US History STAAR Review 2

US History

STAAR Review

Part 2

​This lesson covers 2 major eras:

• Roaring Twenties: 1920-1929

• Great Depression & New Deal: 1929-1930s

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This lesson ​is a very simplified review of the key facts - pay close attention to the information on each slide!

The 68 question US History STAAR test is Thursday, May 5th!

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Use the Google Classroom flashcards, lessons, and practice questions to review!​

WWI Cemented the US as a World Power

• by 1920, America was the richest & most industrialized country in the world

• mass production during the war meant America made & sold goods to the rest of the world

• wages were high, incomes were increasing

• Americans spent $ on new consumer goods & entertainment which led to the decade being labeled "the Roaring Twenties"

Post WWI Isolationism &

A Return to Normalcy

• Americans felt the US was tricked into joining WWI & pulled into European drama so, the US embraced ISOLATIONISM after World War I ended in 1918

• the US Congress refused to ratify - sign & agree to - the Treaty of Versailles that officially ended WWI because the US didn't want to be forced to join the new international peacekeeping organization, the League of Nations

• fear of foreign entanglements that would pull US into a future war made America commit to neutrality

• Warren Harding was elected President & ushered in a "Return to Normalcy" as America refocused on itself & government reduced regulation of big business

Multiple Choice

Why did the US Senate refuse to ratify the Treaty of Versailles after World War I?

• The Senate would not support America's participation in the League of Nations.

• The Senate believed the treaty did not punish Germany enough.

• The Senate thought the treaty did not have the power to prevent secret alliances.

• The Senate could not agree on military disarmament levels.

The Roaring Twenties:

1920-1929

​You need to know 2 key things about this era:

• Economic & Technological Change of the era

• Traditionalism v. Modernism

Economic & Technological Change: Ford's Assembly Line Manufacturing

• in 1913, Henry Ford developed the 1st moving assembly lines for the mass production of cars

• before assembly lines, building 1 car took more than 12 hours

• having workers stay still & build 1 piece of the automobile as it moved down a line cut production time for 1 car down to 1 hour and 33 minutes

• assembly lines are now the standard because they increase production efficiency = aka produce more goods faster LOWERING THE PRICE OF GOODS

• Ford Motor Company was the 1st to sell cars that were affordable for the average American

Traditionalism v. Modernism:

Alcohol & Women

• the Temperance Movement successfully organized for the passage of the 18th Amendment, the prohibition amendment

• the 18th Amendment which prohibited the sale, production, & consumption of alcohol didn't decrease the demand for liquor in cities

• the prohibition amendment led to the rise of the mafia across the US to supply speakeasies with illegal alcohol

• young women in cities known as FLAPPERS began to challenge traditional ideas of female behavior by wearing their hair short, showing their legs, drinking in speakeasies, & dating boys without chaperones

• growing divide between traditionalism of rural America & the modernism of urban America

Traditionalism v. Modernism:

Race Relations & Nativism

• despite the work of civil rights activists like W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B Wells, & Booker T Washington during the 1920s, the American South was heavily segregated & discriminatory thanks to Jim Crow Laws

• starting in the 1920s, Black Americans left the South for jobs in industrialized cities up North and to escape the racial violence that plagued the South in what is called THE GREAT MIGRATION

• the 1st Red Scare - fear of communism spreading in the US - hit in the 1920s following Russia's communist revolution

• because many immigrants to the US were from countries near Russia, immigrants faced great violence & discrimination from NATIVISTS if they were suspected of being "Reds" or "radicals" trying to corrupt American politics

Multiple Choice

How did the process shown in this photograph enhance the automobile industry?

• By speeding up production of automobiles at lower costs.

• By requiring only licensed workers to produce the automobiles.

• By ensuring high-quality automobiles for consumers at higher prices.

• By developing new designs to test automobile safety standards.

Multiple Choice

What was a result of the social problems presented in this 1917 political cartoon?

• Government leaders introduced health-care reform laws.

• Lobbyists focused attention on the power of corporate monopolies.

• Women worked to improve conditions in tenement houses.

• Progressives worked to ratify a prohibition amendment.

Multiple Choice

Which inference about the 1920s is supported by this illustration?

• Women confronted discrimination in employment and education.

• Women challenged traditional attitudes and social norms.

• Reform organizations targeted women's issues.

• Mass media reflected trends popular in rural communities.

Multiple Choice

Which pull factor contributed to the Great Migration?

• the availability of land grants for homesteaders

• economic opportunities in industrialized cities

• better soil conditions in previously uncultivated areas

• the lower cost of living in urban areas

The Great Depression

& New Deal:

1929-1930s

​You need to know 3 key things about this era:

1. Causes of the Great Depression

2. Life During the Depression

3. Government Response to Great Depression

Causes of the Great Depression

• during the 1920s, the federal government had ONCE AGAIN stopped regulating businesses or the economy

• over speculation by investors made it LOOK LIKE the economy was booming, but it was all fake

• Americans were allowed to buy stocks on margin - borrow $$ to invest in companies

• Banks didn't insure $$ deposited in accounts

• Companies were overproducing goods because Americans were buying on credit (but were going deeper into debt)

• high tariffs - taxes on imports - meant America was trading very little

• in 1929, the stock market crashed & the Great Depression began

Life During the Great Depression: 1930s America

• banks collapsed as Americans ran to withdraw the $ in their accounts & couldn't access the $$

• businesses went bankrupt & laid off employees = massive increase in UNEMPLOYMENT (aka % of ppl without jobs)

• people lost not only their jobs, but also their homes & were forced to live in homeless camps in cities or travel from town to town in search for day jobs

• soup kitchens & bread lines open to serve the hungry as families starve without work

• during the Great Depression, an intense drought hit the Great Plains

• the drought + poor farming practices that had stripped the soil of nutrients created massive dust storms that made life & farming impossible called the Dust Bowl

Multiple Choice

Which statement best explains how bank failures contributed to the Great Depression?

• People lost their savings because the government did not insure bank deposits.

• Business could not be done when President Franklin Roosevelt declared a bank holiday.

• The interest rates on bank loans were too high.

• Foreign investors did not invest enough in US banks.

Multiple Choice

Which headline describes the primary issue faced by the federal government at the onset of the Great Depression?

Multiple Choice

This excerpt describes an instance of deportation during the 1930s as part of repatriation effort. Why did the federal government implement repatriation?

• To fulfill the terms of a global peace treaty

• To protect national security

• To reduce competition for jobs

• To prevent communist influence on labor unions

Political Responses to the Great Depression: FDR's New Deal

• Herbert Hoover was President in 1929. Not wanting to expand the power or responsibility of the federal government, he only imposed tariffs which just hurt trade & the economy more

• Franklin D Roosevelt was elected in 1932 because he promised his "New Deal" would mean the federal government would take responsibility for the welfare of the American people by trying to bring back economic stability

• FDR worked with Congress to pass a series of New Deal legislation that aimed to hire unemployed Americans & create new federal agencies to provide welfare benefits to Americans (likeSocial Security Administration)

• the Social Security Act & the FDIC still provide benefits & protections to Americans today

Expansion of the Federal & State Government During the Great Depression

• FDR was criticized for over-expanding the power of the executive branch (Presidency) in creating different federal agencies as part of his "New Deal"

• some argued that the federal government shouldn't have so much responsibility for the people, state governments should have some power & control (but state governments also had no $$)

• the Supreme Court did declare some of FDR's New Deal programs unconstitutional because they infringed on powers reserved for the states

• FDR tried to increase the # of justices on the Supreme Court, aka "pack the court," so that he could continue his New Deal programs

Multiple Choice

The goals of these New Deal agencies support the conclusion that the New Deal -

• gave the federal government a larger role in the day-to-day welfare of its citizens

• forced citizens to participate in federal programs

• gave preference to state-run agencies over federally run agencies

• forced the federal government to adopt isolationist foreign policies

Multiple Choice

What is one ongoing result of the New Deal?

• The federal government funds a space-exploration program.

• State governments deny residency to persons working in other states.

• State government use property taxes to fund social security programs.

• People can rely more on the federal government during times of economic distress.

This was a quick overview, so I highly recommend that you...

• use the Quizlet flashcards to memorize the key facts

• then, test out your knowledge on released questions on Quizizz

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^^Linked in the US History Google Classroom!​