Topic 2 - 1920s U.S. Society (Knowledge)

Question 1

By how many hours did the average working week drop in the 1920s?

Answer 1

From 47.4 hours to 44.2 hours

Question 2

On average, how much did wages increase by in the 1920s (%)?

Answer 2

11%

Question 3

What happened to the number of radio stations between 1921 and 1922?

Answer 3

Increased from 1 station to 508 stations.

Question 4

Name two dance crazes jazz music gave rise to.

Answer 4

1. Charleston

2. Black Bottom

Question 5

Name two famous African American jazz musicians of the 1920s.

Answer 5

1. Louis Armstrong

2. Bessie Smith

Question 6

Where was the centre of the major American film industry?

Answer 6

Hollywood, Los Angeles

Question 7

How many cinema tickets were being sold a week by the end of the 1920s?

Answer 7

100 million tickets

Question 8

Name two prominent film stars of the 1920s.

Answer 8

1. Charlie Chaplin
2. Clara Bow
3. Douglas Fairbanks
4. Gloria Swanson
5. Rudolph Valentino

Question 9

When was the first “talkie” movie made?

Answer 9

1927

Question 10

What guidelines were introduced in 1930 to limit and control what could be shown in films?

Answer 10

The Hays Code

Question 11

Name two popular sportsmen of the 1920s and their sport.

Answer 11

1. “Babe” Ruth (baseball)

2. Jack Dempsey (boxing)

Question 12

How much did the suburb of Grosse Point Park outside Detroit expand in the 1920s (%)?

Answer 12

700%

Question 13

What law was passed in 1920 which granted women the right to vote in all states?

Answer 13

19th Amendment

Question 14

By what percentage did the number of women working increase between 1920 and 1929?

Answer 14

24%

Question 15

By 1930, what proportion of women aged 15 years and older were working (%)?

Answer 15

Only 25%

Question 16

Name three new styles of behaviour associated with “flappers”.

Answer 16

1. Wearing daring clothes
2. Having short hair
3. Smoking
4. Drinking
5. Socialising with men without a chaperone
6. Kissing in public

Question 17

Which association in Washington D.C. aimed to persuade young women to behave respectfully?

Answer 17

The Anti-Flirt Association

Question 18

How many US states had already banned saloons by 1916?

Answer 18

21 states

Question 19

What was the nickname given to supporters of Prohibition?

Answer 19

“Dries”

Question 20

What law was passed in 1917 in support of Prohibition?

Answer 20

18th Amendment

Question 21

What did the 18th Amendment prohibit?

Answer 21

The manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol.

Question 22

What was the name of the law that legalised Prohibition from January 1920?

Answer 22

The Volstead Act

Question 23

How many prohibition agents were dismissed for corruption?

Answer 23

1 in 12 agents

Question 24

Altogether, how many agents were there to enforce prohibition nationwide?

Answer 24

1250 agents

Question 25

What was the name given to illegal bars that opened all over America?

Answer 25

Speakeasies

Question 26

How many speakeasies were there in the U.S. by 1930?

Answer 26

Approx. 250,000 speakeasies

Question 27

What was the name given to illegal “distilleries” in the home, used to make alcohol?

Answer 27

"Stills"

Question 28

What was the name of home-brewed illegal whisky?

Answer 28

Moonshine

Question 29

What was the name of traders who illegally supplied alcohol to the US?

Answer 29

Bootleggers

Question 30

What proportion of illegal alcohol in the US came from Canada?

Answer 30

Two-thirds

Question 31

Altogether, approximately how much did organised gangs make from the sale of illegal alcohol ($)?

Answer 31

$2 billion

Question 32

How many gang-related murders were there in Chicago in 1926 and 1927 as a result of Prohibition?

Answer 32

130 murders

Question 33

What was the name of the event in 1929 which saw Al Capone’s men murder seven of rival Bugs Moran’s gang?

Answer 33

The Valentine's Day Massacre

Question 34

What year was Prohibition repealed (ended)?

Answer 34

December 1933

Question 35

How much did gangster Al Capone make a year from his speakeasies ($)?

Answer 35

$60 million

Question 36

Name a close associate of Al Capone.

Answer 36

Mayor "Big Bill" Thompson of Chicago

Question 37

What political idea were many Americans fearful of?

Answer 37

Communism

Question 38

In what year did a wave of strikes and riots in US industries break out, which convinced Americans that communism was a serious threat?

Answer 38

1919

Question 39

What name was given to the fear of communism that was largely directed at eastern European immigrants?

Answer 39

The Red Scare

Question 40

What is the name given to a person who opposes, and aims to overthrow, all forms of government?

Answer 40

Anarchist

Question 41

In May 1919, how many prominent Americans received bombs through the post?

Answer 41

36

Question 42

What was the name given to the investigation aimed at arresting and deporting anarchists and communists (1919-20)?

Answer 42

The Palmer Raids

Question 43

How many migrant victims of the Palmer Raids were informed that they were to be deported from the US?

Answer 43

10,000

Question 44

What were the names of two Italian immigrants who made headlines in 1920?

Answer 44

1. Nicola Sacco | 2. Bartolomeo Vanzetti

Question 45

What crimes were Sacco and Vanzetti accused and convicted of committing in a shoe factory in Massachusetts?

Answer 45

Armed robbery ($16,000) and two counts of murder

Question 46

What was the name of the judge who presided over the court case of Sacco and Vanzetti?

Answer 46

Judge Webster Thayer

Question 47

After six years of legal appeals, what was the fate of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1927?

Answer 47

They were executed

Question 48

What test did the US government introduce in 1917 for people trying to move to America?

Answer 48

Literacy tests for basic English

Question 49

After the Johnson-Reid Act was introduced in 1924, how many immigrants were allowed into America?

Answer 49

150,000 a year

Question 50

What was the name of the group of laws that enforced racial segregation in southern states?

Answer 50

The Jim Crow laws

Question 51

What African American organisation campaigned to end racial segregation?

Answer 51

NAACP

Question 52

What evidence is there that African Americans were discriminated against in northern states?

Answer 52

1. Poorer housing 2. Higher rents 3. Poorer education and health services

Question 53

What was the name of the university in Washington D.C. established exclusively for African Americans?

Answer 53

Howard University

Question 54

What genre of music helped African Americans to gain high-profile publicity?

Answer 54

Jazz music

Question 55

Which club in Harlem, New York, had entertainers and staff who were mainly African American?

Answer 55

The Cotton Club

Question 56

Name the white supremacy movement that regained popularity from 1915.

Answer 56

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

Question 57

What film was produced in 1915 that helped the KKK to gain popularity?

Answer 57

The Birth of a Nation

Question 58

How many members did the KKK have by 1924?

Answer 58

4.5 million

Question 59

What two American states had governors who were members of the Klan?

Answer 59

1. Oregon | 2. Oklahoma

Question 60

How many African Americans were murdered by lynching between 1919 and 1925?

Answer 60

Over 300

Question 61

Name two Hollywood films which were seen at the time as daring and sexualised.

Answer 61

1. Up in Mable's Room | 2. The Forbidden Path