Compelling Question: How did the modernization of the American economy and society lead to cultural conflict during the 1920s?

Chapter Objectives:

• Students will explore whether the role of government changed from the Progressive Era to the 1920s and Great Depression.
• Students will understand the different examples of cultural conflict that arose from the modernization of the economy and society.
• Students will explore the different causes of the Great Depression and the debate over the government’s response to the crisis.

• Was Prohibition a Success or a Failure? Point-Counterpoint
• The Red Scare and Civil Liberties Narrative
• U.S. Foreign Policy between the Wars Narrative
• Silent Cal” Coolidge Narrative
• Postwar Race Riots Narrative
• Mitchell Palmer, “The Case against the Reds,” 1920 Primary Source
• Ellison DuRant Smith, “Shut the Door,” 1924 Primary Source

• The Scopes Trial Narrative
• Charles Lindbergh and Flight Narrative
• Andy Razaf (lyrics), Thomas “Fats” Waller and Harry Brooks (score), “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Jazz and the Radio, 1929 Primary Source
• Cartoon Analysis: Elmer Andrews Bushnell, “The Sky Is Now Her Limit,” 1920 Primary Source
• Marcus Garvey, “Declaration of the Rights of the Negro Peoples of the World,” 1920 Primary Source
• Charlie Chaplin,The Kid, 1921 Primary Source
• Alice Paul and the Equal Rights Amendment (Lucretia Mott Amendment), 1923 Primary Source
• Langston Hughes, “I, Too” and “The Weary Blues,” 1920 and 1925 Primary Source
• Ernest Hemingway and the Lost Generation Lesson
• The Blues and the Great Migration Lesson [from teachrock.org]

• Should Herbert Hoover Be Considered an Activist President? Point-Counterpoint
• The Bonus Army Decision Point
• The Crash of 1929 Narrative

Additional Resources:

• Chapter 11 Introductory Essay: 1920-1932
• The Spanish Flu of 1919 Narrative
• The KKK during Reconstruction vs. the KKK in the 1920s Lesson
• Henry Ford and Alfred P. Sloan: Industrialization and Competition Narrative

Unit 6 Essay Activity

• How did the modernization of the American economy and society lead to cultural conflict during the 1920s? Explain the causes of the Great Depression and its effects on two of the following: American political, social, or economic life.

Through this inquiry, students will evaluate primary and secondary sources to explain the factors that contributed to a shift in U.S. relations with the rest of the world. Ultimately, students will use the primary and secondary sources in this chapter to practice constructing an essay in AP Long Essay Question format, demonstrating their skills in explaining continuity and change. Students should be evaluated using the AP Rubric. Assess students’ progress in understanding the compelling question for this chapter by assigning the Unit 6 Essay Activity.