US History I- Chapter 12: Politics of the Roaring Twenties (1920-1929)-Study Questions

Chapter 12 Section 1: Americans Struggle with Postwar Issues

  1. Why did Americans want to return to “normalcy” after World War I?
  2. Identify the major trends in American society which resulted from this desire for “normalcy.”  (What three “isms” emerged at this time?)
  3. List some of the major principles of communist ideology.
  4. What was the “Red Scare?”  Why did Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer launch a series of raids against suspected communists?
  5. Who were Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti?  What did the handling of their case tell you about the America of the 1920s?
  6. Who were the groups that were hated most by the revived KKK of the 1920s?  What were their main goals/fears?
  7. Why did the police strike in Boston in 1919?  What was Governor Calvin Coolidge’s position on the strike?
  8. How was the Steel Strike of 1919 portrayed to the public by management?
  9. Why did union membership drop in the 1920s?

Chapter 12 Section 3: The Business of America

  1. What were the major effects of the automobile on American industry?  On American life?
  2. How did the use of electricity affect Americans’ lifestyles?
  3. Identify the major changes that took place in the 1920s in business and marketing.
  4. What were the advantages and disadvantages of buying on credit?
  5. What evidence suggests that the prosperity of the 1920s was not on a firm foundation?

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