American Century: Boom to Bust Viewing Guide Name: ______Date: _____ Period: ______

The 1920s ushered in an era of great social change, general prosperity, Prohibition and what historians refer to as "modernity." This episode examines these great cultural changes and their effects on the nation. The 1920s, "roared," as bathtub gin flowed and more and more Americans moved to urban areas. But the decade also saw limited prosperity for many, especially farmers, and the unrest and discord (anger) between the values of small town America and the rapid pace of science and technology. The optimism of the decade would end in the most severe economic depression in American history. This episode presents some of the major events that shaped the decade including The Scopes Monkey Trial, Prohibition, the rise of leisure pastimes, and the impact of inventions such as the automobile, radio, movies and electricity.

1. Broadway is one of the most famous boulevards in American. Why is Broadway known as the "Great White Way?" ______

2. How did Prohibition help increase the presence of organized crime in America? ______

3. Discuss how the culture of the 1920s broke with earlier stereotypes and helped change the social boundaries in American society in each of the following ways: 1.1.1 Technological: ______Geographical: ______Social: ______Economics: ______1.1.2 4. The media has had a tremendous influence on the twentieth century. What were the effects of the mass media on the 1920s? ______

5. The 1920s saw a burgeoning (growing) of African-American culture and talent, centered in the Harlem section of New York City. What has been the contribution of the Harlem Renaissance to American art and literature? ______

6. Who were some of the major figures in this movement (literary and social)? ______

7. In the 1920s, for the first time in the country¹s history, more Americans lived in an urban setting than a rural one. How did this process of urbanization affect (change) the country? ______8. What were some similarities of both urban and rural areas in the 1920s? ______

9. What were some of the differences of both urban and rural areas in the 1920s? ______

10. How did advertising impact America in the 1920s? ______

11. How has advertising impacted your life in the last year? Be specific. ______

12. What were some of the changes for women during the 1920s? ______

13. How did the Scopes trial illustrate the clash between science and religion that was a hallmark (major point) of the early century? ______14. Describe the impacts (effects) of Charles Lindbergh’s successful flight across the Atlantic Ocean. ______

15. How did Richard Byrd’s successful expedition to Antarctica illustrate the mood of the 1920s? ______

16. Explain how the popular jazz song “Blue Skies” illustrated the mood of the 1920s? ______

17. How did the stock market play a part in the collapse of the economy in October 1929? ______

18. What is meant by the phrase, “the 1920’s bubble had burst”? ______