Deck 24: The Reactionary Twenties

Question 1

One major cause of the Depression was that workers' wages were too high.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The immigration quota laws passed in the 1920s favored immigrants from northern and western Europe.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

"Parity," as used in this chapter, refers to farm prices.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

The progressive coalition that elected Woodrow Wilson president dissolved by 1920 for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) many of the progressive reforms still seemed unattainable
B) intellectuals became disillusioned because of the anti-evolution movement
C) intellectuals became disillusioned with grassroots democracy's popular support for the Ku Klux Klan
D) the middle class became more interested with restoring a "new era" of prosperity based on mass production and mass consumption
E) Prohibition was unpopular

Question 5

The "Ohio gang":

A) rivaled Charlie Chaplin in box office receipts in the 1920s
B) directed Herbert Hoover's rise to the presidency
C) was a group of angry young men in a short story by Sinclair Lewis about the consumer culture
D) hosted the first national radio program
E) was a group of President Harding's friends who were named to political office

Question 6

In his 1920 campaign for president, Warren Harding said the country needed a return to:

A) energetic government
B) patriotism
C) normalcy
D) experimentation
E) progressivism

Question 7

Calvin Coolidge was determined NOT to be an activist president.

Question 8

In the 1920s, many investors bought stocks on margin-that is, with borrowed funds.

Question 9

The Kellogg-Briand Pact endorsed future wars.

Question 10

Calvin Coolidge was notorious for his love of whiskey, poker, and women.

Question 11

The Scopes "monkey trial" sought to keep the theory of evolution in science classrooms in Tennessee.

Question 12

The biggest scandal under President Hoover was the Teapot Dome scandal of 1930.

Question 13

The McNary-Haugen bill passed both houses of Congress in 1927, only to be vetoed by President Coolidge.

Question 14

While Warren G. Harding presided over what can be argued as the most corrupt administration in American history, he was never personally linked to any official wrongdoing.

Question 15

Proponents of Prohibition used ethnic and social prejudice in their campaign to make America "dry."

Question 16

The result in the presidential election of 1920 might be attributed to:

A) the smear campaign directed against Democratic candidate A. Mitchell Palmer
B) the fact that Americans in the 1920s were "tired of issues, sick at heart of ideals, and weary of being noble"
C) southerners who expressed their displeasure at President Wilson's policies by voting Republican
D) the lack of women voters in the election
E) the lack of African American voters in the election

Question 17

The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s was mainly a southern rural organization.

Question 18

With the Republicans in control of the federal government, progressivism disappeared in the 1920s.

Question 19

As president, Warren Harding was actually more progressive than Woodrow Wilson in his attitudes and policies toward African Americans.

Question 20

Harding's secretary of the treasury, who pushed tax cuts for the wealthy, was:

A) Herbert Hoover
B) Calvin Coolidge
C) Charles Evans Hughes
D) Albert Fall
E) Andrew Mellon

Question 21

Which of the members of Harding's cabinet was jailed for his role in the Teapot Dome scandal?

A) Charles Evans Hughes
B) Andrew Mellon
C) Henry Wallace
D) Calvin Coolidge
E) Albert Fall

Question 22

John W. Davis:

A) was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1924
B) invented the radio
C) starred in The Jazz Singer
D) was the first head of the Federal Communications Commission
E) was one of the first great liberal Democrats

Question 23

The biggest scandal of the Harding administration:

A) led to an attempt to impeach Harding that fell just four votes short of success in the House of Representatives
B) concerned a corrupt U.S. customs official who had regularly allowed Chinese imports into the country duty-free
C) was the impeachment of the attorney general for fraudulent handling of German assets seized after World War I
D) was his fathering a child out of wedlock
E) involved the leasing of government-owned oil deposits to private companies

Question 24

The Budget and Accounting Act of 1921 created:

A) chaos in the federal budget process
B) a rift within the Democratic party concerning the budget
C) an end to states' budgets
D) a tax to rewrite the budget process
E) a new Bureau of the Budget to streamline the process of preparing an annual federal budget

Question 25

During the 1924 presidential election:

A) Robert M. La Follette barely won the nomination of a faction-ridden Republican party
B) the Democratic candidate almost upset the Republican candidate
C) Calvin Coolidge swept both the popular and electoral votes by decisive majorities
D) A. Mitchell Palmer was the Democratic candidate
E) Herbert Hoover challenged Coolidge for the Republican nomination

Question 26

Who created the Federal Radio Commission?

A) Herbert Hoover
B) Robert La Follette
C) Warren Harding
D) Calvin Coolidge
E) John Rockefeller

Question 27

Harding's administration is most remembered for:

A) the fact that he died while in office
B) the poor state of the economy while he was president
C) his promotion of the arts and culture
D) the scandals that plagued it
E) its overwhelming popularity with the American people

Question 28

Despite the many well-founded criticisms of Warren Harding as president, he was a visionary for his era in the field of:

A) civil rights
B) economic development
C) government oversight
D) business regulation
E) bank development

Question 29

The McNary-Haugen bill:

A) called for surplus crops to be sold on the world market in order to raise domestic prices
B) failed to pass Congress in 1922 but passed in 1927 with the support of President Coolidge
C) effectively raised domestic commodity prices
D) was viewed with derision by American farmers
E) ushered in a new golden age of American agriculture

Question 30

The immigration quota laws passed in the 1920s:

A) favored immigrants from northern and western Europe
B) encouraged Asians to immigrate to America
C) set strict limits on immigration from Mexico
D) rescinded the Gentlemen's Agreement accepted during Theodore Roosevelt's administration
E) favored immigrants from southern and eastern Europe

Question 31

Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were:

A) convicted of bombing eight army supply trucks
B) two Italian-born anarchists sentenced to death and executed even though there was doubt as to their guilt
C) finally exonerated of the charges of payroll robbery and murder
D) murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan
E) the New York Yankees' double-play combination during the 1920s

Question 32

Coolidge's administration was marked by:

A) a continuation of the post-World War I economic slump
B) continued tax breaks for the lower and middle classes at the expense of the upper class
C) prosperity
D) the creation of the Internal Revenue and Tariff Commission, which drastically reformed taxation formulas and duty lists
E) a slow economic downturn

Question 33

The Ku Klux Klan of the 1920s believed largely in:

A) anti-Semitic rhetoric
B) Prohibition
C) fundamentalist religious beliefs
D) anti-black rhetoric
E) "100 percent Americanism"

Question 34

Harding's secretary of the treasury:

A) favored retaining the high wartime level of taxation in order to build up the public treasury
B) favored a reduction of the high wartime level of taxation but mainly for the rich
C) favored a reduction of the high wartime level of taxation but mainly for the poor and middle class
D) persuaded Congress to drop the personal income tax instituted under Wilson
E) supported the calling in of all loans to Europe

Question 35

In the 1920s, farm prices:

A) were subsidized by the federal government
B) stayed at their high wartime levels
C) stayed at their low wartime levels
D) fell sharply
E) rose sharply

Question 36

The 1924 immigration law:

A) stopped the illegal flow of immigrants into the United States
B) set strict yearly limits on the number of immigrants allowed into the country
C) continued an open-door policy, whereby almost all new arrivals would be admitted
D) encouraged immigration from Japan and China
E) restricted immigration to those from eastern Europe

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT true of the McNary-Haugen plan?

A) It drew the rural South and West together in defense of agriculture.
B) It was passed by both houses of Congress but vetoed by President Coolidge.
C) It promised crops would be sold on the world market in order to raise domestic prices.
D) It was supported by Coolidge as a way to empower farmers.
E) It was intended to raise domestic farm prices.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT true about Robert La Follette's 1924 presidential campaign?

A) It was supported by the Socialists and organized labor.
B) It resulted in one of the best third-party showings in history.
C) He was the candidate for the Progressive party.
D) He tried to unite the fractured Democratic party.
E) The only state he carried was his native Wisconsin.

Question 39

The tariff policy of the early 1920s:

A) made it easier for other nations to sell to the United States
B) made it harder for other nations to sell to the United States
C) made it easier for other nations to repay their war debts
D) led Americans to cut back on loans and investments abroad
E) had virtually no effect on the average American but significantly limited businesses

Question 40

Of the following presidents, which tied government and business closer together than at any other time in the twentieth century?

A) Warren Harding
B) Calvin Coolidge
C) Herbert Hoover
D) Franklin Roosevelt
E) Woodrow Wilson

Question 41

Of all the causes of the stock market crash of October 1929, the greatest culprit was:

A) Hoover's tax policies
B) the weak foundation of the 1920s economy
C) international monetary policy
D) unethical practices on Wall Street
E) union influences on business

Question 42

Which one of the following is associated with Dayton, Tennessee?

A) Paul Gauguin
B) F. Scott Fitzgerald
C) the lynching of three Italian anarchists
D) the Scopes Trial
E) Ernest Hemingway

Question 43

In yellow-dog contracts, employers:

A) agreed to submit all grievances to an arbitration panel whose decision was binding
B) forced workers to agree to stay out of unions
C) agreed to hire only union workers
D) forced workers to sign a statement that they would vote the Democratic ticket
E) agreed to automatic wage increases in return for the workers' promise not to strike

Question 44

When not able to convict Al Capone on bootlegging charges, the federal government convicted him of:

A) illegal immigration activities
B) drug trafficking
C) contempt of Congress
D) tax evasion
E) prostitution

Question 45

Which of the following was NOT a cause of the Depression?

A) The gold standard caused a tightening of currency supplies worldwide.
B) Corporate structures had been bloated by the success of the 1920s but were unprepared for the tightening of the economy.
C) Mellon's business-friendly tax policies enticed the rich into more frenzied stock market speculation.
D) Much of the profits that had been taken during the 1920s had been put back into companies rather than saved or invested in other ways.
E) As consumer spending declined, the rate of investment in new factories and businesses also plummeted.

Question 46

Who said, "When the hordes of aliens walk to the ballot box and their votes outnumber yours, then that alien horde has got you by the throat"?

A) Clarence Darrow
B) Ruth Benedict
C) William J. Simmons
D) Moorfield Storey
E) Marcus Garvey

Question 47

Calvin Coolidge derisively called President Hoover:

A) "the best president money could buy"
B) "a fool"
C) "the best president in modern times"
D) "a decent and honorable person"
E) "Wonder Boy"

Question 48

How many people were out of work in early 1933?

A) 13,000
B) 130,000
C) 1.3 million
D) 12 million
E) 1.3 billion

Question 49

Yellow-dog contracts:

A) were used by employers to restrict union membership
B) required membership in a labor union in order to work in certain trades
C) enforced the idea of an open shop
D) restricted the ability of a company to control its workers
E) increased union membership by millions

Question 50

Part of the reason for the stock market crash was:

A) the high rate of deflation in the 1920s
B) the tax policies of the 1920s that hurt the wealthy, who might otherwise have bought more stocks
C) the buying of great amounts of stock on margin
D) the low tariff, which allowed imports to corner several important American markets
E) the remarkably poor returns on government bonds in 1929

Question 51

The amendment to the Constitution that barred the manufacture or sale of intoxicating liquors was ratified in:

A) 1911
B) 1932
C) 1928
D) 1932.
E) 1919

Question 52

William Jennings Bryan:

A) believed evolution should be taught in science classes
B) prosecuted John Scopes in the Dayton, Tennessee, evolution case for teaching evolution
C) was the mayor of Dayton, Tennessee
D) was a vocal supporter of the Ku Klux Klan
E) advocated Prohibition

Question 53

Which amendment to the Constitution is known as the Prohibition amendment?

A) Seventeenth
B) Eighteenth
C) Nineteenth
D) Twentieth
E) Twenty-first

Question 54

In the 1928 presidential election, the Democrats nominated:

A) Franklin D. Roosevelt
B) Herbert Hoover
C) Rex Tugwell
D) Alfred Smith
E) Harry Truman

Question 55

How many members did the Ku Klux Klan allegedly have at its peak?

A) as many as 10 million
B) as many as 6 million
C) as many as 8 million
D) as many as 4 million
E) as many as 11 million

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT true of the "American plan" concept of employment?

A) It originated in Chicago.
B) It allowed employers to hire nonunion workers.
C) It established open shops.
D) It could be effectively used to discriminate against unions.
E) It promised a more democratic work environment than most other shops.

Question 57

The Scopes Trial:

A) pitted William Howard Taft, former U.S. president and confessed agnostic, for the prosecution against fundamentalist Clarence Darrow for the defense
B) prosecuted Klansmen for lynching
C) represented victory of the fundamentalist movement in America
D) concerned a state law that prohibited the teaching of evolution in public schools
E) brought Americans together on the subject of education

Question 58

During the 1920s, labor unions:

A) won a number of important victories in the Supreme Court
B) gained about 1.5 million members
C) lost about 1.5 million members
D) were helped by the prosperity of the decade
E) enjoyed the support of Republican presidents

Question 59

Democratic presidential nominee Alfred Smith was hurt in 1928 by the fact that he was:

A) a New Yorker and a Catholic
B) a boring public speaker
C) a member of the Ku Klux Klan
D) a supporter of Prohibition
E) an actor

Question 60

As a result of the Scopes Trial:

A) Tennessee's anti-evolution law was declared unconstitutional
B) the fundamentalist movement disappeared
C) William Jennings Bryan's political career was revived
D) John T. Scopes was found guilty of teaching evolution
E) Clarence Darrow's legal career faded into obscurity

Question 61

MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.
Albert Fall

A)was the secretary of the Treasury
B)was Harding's secretary of state
C)was the secretary of the interior
D)was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan
E)died in 1923
F)wrote American Individualism
G)was the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1920
H)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1928
I)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1924
J)was the Progressive party presidential candidate in 1924

Question 62

In Texas, the Klan focused on:

A) terrorizing blacks
B) terrorizing Jews
C) imposing its severe view of righteous Protestant morality on others
D) terrorizing immigrants
E) terrorizing poor whites

Question 63

Discuss the various causes of the stock market crash, paying particular attention to government policies that helped bring on the crash.

Question 64

What had the progressivism of the prewar period turned into by the 1920s? What factors led to this transformation?

Question 65

How might the decade of the 1920s be called "the decade of prosperity"?

Question 66

MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.
Herbert Hoover

A)was the secretary of the Treasury
B)was Harding's secretary of state
C)was the secretary of the interior
D)was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan
E)died in 1923
F)wrote American Individualism
G)was the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1920
H)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1928
I)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1924
J)was the Progressive party presidential candidate in 1924

Question 67

David C. Stephenson:

A) was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan
B) was twice elected governor of Indiana
C) was born into a family of sharecroppers
D) supported the continuation of Prohibition
E) was a graduate of the Naval Academy

Question 68

MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.
Warren G. Harding

A)was the secretary of the Treasury
B)was Harding's secretary of state
C)was the secretary of the interior
D)was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan
E)died in 1923
F)wrote American Individualism
G)was the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1920
H)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1928
I)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1924
J)was the Progressive party presidential candidate in 1924

Question 69

Describe Herbert Hoover's attempts at recovery in the first three years of the Depression. Which of his policies were effective? What more might he have done?

Question 70

The Klan attracted all of the following groups EXCEPT:

A) clergymen
B) engineers
C) immigrants
D) doctors
E) lawyers

Question 71

Describe the setbacks that unions in the United States experienced during the 1920s.

Question 72

Andrew Mellon was Harding's

A) secretary of the Treasury
B) secretary of state
C) secretary of war
D) secretary of commerce
E) attorney general

Question 73

MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.
Charles Evans Hughes

A)was the secretary of the Treasury
B)was Harding's secretary of state
C)was the secretary of the interior
D)was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan
E)died in 1923
F)wrote American Individualism
G)was the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1920
H)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1928
I)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1924
J)was the Progressive party presidential candidate in 1924

Question 74

Who were the "Ohio gang," and how did they impact the presidency of Warren G. Harding?

Question 75

Trace the rise of Calvin Coolidge to the presidency of the United States.

Question 76

How did farmers and veterans react to the Hoover administration's response to the Great Depression?

Question 77

MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.
Calvin Coolidge

A)was the secretary of the Treasury
B)was Harding's secretary of state
C)was the secretary of the interior
D)was the Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan
E)died in 1923
F)wrote American Individualism
G)was the Republican vice-presidential candidate in 1920
H)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1928
I)was the Democratic presidential candidate in 1924
J)was the Progressive party presidential candidate in 1924

Question 78

What did Warren G. Harding mean by "normalcy"? Is that a good term to describe the 1920s?

Question 79

Whose campaign pledge stated he would "safeguard America first"?

A) Alfred Smith
B) Herbert Hoover
C) Warren G. Harding
D) Eugene Debs
E) Theodore Roosevelt

Question 80

Discuss how corruption during the Harding administration got so widespread. Survey the various scandals and show the effects they had on the administration.