Deck 24: Toward a Modern America: The 1920s

Question 1

In the 1920s, Europeans used the term Fordize as a synonym for:

A) Americanize.
B) imperialism.
C) mechanize.
D) craft union.

Answer 1

Americanize.

Question 2

By the 1920s, workers in Henry Ford's automobile industry:

A) did their work in a solemn atmosphere that emphasized making money over individuality.
B) enjoyed the company's eclectic tolerance of ethnic diversity.
C) were encouraged to unionize in an effort to form a consensus between labor and management.
D) experienced a return to the days of labor controlled by artisanship.

Answer 2

did their work in a solemn atmosphere that emphasized making money over individuality.

Question 3

Which statement about industry in the 1920s is NOT true?

A) Mass production spread quickly in American industry.
B) Businesses rejected any implementation of Taylor's scientific management.
C) Standardized parts helped increase productivity and efficiency.
D) Productivity in the automobile industry increased constantly.

Answer 3

Businesses rejected any implementation of Taylor's scientific management.

Question 4

Effects of the automobile industry's growth included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) boosting the petroleum and oil industries.
B) increasing the number of service stations.
C) spurring large increases in building residential homes.
D) reducing the use of assembly-line production.

Question 5

The main force behind the 1920s economy was:

A) the steel industry.
B) automobile production.
C) agriculture.
D) the entertainment industry.

Question 6

DuPont emerged as a powerful corporation in the:

A) steel industry.
B) chemical industry.
C) movie industry.
D) housing construction industry.

Question 7

Which statement about the development of the radio industry is NOT true?

A) It was not until the 1930s that radio experienced a large boom in popularity.
B) The Federal Radio Commission was created to organize radio wave bands.
C) Several corporations quickly rose as dominant powers in the industry.
D) Factory-made crystal sets made radios more accessible to the average American.

Question 8

Innovations in the movie industry of the 1920s included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the advent of sound film.
B) publicizing popular new film stars.
C) using the mass growth of commercial television to promote films.
D) integrating production with distribution and promotion.

Question 9

A major industrial trend of the 1920s was:

A) the emergence of more competition within major industries.
B) the decline of open shops.
C) the strengthening of local retailers.
D) the concentration of wealth in the largest firms of an industry.

Question 10

The term ___________ refers to a situation in which a few large corporations control an industry.

A) monopoly
B) free market
C) monopsony
D) oligopoly

Question 11

All of the following were aspects of the open shop campaign EXCEPT:

A) the movement was an attempt to break union shop contracts.
B) the extension of collective bargaining rights for unskilled laborers.
C) workers often had to sign yellow dog contracts that rejected unions.
D) powerful companies refused to do business with companies who had union labor.

Question 12

As the nation's productivity increased:

A) wages were not proportionately raised.
B) a high percentage of workers experienced a decent standard of living.
C) corporate taxes were raised by Republican administrations.
D) unemployment dropped significantly.

Question 13

When "real wages" failed to keep pace in the period from 1923-1927:

A) corporations decided to raise wages for all workers.
B) labor unions were guaranteed the right to collective bargaining.
C) the government passed social welfare legislation.
D) consumers began to rely more heavily on installment plans.

Question 14

Several "sick" industries experienced all of the following problems EXCEPT:

A) shrinking demand for their goods.
B) bitter labor-management relations.
C) high corporate taxes.
D) excess capacity of rail lines.

Question 15

The textile industry coped with a drop in economic prosperity by:

A) encouraging collective bargaining.
B) lobbying Congress for heavy federal subsidies.
C) cutting back work hours.
D) shifting operations to the cheap-labor South.

Question 16

During the 1920s, American agriculture:

A) maintained its role as the main strength of the American economy.
B) never recovered from the depression of 1921.
C) was unable to produce a surplus of crops.
D) moved away from sharecropping and tenant farming.

Question 17

The Republican presidents of the 1920s:

A) used their power to directly aid the ailing farm economy.
B) pursued programs that provided social reform.
C) emphasized the importance of business interests.
D) won narrow victories at the polls.

Question 18

After the 1920 elections, Republicans controlled:

A) the presidency only.
B) the presidency and the House of Representatives only.
C) the presidency and the Senate only.
D) the presidency and both houses of Congress.

Question 19

Which statement about the Harding administration is NOT true?

A) A great deal of corruption plagued the presidential cabinet.
B) Andrew Mellon led the move to reduce taxes for the rich.
C) Harding made Supreme Court appointments that favored business interests.
D) The open shop movement was opposed by Harding's top advisers.

Question 20

Senator George Norris of Nebraska criticized the Harding administration for:

A) being far too active in foreign affairs.
B) giving in to the demands of labor.
C) opposing protective tariffs.
D) allowing big businesses to dominate American life.

Question 21

During the Harding administration, the Supreme Court:

A) gained a liberal chief justice.
B) expanded from nine to fifteen justices.
C) became substantially more pro-business.
D) gained its first female member.

Question 22

The Teapot Dome scandal:

A) involved government officials illegally leasing land to oil companies.
B) was one of many scandals that plagued the Hoover administration.
C) resulted in Harding's defeat in the 1924 primaries.
D) revealed that the government was setting up monopolies in retail food sales.

Question 23

Calvin Coolidge:

A) hailed from the South.
B) strongly supported the concept of the active presidency.
C) wanted the Federal Trade Commission to primarily support workers and consumers.
D) continued Harding's pro-business themes.

Question 24

All of the following statements about the election of 1924 are true EXCEPT:

A) John W. Davis emerged as a formidable opponent for Calvin Coolidge.
B) the Democrats were hopelessly divided at their nominating convention.
C) the Republicans used big-business money to attack Robert LaFollette's progressive ideas.
D) barely 50% of the American electorate turned out to vote.

Question 25

The Sheppard-Towner Act:

A) required less regulation of national banks.
B) ended the shame of child labor.
C) provided federal funds for infant and maternity care.
D) regulated interstate commerce.

Question 26

Politicians stopped supporting women's reform issues:

A) when they realized women were not voting as a bloc.
B) before any state could pass equal pay statutes.
C) when women asked for the right to serve on juries.
D) because many female reformers had close ties to the Soviet Union.

Question 27

Which statement about living patterns in the 1920s is NOT true?

A) African-Americans migrated in large numbers to northern cities.
B) Suburbs began to emerge as the middle class grew.
C) Older industrial cities of the North continued to grow.
D) The majority of Americans still lived in rural areas.

Question 28

Blacks migrated to the urban North for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) to escape the confining segregation of the South.
B) to escape from the constant threat of violence in the South.
C) more job opportunities were available in the North.
D) racial discrimination was not a part of life in the North.

Question 29

Effects of the Great Migration included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) encouraging the cultural pride of African-Americans.
B) increasing the number of blacks who voted in local and national elections.
C) developing new expressions of racial pride.
D) ending housing and job discrimination in the North.

Question 30

The Harlem Renaissance:

A) was a movement among white liberals to achieve racial equality in America.
B) failed to nurture the emergence of black cultural pride in northern cities.
C) undermined the goals of the N.A.A.C.P.
D) featured some of the greatest literature, music, and visual art of the era.

Question 31

Suburbanization in the 1920s:

A) was made possible by the success of the automobile.
B) was confined to the Northeast.
C) resulted in the passing of anti-segregation legislation.
D) discouraged the creation of new retail businesses.

Question 32

What did President Coolidge call "one of the most potent influences" on modern life?

A) organized religion
B) the advertising industry
C) the film industry
D) welfare capitalism

Question 33

Which statement about the economy of the 1920s is NOT true?

A) Advertising aggressively promoted the buying of many new mass-produced products.
B) Consumerism emerged as a major foundation of the national economy.
C) A decline in installment buying revealed the underlying weakness of the economy.
D) Industrial profits increased steadily for most of the decade.

Question 34

All of the following statements about the film industry of the 1920s are true EXCEPT:

A) the construction of huge movie houses in cities reflected the popularity of films.
B) the movie industry experienced sluggish box-office sales after 1925.
C) films often expressed the contrasting themes of passion and social conformity.
D) movie stars became key figures in the emergence of celebrities in popular culture.

Question 35

Babe Ruth became a popular celebrity for all of the following reasons EXCEPT his:

A) belief that celebrity status should be combined with political activism.
B) role in making the New York Yankees the most popular sports franchise of the era.
C) image as it was promoted in many commercial endorsements.
D) prodigious skills as a home run hitter.

Question 36

Which sport was NOT enormously popular in the 1920s?

A) boxing
B) baseball
C) professional football
D) college football

Question 37

Charles Lindbergh became a celebrity when he:

A) released jazz records that were heard on radio.
B) defeated Gene Tunney in the "Fight of the Century."
C) starred in the three most popular films of 1927.
D) became the first pilot to fly a plane across the Atlantic.

Question 38

In his novel A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway:

A) ridiculed the narrowness of suburban, middle-class life.
B) used the muckraking style to criticize large industries.
C) rejected traditional values and the idealism of his youth.
D) satirized the era's mass consumerism.

Question 39

Which writer is not associated with the Lost Generation?

A) Ernest Hemingway
B) Stephen Crane
C) Sinclair Lewis
D) F. Scott Fitzgerald

Question 40

The National Origins Act of 1924 was aimed at limiting the immigration of:

A) western Europeans and Irish Protestants.
B) western European Catholics and Japanese.
C) southern and eastern Europeans and Japanese.
D) Germans and southern and eastern Europeans.

Question 41

Which of the following was not a specific requirement for joining the Klan in the 1920s?

A) Protestant
B) middle class or above
C) native born
D) white

Question 42

Which statement about the Ku Klux Klan is NOT true?

A) The Ku Klux Klan experienced an increase in membership during the 1920s.
B) The Ku Klux Klan's membership was restricted to whites of any ethnic background.
C) The Ku Klux Klan's beliefs embodied racism and fear of social change.
D) The growth of the Ku Klux Klan was slowed by revelations of corruption and criminality.

Question 43

What would be the only group viewed favorably by the Ku Klux Klan?

A) white Catholics
B) Jews
C) African Americans
D) German Protestants

Question 44

Which group would not have been strong supporters of prohibition?

A) female leaders of the temperance movement
B) fundamentalist preachers
C) immigrants in urban ethnic areas
D) protestant leaders in the South

Question 45

The Scopes Trial revealed fundamentalists' discomfort with:

A) international communism.
B) nativism.
C) labor unions.
D) evolutionary science.

Question 46

A dramatic point of the Scopes Trial occurred when:

A) the judge ruled that scientists could testify.
B) John Scopes was acquitted.
C) Clarence Darrow called William Jennings Bryan to the stand.
D) H. L. Mencken spoke in favor of the prosecution.

Question 47

In an effort to expand markets and avoid foreign tariffs, U.S. companies:

A) made negotiating concessions with organized labor.
B) increasingly became multinational corporations.
C) resorted to trade embargoes with European nations.
D) supported the Sheppard-Towner Act.

Question 48

In the Kellogg-Briand Pact, the U.S.:

A) withdrew its commitment to free trade.
B) renounced aggression and condemned war.
C) began an arms race with European powers.
D) agreed to limit industrial overproduction.

Question 49

The primary focus of today's culture wars is:

A) women's rights.
B) the teaching of evolution.
C) the potential negative influence of rap and rock.
D) civil rights for African Americans.

Question 50

In which of the following decades were cultural clashes the greatest?

A) 1930s
B) 1940s
C) 1950s
D) 1960s

Question 51

The "Good Neighbor Policy" was designed to:

A) address the growing problem of crime in urban areas.
B) bring social justice to blacks in the South.
C) address the growing problem of crime in rural areas.
D) improve relations with nations in Latin America.

Question 52

Factors that led to Herbert Hoover's victory in 1928 included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Hoover's anti-prohibition stance drew new Republican votes from ethnic workers.
B) fundamentalists attacked Al Smith because he was a Roman Catholic.
C) the voters associated the apparent prosperity of the 1920s with the Republicans.
D) Hoover had always distanced himself from the reactionary wing of the Republican Party.

Question 53

This state legalized same-sex marriages in 2004:

A) Hawaii.
B) Massachusetts.
C) California.
D) Oregon.

Question 54

Nativists promoted:

A) progressive labor reforms for unskilled laborers.
B) restricting the immigration of people who were not Anglo-Saxon.
C) the virtues of advertising and consumerism.
D) protecting the rights of immigrant workers.

Question 55

The most ominous trend of the 1920s was:

A) the loss of economic power experienced by large industries.
B) the decline of the standard of living in American suburbs.
C) the United States' inability to adopt new forms of mechanization.
D) the uneven distribution of wealth that existed beneath apparent prosperity.

Question 56

Alfred E. Smith's main source of electoral support in the 1928 presidential election was in the:

A) West.
B) Midwest.
C) Northeast.
D) South.

Question 57

What is the correct order of presidential succession?

A) Harding, Coolidge, Hoover
B) Coolidge, Harding, Hoover
C) Harding, Hoover, Coolidge
D) Hoover, Coolidge, Harding

Question 58

Which event happened first?

A) Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed.
B) Prohibition was enacted.
C) Ernest Hemingway released A Farewell to Arms.
D) Calvin Coolidge defeated John W. Davis.

Question 59

Which headline would have appeared in 1927?

A) "Nation Stunned by Sudden Death of President Harding"
B) "Lindbergh Greeted in France by Roaring Crowd"
C) "Women Go to the Polls for the First Time"
D) "Addition of Sound Thrills Film Fans Across Nation"

Question 60

Which event happened in 1928?

A) Clarence Darrow defended John Scopes.
B) Baseball fans saw rookie Babe Ruth for the first time.
C) The National Origins Act restricted immigration.
D) Hoover defeated Smith in the presidential election.

Question 61

Which event happened last?

A) The Scopes Trial
B) Cecil B. De Mille released his first film.
C) The Kellogg-Briand Pact was signed.
D) Eugene Debs was released from prison.

Question 62

The Washington Naval Conference occurred in:

A) 1921.
B) 1926
C) 1928.
D) 1929.

Question 63

Which event occurred in 1923?

A) Prohibition begins
B) Scopes trial
C) Warren Harding dies
D) Charles Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic

Question 64

What factors characterized the "boom industries" of the 1920s?

Question 65

In what ways did the World War I experience affect life in the 1920s?

Question 66

What evidence reveals the close ties between big business and the Republican Party during the 1920s?

Question 67

How did life in the South change during the 1920s?

Question 68

Describe the beliefs and goals of nativists. Why did nativism increase in the 1920s?

Question 69

Respond to the following statement: "The 1920s was a decade in which the forces of modernization came into conflict with the forces of traditionalism."

Question 70

What factors contributed to the rise of modern popular culture in the 1920s? What examples revealed the emerging importance of celebrities in American culture?

Question 71

In what ways was the prosperity of the 1920s misleading? What examples led people to believe the country was beginning a period of unending prosperity? What underlying factors revealed that economic problems were just around the corner?

Question 72

Choose three of the following groups and describe the characteristics of life for them in the 1920s: African-Americans, female reformers, young people in urban areas, fundamentalists, novelists and poets, celebrities, and union members.

Question 73

Analyze the impact of mechanization, consumerism, advertising, and the boom in the auto industry on American life in the 1920s. Do you feel these impacts were for the betterment of American life?