Review for the semester exam in US History

1. The 1920s

2. Red Scare
• fear of the spread of Communism
• The fear that communists were working to destroy the American way of life
during the decade of the 1920’s – this led to a fear of labor unions
What is Communism?
• Combination government and economic system where the government
makes all the economic decisions claiming it knows what is best for the
country as a whole
• A Communist Revolution takes place when the workers come together to
improve their working conditions by overthrowing the government that
allows the abuses by businesses to happen

3. Sacco and Vanzetti
• Sacco and Vanzetti were Italian
immigrants charged with murdering
a guard and robbing a shoe factory.
Why was their case so controversial
during the time period?
• Convicted on circumstantial
evidence, many believed they had
been framed for the crime because
of their anarchist and pro-union
activities.

4. Palmer Raids
a series of violent and abusive
law-enforcement raids directed at
leftist radicals and anarchists in
1919 and 1920.

5. Leftist Radicals
• during the time period, a way of
referring to people who favored
Communism or labor unions
Anarchists
• during the time period, a way of
referring to people who
supported the overthrow of
government
• usually associated with
Communists

6. Red Scare
Use WAVES…
What is the main idea of this
cartoon?
• communists want to destroy the
United States
Is this cartoon for against
Communism?
• against

7. Harlem Renaissance
• A flowering of African-American artistic creativity during the 1920’s
centered in the Harlem community of New York City.
• Part of the Jazz Age
The Harlem Renaissance

8. Women in the 1920s
The 19th Amendment
• ratified in 1920, women gained the right to
vote nationwide
Impact
• women were empowered and began to assert
their independence
• women started wearing short skirts and
bobbed hair
• they began to abandon traditional female roles
and take jobs usually reserved for menFlappers

9. The Great Migration
• African Americans would move
to the North, Midwest, and
West for jobs and to escape
racial segregation and violence
in the South
The Great Migration

10. Radio
• the most powerful communication
medium to emerge in the 1920’s:
information was more easily spread to
more people
• entertainment came into people’s
homes: American’s listened to music,
news, sports, westerns, dramas, and
soap operas
• They also heard commercials for a wide
variety of consumer products: people
learned of new products and where to
find them - consumerism

11. Prohibition
• Laws banning the manufacture,
transportation, and use of
alcoholic products
• “Anti-alcohol”
Groups supporting prohibition:
1. Progressives
2. Women
3. Evangelical protestants

12. Prohibition 18th Amendment (1920)
• Volstead Act: gave law enforcement the
authority to enforce the 18th
Amendment
Effects of banning alcohol
• Bootlegging (making your own)
• Speakeasies: secret bars
• Smuggling from Canada and the
Caribbean
• Rise of organized crime (ex. Al Capone)