CH 23 Reading Quiz

Which novel of the era satirized the conformity of the American middle class?

Babbitt

Which man was both a professional baseball player and an influential evangelist during the 1920s?

Billy Sunday

How did postwar conditions explain Warren Harding's landslide victory in the 1920 presidential election?

By the time of the 1920 election, the United States was tired and traumatized by the events of the past year. The nation had fought a brutal war, with veterans bringing home their own scars and troubles, and it had suffered domestically as well. Economic uncertainty and shortages, violent racial conflicts, fear of a Communist takeover, and a deadly flu pandemic had left Americans overwhelmed and unhappy. They did not seek new Progressive ideals, they did not want to be the world's policeman, and they did not want to destabilize what already felt unsteady. By choosing a reassuring-looking candidate who promised to bring things "back to normal," Americans squarely voted to hunker down, nurse their wounds, and try to enjoy themselves.

Who was the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?

Charles Lindbergh

The Scopes Monkey Trial revolved around a law that banned teaching about ________ in public schools.

Darwinism

Which amendment did Alice Paul promote to end gender discrimination?

Equal Rights Amendment

How did Henry Ford transform the automobile industry

Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile industry by making the car affordable to the average person. In order to accomplish this, he refused to allow workers to unionize, instituted an eight-hour workday, raised workers' wages, promoted equal pay for black and white workers and for women; and used assembly lines to facilitate production. The automobile thus became a symbol of middle-class life, rather than a luxury good available only to the wealthy.

What barriers did Wilson face in his efforts to ratify the Treaty of Versailles? What objections did those opposed to the treaty voice?

In order to ratify the Treaty of Versailles, Wilson needed to ensure a two-thirds approval by the U.S. Senate, which meant overcoming the objections of a majority of Senate Republicans. Isolationists, most notably Henry Cabot Lodge, worried that the treaty's Article X would oblige the United States to intervene extensively in international affairs. Interventionists, alternatively, argued that Article X would prevent the United States from using its military might to protect its interests abroad. Ultimately, Congress defeated both the originally worded treaty and a later version that included amendments. As a result, the United States never officially signed the treaty nor joined the League of Nations.

What was the economic outlook of the average American when Herbert Hoover took office in 1929?

Most Americans believed that their prosperity would continue. The stock market continued to flourish, prompting many Americans—including those who had never done so before—to invest their savings and hope for the best.

What of the following was not used to control American dissent against the war effort?

National Civil Liberties Bureau

In 1929, Albert Fall was convicted of bribery while holding the position of ________.

Secretary of the Interior

The popularization of which psychologist's ideas encouraged the new morality of the 1920s?

Sigmund Freud

What was the Harlem Renaissance, and who were some of the most famous participants?

The Harlem Renaissance was a rediscovery and celebration of black culture and race pride. Within this context, black literature and art flourished. Writers such as Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston created fiction and poetry that spoke directly to the experiences of black Americans. Meanwhile, black scholars and political leaders, such as W. E. B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey, created new social and political ideologies and defined a distinct national identity for African Americans.

Which of the following films released in 1927 was the first successful talking motion picture?

The Jazz Singer

Why was prohibition's success short-lived?

The ban on alcohol did not take effect until one year after the war, when the public sentiments that had eased its passage began to wane. The law proved difficult to enforce, as ever-greater numbers of Americans began to defy it. Organized crime's involvement in the illegal liquor trade made enforcement even more difficult and the procurement of alcohol more dangerous. All of these elements led to the law's repeal in 1933.

How did the government work to ensure unity on the home front, and why did Wilson feel that this was so important?

The government took a number of steps to ensure that Americans supported the war effort. Congress passed several laws, including the Trading with the Enemy Act, the Espionage Act, the Sedition Act, and the Alien Act, all intended to criminalize dissent against the war. The government also encouraged private citizens to identify and report potential disloyalty among their neighbors, teachers, and others, including those who spoke out against the war and the draft for religious reasons. Wilson believed these steps were necessary to prevent divided loyalties, given the many recent immigrants living in the United States who maintained ties to European nations on both sides of the conflict.

Why did the prohibition amendment fail after its adoption in 1919?

The prohibition amendment failed due to its infeasibility. It lacked both public support and funds for its enforcement. It also lessened Americans' respect for law and order, and sparked a rise in unlawful activities, such as illegal alcohol production and organized crime.

What was the platform of the Second Ku Klux Klan, and in what activities did they engage to promote it?

The reincarnated Ku Klux Klan championed an anti-black, anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic, and anti-Jewish philosophy, and promoted the spread of Protestant beliefs. The Klan publicly denounced the groups they despised and continued to engage in activities such as cross-burning, violence, and intimidation, despite their public commitment to nonviolent tactics. Women's groups within the Klan also participated in various types of reform, such as advocating the prohibition of alcohol and distributing Bibles in public schools.

Who was the Republican presidential nominee for the 1920 election?

Warren Harding

In order to pursue his goal of using American influence overseas only when it was a moral imperative, Wilson put which man in the position of Secretary of State?

William Jennings Bryan

To what extent were Woodrow Wilson's actual foreign policy decisions consistent with his foreign policy philosophy or vision?

Wilson's foreign policy goal was to minimize American involvement abroad and use a less imperialistic approach than the presidents before him. Rather than being guided by America's self-interest, he hoped to enact a policy based on moral decisions, acting only when it was morally imperative. In practice, however, Wilson found himself, especially in South and Central America, following the steps of other, more interventionist presidents. He sent troops into Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Cuba, often to ensure that America's interests were met. In Asia and Mexico, Wilson also found it difficult to remain outside of world affairs without jeopardizing America's interests.

neutrality

Woodrow Wilson's policy of maintaining commercial ties with all belligerents and insisting on open markets throughout Europe during World War I

Flapper

Young women of the 1920s that behaved and dressed in a radical fashion

Which of the following was not included in the Treaty of Versailles?

a curtailment of German immigration to Allied nations

Which of the following was not a destabilizing factor immediately following the end of the war?

a women's liberation movement

Why did the war not increase overall prosperity?

because inflation made the cost of living higher

Why was the German use of the unterseeboot considered to defy international law?

because they refused to warn their targets before firing

The popularization of ________ expanded the communications and sports industries.

radios

Coolidge's presidency was characterized by ________.

silence and inactivity

Which of the following was not enacted in order to secure men and materials for the war effort?

the Sedition Act

What was Article X in the Treaty of Versailles?

the agreement that all nations in the League of Nations would be rendered equal

What was the inciting event that led to the Chicago Race Riot of 1919?

the murder of a black boy who swam too close to a white beach

Which of the following did not influence the eventual passage of the Nineteenth Amendment?

the passage of the Volstead Act

Zimmermann Telegram

the telegram sent from German foreign minister Arthur Zimmermann to the German ambassador in Mexico, which invited Mexico to fight alongside Germany should the United States enter World War I on the side of the Allies

Red Scare

the term used to describe the fear that Americans felt about the possibility of a Bolshevik revolution in the United States; fear over Communist infiltrators led Americans to restrict and discriminate against any forms of radical dissent, whether Communist or not