause of the
Depression
41. Black Friday- October 25, 1929, The day after the original plummet of
stocks when prominent bankers met to decide how to deal with the crisis
42. Reconstruction Finance Corp. – Herbert Hoover created the RFC in 1932
which loaned money to railroads and banks. (Shows Hoover’s support for
big corporations, with a lack of support for the poor.) The stated purpose
of the RFC was “to provide emergency financing facilities for financial
institutions; to aid in financing agriculture, commerce, and industry; to
purchase preferred stock, capital notes, or debentures of banks and trust
companies; and to make loans and allocations of its funds as prescribed
by law.” The RFC participated in the economic stability later on.

43. Bonus Army (Bonus Expeditionary Force) – Comprised of former WWI

infantrymen, many who were combat veterans, these 25,000 men
assembled in army fashion in front of Congress for “bonuses” promised to
them by Congress from the war. They needed these bonuses to practically
survive in the worst year of the depression: 1932. Hoover and Congress
didn’t really care, but instead of meeting with the BEF, they sent troops to
charge against the BEF, which was also comprised of innocent civilians.
See DKMAH page 347 for specific information about the “battle”.

44. Franklin D. Roosevelt – Read Module 5 for more about FDR. Did much
good for the American economy before and during the depression, and
restored hope in the economy for Americans. His fireside chats greatly
involved the American public, while he also challenged Tammany Hall. In
1932, when he was elected, promised the American people a New Deal,
or a fresh start. He immediately had an emergency meeting with
Congress, and later they issued a bill to close all of the nations’ banks.
Roosevelt also took the nation off the gold standard and devalued the
currency by 40% to make American goods more competitive abroad, raise
prices of goods at home, and reduce individual debt. In 1933, he made a
lot of civilian acts to provide temporary relief jobs. He made many more
contributions to America, giving her a real New Deal.

45. Eleanor Roosevelt – A selfless woman, she did social service on the
streets of New York starting in 1905. She was suppressed by family and
the public, but didn’t give in, for her family and well being of society were
most important for her. When she found out her husband was having an
affair with another woman at the end of WWI, she made an identity of her
own. She worked in the slums, visited workers in mines and factories, held
press conferences, and wrote a newspaper column. She also strongly
supported ethical rights for African Americans. She also visited American
troops during WWII. She was one of the greatest women in American
history who helped others.

46. Father Coughlin- Canadian born preacher that used the radio to reach his
audiences. He supported Roosevelt during his run for president and his
new deal reforms.
47. Huey P. Long- was a socialist and created the Share Our Wealth program,
which proposed wealth distribution in the form of net asset income, to help
decrease poverty and crime during the great depression.
48. New Deal- the goal of this stimulus program by Roosevelt was to recover
the economy during the Great Depression, reform business and financial
practices, and provide relief to the unemployed. Roosevelt used 'fireside
chats' to calm the fears of the nation. An 'alphabet soup' of federal
agencies were made to aide the public; some saw these actions as
communistic.
49. The “three R's”- are Franklin Roosevelt’s reform (Permanent programs to
avoid another depression), recovery (programs to restart the flow of
consumer demand), and relief (action taken to halt the financial
deterioration) in his New Deal plan.
50. Brain Trust- Hired by Roosevelt, the Brain Trust was a group of college
professors. The group consisted of Rexford Tugwell, Adolph Berle Jr., and
Raymond Moley. Roosevelt was confident that he would win presidency
so he began preparing early by hiring the Brain Trust to assist him in
dealing with national crisis once he was in office.
51. Hundred Days- The first one hundred days of Roosevelt’s presidency in
which a session of Congress was called that began on March 9, 1933, and
ended on June 16. The period was known as the Hundred Days because
more legislation was passed than any other comparable period in U.S.
History. The Hundred Days resulted in the creation of the New Deal.
52. Glass-Steagall Banking Act-The act was established by Roosevelt during
the Hundred Days. With the support of American bankers the act easily
passed through Congress. The act implemented reforms in the Federal
Reserve System and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC). The act also separated investment and commercial banking
activities.
53. FDIC- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was established as an
independent agency by the federal government in 1933 to boost the public
faith in the banking system. The purpose of the FDIC was to keep the
confidence in banks, protect the supply of money by providing insurance
for bank deposits, and periodic examinations of banks the agency insures.
54. Civilian Conservation Corps-a public work relief program for unemployed
men, focused on natural resource conservation from 1933 to 1942. As part
of the New Deal legislation proposed by U.S. President Franklin D.
Roosevelt (FDR), the CCC was designed first, to aid relief of high
unemployment stemming from the Great Depression and secondly, carry
out a broad natural resource conservation program on national, state and
municipal lands.
55. Works Progress Admin.- the largest New Deal agency, employing millions
of people and affecting most every locality in the United States, especially
rural and western mountain populations. the WPA provided jobs and
income to the unemployed during the Great Depression in the United
States. The program built many public buildings, projects and roads and
 operated large arts, drama, media and literacy projects. It fed children and
redistributed food, clothing and housing.
56. National Recovery Act- It authorized the President to regulate banks, and
attempt to stimulate the United States economy to recover from the Great
Depression. To do this it established the National Recovery Administration
and the entirely separate Public Works Administration
57. Public Works Admin.- It allowed $3.3 billion to be spent on the
construction of public works to provide employment, stabilize purchasing
power, improve public welfare, and contribute to a revival of American
industry.
58. Schechter Case- Known as the “Sick Chicken Case”, it was officially
named A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States. The case ensued
when Schechter fixed prices and wages in it’s poultry factories. The prices
were in regards to whole chickens, but it wasn’t stipulated as to whether or
not they were healthy. The case also addressed laws regarding the
maximum hours of work, and the rights of unions to organize. The whole
point of the case was to determine whether Schechter was participating
in unfair competition. It was decided, by Chief Justice Charles E. Hughes,
that the limits of competition were to be decided, on a case-by-case basis,
by the people residing in the business’ target area. As Shechter Corp had
limited inter-state commerce, it was deemed innappropriate to use federal
law. And finally, there was no proof in regards to whether or not Schechter
actually ever sold a “Sick Chicken”.
59. Agricultural Adjustment Agency- Also known as the AAA: one of many
“Alphabet Agencies” of the time period. Created by the Agricultural
Adjustment Act of May 12 ,1933, the AAA aimed to create some stability
among American farmers, mainly by restricting the acreage planted, as
well as by subsidizing farmers who did so. This ensured that there were
fewer surpluses, and prices would be sustainable.
60. Dust Bowl- A period in which sever dust storms occurred in the croplands
of the US. A particularly nasty drought, compounded by decades of
shoddy crop-rotation practices resulted in the loosening of soil and seed
both. This caused huge losses in crops and money, resulting in starvation,
as well as ruined land.
61. Securities Exchange Commission-After the stock market collapse of 1929,
Congress conducted hearings to determine why the crash had occurred,
and what could be done to avoid similar crashes in the future. The primary
goals also included restoring the public’s faith in the capital markets. In
order to do this, Congress passed the Securities Act in the year 1933, the
worst year of the Great Depression. In addition, Congress passed the
Securities Exchange Law of 1934, the Law that actually created the
Securities Exchange Commission, or SEC. The purpose of these two
pieces of legislation was to provide investors and the market with reliable
data, as well as clearly define the rules of honest dealing.
62. Tennessee Valley Authority- created by congress in 1933 as a publicly
owned utility corporation. Purpose: to harness the power of the Tennessee
 River for creating electricity for undeveloped region. Before act, ricer was
virtually uncontrollable (dry during the summer & floods in spring) Most
successful programs among Franklin Roosevelt. Resulted in construction
of hydroelectric power stations and prod. & Distribution of fertilizers.
Provided for irrigation, flood control, recreational facilities. Main purpose is
to provide electricity.
63. Federal Housing Authority- Congress approved the Housing Act of 1937. It
established the U.S Housing Authority and authorized it to make loans to
public agencies for housing development.
64. Social Security- federal program that helps to support millions of retired or
disabled people by paying them a monthly stipend. Created in 1935, the
fund is financed through payroll taxes on both employers and employees.
65. Wagner Act- (a.k.a National Labor Relations Act) Enacted on July 5, 1935.
Set the stage for the development of collective bargaining for labor
organizations during the 1930s. It was an act to diminish the causes of
labor disputes burdening interstate and foreign commerce. One of the key
pieces of legislation during the New Deal, this act created the National
Labor Relations Board, which heard thousands of cases of unfair labor
practices. The passage of this law elevated the standing of labor unions
across the country.
66. National Labor Relations Board- the NLRB is a government-sponsored
agency that carries out elections for representation of labor unions and
also investigates unfair labor practices. Previous to it’s creation, the
National Labor Board, a predecessor, was set up by the National Industrial
Recovery Act in 1933.
67. Twentieth Amendment- The main purpose of this amendment was to
reduce the time gap between the Election Day and the beginning of the
next President’s term.
68. Twenty First Amendment- This amendment made action to revoke the 18th
Amendment. The literal phrasing of the amendment says “The eighteenth
article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby
repealed.” It basically made the prohibition laws pertain solely to the laws
of state legislatures.
69. Court Packing Scheme- Also known as the Judiciary Reorganization Bill of
1937, this program was designed and proposed by President Franklin
Roosevelt as a means of renovating the federal court system. It would
bestow executive power to appoint an extra justice to all the very old
judges, up to 6 maximum. In the end, this proposal failed to pass through
the Senate.
70. “Roosevelt Coalition”- AKA the New Deal, Franklin Roosevelt,
implemented 1933 (after start of Great Depression). Had many sub-parts
to it to stimulate the economy. It is debated over the actual success of the
programs; however, overall it is agreed that the true fixing of the economy
came after the start of WWII and that the American public loved and
supported the idea of the New Deal.
 71. Isolationism- A foreign nation policy to avoid long term world involvement
in politics and military that are out of the home state.
72. Washington Conference- A meeting hosted by the US from 1921 -1922.
The goal of the meeting was to cut back on the naval arms race in the
Pacific Ocean. 3 major treaties: Four-Power Treaty, Five-Power Treaty,
and Nine-Power Treaty.
A. 4= Great Britain, US, France, Japan – if any future crisis occurred
in East Asia, they consult each other before taking action.
B. 5 = GB, US, France, Japan, Italy – set a ratio of warship tonnage in
the Pacific (GB &US=500,000 tons; Japan=300,000; France &
Italy= 175,000), Article XIX – recognizes US, GB, and Japan’s
naval bases in Pacific but bans the expansion of them.
C. 9 = GB, US, France, Japan, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands,
Portugal, and China – marked internationalization of the US’s Open
Door Policy, all signers would respect the territorial integrity of
China, and similar to A, above, consulting must be done before
action, thus leading to no true enforcement of the laws.
73. Dawes Plan- 1922, Charles Gates Dawes, as the chairman of a
commission, writes up a plan that calls for a graduated schedule of
reparation payments and a large foreign loan to Germany.
74. Kellogg-Briand Pact- AKA: The Pact of Paris. Signed August 27, 1928 at,
you’ll never guess…PARIS. Attempted to make war illegal, but had many
loopholes and no power to really enforce it, so it failed.
75. Good Neighbor Policy-implemented during Herbert Hoover’s presidency,
this policy was aimed at the non-intervention in Latin American affairs.
This allowed good terms between the two during WWII.

• To what extent did the urban/rural conflict over social values, both real and
imagined, bring about changes in American politics and society in the
1920s?
• To what extent were the laissez-faire policies of the U.S. government in the
1920s responsible for the Great Depression of the 1930s?
• To what extent were the federally-sponsored programs of the New Deal
effective in combating the social and economic maladies of the Great
Depression?
• To what extent did the United States adopt an isolationist foreign policy in
the 1920s and 1930s?