A.P. Giannini Italian American who changed the banking industry by opening multiple branches and encouraging the use of banks for small accounts and personal loans

Al Capone Italian-born American gangster who ruthlessly ruled the Chicago underworld until he was imprisoned for tax evasion in 1931

Al Smith New York governor who unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1924 and was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president in 1928; his Catholicism and desire to repeal Prohibition were political liabilities

American Communist Party organized in 1919; devoted to destroying capitalism and private property and replacing them with a system of socialism

American Indian Defense Association founded in 1923 to defend the rights of American Indians; pushed for an end to allotment and a return to tribal government

American Plan term that some employers in the 1920s used to describe their policy of refusing to negotiate with unions

Anastasio Somoza general who established a military dictatorship in Nicaragua in 1933, deposed his uncle to become president in 1934, and ruled the country for two decades, amassing a personal fortune and suppressing all opposition

Augusto Sandino Nicaraguan guerrilla leader who resisted Nicaraguan and American troops in a rebellion from 1925 to 1933; he was murdered at the orders of Anastasio Somoza following a peace conference in 1934






bear market when stock prices are generally going down

black separatism strategy of creating black institutions, based on the assumption that African Americans can never achieve equality within white society

bobby pin small metal hair clip with ends pressed slightly together, designed for holding short or “bobbed” hair in place

bootlegging illegal production, distribution, or sale of liquor

bull market when stock prices are generally going up

bullish optimistic or confident






capital ships a nation’s largest, most heavily armed ships

Charles Lindbergh American aviator who made the first solo transatlantic flight in 1927 and became an international hero

consumer goods products such as clothing, food, automobiles, and radios, intended for purchase and use by individuals or households






Dawes Plan arrangement for collecting WWI reparations from Germany; it scheduled annual payments and stabilized German currency






Eighteenth Amendment 1919 amendment that forbade the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcoholic beverages

Equal Rights Amendment proposed constitutional amendment to give women in the US equal rights under the law; first advocated by the National Woman’s Party in 1923

evolution the central organizing theorem of the biological sciences, which holds that organisms change over generations, mainly as a result of natural selection; it includes the concept that humans evolved from nonhuman ancestors

expatriate a person who takes up long-term residence in a foreign country






Farm Bloc bipartisan group of senators and representatives formed in 1921 to promote legislation to assist farmers

finance company business that makes loans to clients based on some form of collateral, such as a new car, thus allowing a form of installment buying when sellers do not extend credit

flapper young woman in the 1920s with short hair and short skirts who discarded old-fashioned standards of dress and behavior

Fordney-McCumber Tariff 1922 tariff to protect domestic production from foreign competitors; it raised tariff rates to record levels and provoked foreign tariff reprisals

fundamentalism religious movement emphasizing the literal truth of the Bible and opposing religious modernists who seek to reconcile the Bible with science






gross national product total market value of all goods and services that a nation produces during a specified period; now generally referred to as gross domestic product






Harlem Renaissance literary and artistic movement in the 1920s, centered in Harlem, in which black writers and artists described and celebrated African-American life

Henry Ford inventor and manufacturer who found the Ford Motor Company in 1903 and pioneered mass production in the automobile industry

homogenize to make something uniform throughout






isolationism the notion that the US should avoid political, diplomatic, and military entanglements with other nations






jazz style of music developed in America in the early 20th century, characterized by strong, flexible rhythms and improvisations on basic melodies






Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928 treaty signed by 15 nations, including the US, renouncing war as a means of solving international disputes






Marcus Garvey Jamaican black nationalist active in America in the 1920s

McNary-Haugen bill farm relief bill that provided for government purchase of crop surpluses during years of large output; Coolidge vetoed it in 1927 and 1928

Model T lightweight automobile that Ford produced (1908-1927) and sold at the lowest possible price on the theory that an affordable car would be more profitable than an expensive one






National Origins Act 1924 law establishing quotas for immigration to the United States; it limited immigration from southern and eastern Europe, permitted larger numbers of immigrants from northern and western Europe, and prohibited immigration from Asia

nationalize to convert an industry or enterprise from private to government ownership and control

Nine-Power Pact 1922 agreement signed by Britain, France, Italy, Japan, the US, China, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Belgium to recognize China and affirm the Open Door policy

Nineteenth Amendment 1920 amendment that prohibited federal or state government from restricting the right to vote on account of sex






oligopoly an industry or market dominated by a few firms

operating company company that exists to sell goods or services

overproduction production that exceeds consumer need or demand






Paul Robeson African-American singer and actor prominent from the early 1920s through the 1950s when he was driven from public life by repeated accusations that he was a communist

Peace of Titiapa agreement negotiated by Henry L. Stimson in 1927 that sought to end factional fighting in Nicaragua

perversion sexual practice considered abnormal or deviant






racketeering commission of crimes such as extortion, loansharking, and bribery, sometimes behind the front of a seemingly legitimate business or union

Railway Labor Act of 1926 guaranteed collective bargaining for railroad employees, the first peacetime federal law to extend this guarantee to any group of workers

repeal annulment of an official act; repeal of a constitutional amendment requires a new amendment

restrictive covenant provision in a property title that prohibits the sale of property to specified groups of people, especially people of color and Jews

Ruhr Valley region surrounding the Ruhr River in northwestern Germany, which contained many major industrial cities and valuable coal mines






Scopes Trial 1925 trial in which John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was prosecuted for teaching evolution in violation of Tennessee law

Sigmund Freud Austrian who played a leading role in developing the field of psychoanalysis, known for his theory that the sex drives underlies much of individual behavior

signatory one who has signed a treaty or other document

Sinclair Lewis novelist who satirized middle-class America and became the first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature

speakeasy place that illegally sells liquor and sometimes offers entertainment






Treaty of Versailles 1919 treaty that ended the war with Germany and created the League of Nations






vamp woman who uses her sexuality to entrap and exploit men






Washington Naval Conference 1921-1922 international conference that produced a series of agreements to limit naval armaments and prevent conflict in the Far East and Pacific

welfare capitalism program adopted by some employers to provide to their employees benefits such as lunchrooms, paid vacations, bonuses, and profit-sharing plans