unit 5: roaring twenties (1920-1929)

KEY TERMS:

Social Darwinism - belief that the problems people had were caused by inherited traits or genetics. The rich will survive while the poor will die out. "Survival of the Fittest"

Eugenics - aims to reduce human suffering by “breeding out” disease, disabilities and so-called undesirable characteristics from the human population. SELECTIVE BREEDING!!

Nativism - favoritism for native-born Americans. Typically associated with not liking immigrants due to economic fears

Red Scare - reaction not only to the communist revolution in Russia, but to the influx of Eastern & Southern immigrants into the United States in years leading up to WWI. FEAR OF COMMUNIST INFILTRATION OF THE U.S.

Prohibition - banning of alcohol via the 18th amendment which defined the era. Caused by fear that alcohol was ruining society & family life, wives getting beat by husband led the TEMPERance movement.

Genre - category of artistic composition,  in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

Assembly line - Introduced by Henry Ford & increased production of automobiles & workplace efficiency in business- By 1925, a car was assembled in less than 10 seconds. 

Manufacturing - making of articles on a large scale using machinery; industrial production.

Standard of Living - level of wealth, comfort, material goods, and necessities available 

Normalcy - getting back to normal life after the war. Harding’s slogan for economic prosperity at home.

Tin Pan Alley - musical ideas mixed together to form American Popular Music in New York City

Prosperity - condition of being successful or thriving especially : economic well-being.

Great Migration - mass migration of African Americans from the South (discrimination, oppression & segregation/Jim Crow Laws) to find industrial jobs in the North such as New York City, Detroit, & Chicago.

Harlem Renaissance - African American literature, art, music, dance, and social commentary began to flourish in Harlem, a section of New York City. (examples: Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Billie Holiday & Louis Armstrong)

Immigration Quotas - laws passed in the 1920s which restricted immigration to 2-3% from previous years nationalities immigrants. This impacted mostly southern & eastern Europeans & Asian Immigrants. Example: if 100,000 Russian Immigrants came in 1920, so in 1924 only 2,000-3,000 Russian Immigrants can come (2-3%)