Red Scare
A period of intense fear of communism and radical thought in the United States during the early 20th century, particularly after World War I and during the early Cold War.
Palmer Raids
A series of raids conducted in 1919 and 1920 by the U.S. Department of Justice to capture, arrest, and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States.
Great Migration
The movement of over six million African Americans from the rural Southern United States to the urban Northeast, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970 in search of better economic opportunities and to escape racial discrimination.
Tulsa Massacre
A violent racial attack in 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a white mob destroyed the prosperous African American community of Greenwood, known as "Black Wall Street," resulting in the deaths of hundreds and the displacement of thousands.
American Plan
A term used in the 1920s to describe a set of policies promoting "open shop" labor practices, which aimed to weaken the influence of labor unions by allowing businesses to hire non-union workers.
Teapot Dome Scandal
A major political scandal of the early 1920s involving the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the Secretary of the Interior, Albert B. Fall, to private companies in exchange for bribes.
Second Industrial Revolution
A period of rapid industrial growth and technological innovation in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, characterized by advancements in steel production, electricity, and the expansion of railroads.
New Woman
A feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century, representing women who sought greater independence, education, and participation in public life.
Lost Generation
A term used to describe a group of American writers who came of age during World War I and expressed disillusionment with the era's cultural and moral values in their works.
New Negro
A term popularized during the Harlem Renaissance, referring to African Americans who advocated for racial equality, cultural pride, and the rejection of stereotypes.
Harlem Renaissance
A cultural, social, and artistic movement in the 1920s and 1930s centered in Harlem, New York, that celebrated African American cultural expressions and achievements.
Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)
An organization founded by Marcus Garvey in 1914 aimed at promoting African American economic independence and fostering a sense of unity among people of African descent worldwide.
Sacco and Vanzetti Case
A controversial legal case in the 1920s involving two Italian immigrants, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who were convicted of murder and executed, widely believed to have been unjustly tried due to their anarchist beliefs.
National Origins Act
A 1924 U.S. federal law that established immigration quotas based on the national origins of the U.S. population in 1890, significantly restricting immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.
Indian Citizenship Act
A 1924 law that granted U.S. citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the country, recognizing their legal rights as American citizens.
Black Tuesday
Refers to October 29, 1929, the day the stock market crash began, leading to the Great Depression, marked by a massive banking and economic crisis.