APUSH Roaring Twenties Key Terms

Andrew W. Mellon
(1855-1937) An American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector and Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932. -> Mellon Plan (reduce taxes + efficiency in government)

Federal Trade Commission
(est. 1914) An agency established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act. Its mission was the promotion of “consumer protection” and the elimination of “anti-competitive” businesses (i.e. trusts)

Albert Fall
(1861-1944) US Senator (NM) and Secretary of Interior under President Warren Harding, notorious for his involvement in the Teapot Dome scandal where he accepted bribes over oil-rich lands near Teapot Rock.

“welfare capitalism”
(early 20th century) The practice of businesses providing welfare-like services to employees: health care, housing, pensions and even sports teams.

Hawley-Smoot Tariff
(1930) An act signed into law on June 17, 1930, that raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods to record levels. This particular tariff contributed to the Great Depression.

Washington Conference
(1921) aka Washington Arms Conference, it was called by President Warren Harding and held in Washington from November 12, 1921 – February 6, 1922.

“Buy now, pay later”
A popular marketing motto that led consumer credit.

“flapper”
(etym. 1920) This term described a “new breed” of women who wore short skirts, bobbed their hair, and listened to jazz. The term comes from the popular Frances Marion movie, The Flapper.

General Motors
(est. 1908) Founded in Flint, Michigan and controlled by William C. Durant. By the late 1920s, GM surpassed Ford thanks to consumer financing via GMAC (est. 1919) which allowed customers purchase by credit.

The Jazz Singer
(1927) The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era.

Babe Ruth
(1895-1948) American MLB player from 1914-1935. He is one of the greatest sports heroes of American culture particularly known in the “Roaring Twenties” and was integral in making baseball popular.

Charles Lindbergh
(1902-1974) An American aviator famous for his nonstop flight from Roosevelt Field, NYC to Le Bourget Field, Paris in his plane Spirit of St. Louis on May 20-21, 1927. He won both the Orteig Prize as well as Medal of Honor.

1920 census
The 14th US Census conducted from January to February 1920. It determined the population to be 106 million, a 15% increase from the 92 million enumerated during the 1910 census.

Ku Klux Klan
A secret organization made popular by D.W. Griffin’s Birth of a Nation (1915). They were anti – F/C/B/J/P/C/I/R/B/G/A/B-C.

The KKK was nearly destroyed by the David Stephenson (IN) scandal.

1924 National Origins Act
aka. Immigration Act of 1924, a US federal law that limited the immigrants of any country to 2% of the number of people from that country who were already living in the United States in 1890.

American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU)
(est. 1920) Based off of the National Civil Liberties Bureau formed during WWI, it was founded in 1920 by Crystal Eastman et al. The ACLU’s mission is to defend the constitutional rights of every individual.

John T. Scopes
(1900-1970) Teacher in Dayton, Tennessee who violated TN’s Butler Act in 1925 by teaching evolution. His case led to the Scopes Monkey Trial (1926) which revolutionized the teaching of science nationwide.

“lost generation”
(WWI) More generally, the term is used for the generation of young people coming of age in the United States during and shortly after World War I. They include Hemingway and Fitzgerald.

The Crisis
(1910) The official magazine of the NAACP founded by WEB DuBois in 1910. It published the works of many young African-American writers associated with the Harlem Renaissance.

Marcus Garvey
(1887-1940) Founder of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). He advocated Garveyism, a Pan-African philosophy to inspire a global mass movement focusing on Africa.

Speakeasies
(1920-1932) A speakeasy was an establishment which illegally sold alcoholic beverages during the Prohibition (1920–1932).