Download The Roaring Twenties Skills Activity Questions

The “Roaring Twenties” Skills Activity Questions
1. Describe a possible relationship between the data in the charts contained in Documents 1 and 2. Focus especially on
the data concerning the years 1915-1925. How might the data presented in these documents be connected in a causeand-effect manner?
2. a) Using any of the documents from Documents 1 – 16 describe two changes to American society that occurred
between the years 1911-1930. You must identify the specific documents you used to help you answer
the question.
b) How did American culture react to these changes in society?
3. Using Documents 4 through 7 as a guide, quickly create your own original political cartoon (a basic sketch) for a
1920’s newspaper that expresses an anti-communist/anti-radical belief. Explain the meaning of your cartoon.
4 a) Based on the political cartoons shown in Documents 4 through 7, explain 2 specific concerns among Americans
that led to the Red Scare of this era.
Concern #1:
Concern #2:
b) Explain one way the American government reacted to these concerns.
5. Use Documents 8, 9, 11, 12 and 13 to explain the content shown in Document 10. How does the content from
the documents connect to one another.
6. a) To which specific law is the political cartoon from Document 13 referring?
b) Using your knowledge of history (and possibly other documents), explain whether this law was successful in
achieving its intended goal. Provide specific evidence that would prove that your conclusion is correct.
7. Background info needed for this question:
GNP per capita (definition):
- the total value of all the goods and services produced by a country in a year including income from
foreign investments, divided by the number of people living there
Source: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/business-english/gnp-per-capita
Example: If the GNP of the U.S. was $300 billion ($300,000,000,000) in 1920 and its population was
100 million (100,000,000) people, the GNP per capita would be the dollar value of GNP ÷
population of U.S.. That would equal the following:
$300,000,000,000 ÷ 100,000,000 = $3,000 GNP per capita
a) Using the graph in Document 14, what can you conclude about the productivity of the average American worker
during the period of the 1920’s?
b) Describe a possible connection between this trend in GDP with the trend in the average earnings of workers that
took place between 1916 and 1924, as is shown in the chart in Document 15. How might the trend with earnings
be connected to the trend in GDP per capita?
c) The development and use of what specific thing/process we have learned about would have helped to cause this
trend in GDP?
d) What impact did this specific thing/process have on the price of a Model T Ford? Explain.
8. a) Using Document 16, describe what happened to the amount of union membership during this period of time
(Increase? Remain steady? Decrease?).
b) How might the information in Documents 4 & 5 provide a partial explanation for this trend? Explain.
9. a) After viewing Documents 17 and 18, what impressions/conclusions might you draw about the leadership of the
Republicans during the 1920’s? Explain your answer.
10. Using Document 19, identify some changes that took place regarding women and their roles in the 1920’s.
11. In the 1920’s America was culturally divided. Use the images in Documents 19 and 20 to identify and describe
several of the cultural divisions. Provide at least 1 specific example to clarify your explanation.
12. The three poems shown in Document 21 demonstrate important themes that are associated with the Harlem
Renaissance.
a) Choose 1 topic/theme from the list shown in the document and then select a word, phrase or line from one of
the poems that demonstrates that topic/theme. Explain your connection in several sentences with specific
historical information.
13. a) Identify and explain a possible relationship between the information shown in Document 22 and the graph shown
in Document 23.
b) Why can this trend in consumer debt be a bad thing both for an individual and for the country as a whole?
14. Some people did, and still do, buy stocks with money that they borrowed from banks or stock brokers. This borrowed
money becomes part of what is called “consumer debt” – money that people have borrowed that needs to be paid
back to the lender.
a) What trend
- over
- over
- over
does Document 25 indicate regarding this matter?
time people had increased their tendency to borrow money in order to buy stocks
time people had not changed their tendency to borrow money to buy stock
time, people had decreased their tendency to borrow money in order to buy stocks
b) What is the concept/process called when people buy stock using borrowed money?
c) Why can this process be dangerous for the both and individual investor, other investors and the overall
economy? Hint: Look at the information in Document 24.
15. a) Using Document 26, identify what the trend was regarding the distribution (spreading out) of wealth during the
1920’s.
b) How might this trend be a possible and partial cause of the massive economic slowdown known as the Great
Depression?
Additional Activities:
1. Write a headline and a three-sentence introduction to a news story that informs readers about the situation that
has developed with the economy and society in the late “teens”, as illustrated in documents 1-5.
2. Write a brief poem (3 stanzas) from the perspective of an African-American that expresses your experience with
issues that are related to documents 8 through 10.
3. Pretend you are at a meeting with fellow nativists and people are speaking their minds about the issue of
immigration. Use documents 11-13 to compose a brief statement (2-4 sentences) about your views of
immigrants and immigration that you would stand-up and share with the people at that meeting.
4. Pretend that you the person in charge of Republican President Calvin Coolidge’s re-election campaign in 1924.
Use documents 14 through 16 to come up with ideas for a campaign poster. Draw that poster.
5. Pretend you are the person in charge of a Democratic candidate’s presidential campaign in 1924. You are trying
to help your candidate beat Calvin Coolidge and the Republicans. Use documents 17 and 18 to help you
generate ideas for a campaign poster for your candidate. Hint: You may wish to focus on the negatives of
Coolidge and the Republicans.
6. Pretend you are a conservative, middle-aged adult (40-45 years old) during the 1920’s. Use the documents in
items 19 and 20 to record a diary entry in which you reflect about what is happening to our country/society and
the direction in which it is moving. Express your thoughts and emotions.
7. Pretend you are an African-American in Harlem during the period known as the Harlem Renaissance. Use the
poems in document 21 to generate an idea for an additional poem. Describe what your poem’s subject matter
would be and why. (Note: You do not actually need to write the poem; just describe its focus and why).
8. Look at all of the items contained within document 22. You are a parent who is speaking to your child (age 510) about how they are growing up differently than you did. Use the subject matter of the items in document 22
to explain to them how their childhood experiences in the 20’s is a lot different than your childhood experiences
in the 1880’s and 1890’s. What would you focus upon and what exactly would you say to them?
9. Look at document 24. Pretend you are an investor who invested your life savings into New York Central in
September of 1929. You are married and have two young children. Create two brief diary entries for November
13th, 1929 and sometime in 1932 in which you reflect upon your situation (you still have the stock). Really focus
upon your emotions.
Essential Questions:
Answer the following essential questions about the 1920’s. Try to make connections between the
documents within this activity and the topics within these essential questions.
1. What happens when traditional and modern cultures interact?
2. What influences do economic excesses have on American society?
3. What is the proper role of the government in people’s lives?
4. Did America move closer to or further away from its founding ideals during the interwar
period?