by .m for matthijs
Question by Ikelover:
What are some important events to teach about the roaring twenties?
I am student teaching in 6th grade. What important events should I teach about the roaring twenties?
Best answer:
Answer by Arbie
One of the most important (and underrated) presidents was Warren G. Harding. A compromise candidate who even acknowledged that he was not the best for the job, he nevertheless assembled one of the strongest presidential staffs in history, even though he died after 2 years in office. He is, of course, remembered for Albert Fall and the Teapot Dome scandal, as well as for his attorney general, who was not all that enthusiastic about enforcing the Volstead Act (Harding openly admitted that his favorite past time in the White House was drinking whiskey and playing poker).
But, a review of Harding's cabinet and Supreme Court appointments shows that he had a massive effect on the history of the time far beyond what one would expect from a one-term, two-year president. Two Harding appointees (Herbert Hoover and William Dawes) competed for the Nobel Peace Prize during a time when that really meant something (Dawes won). Harding appointed 4 justices, and it was 3 of these 4 (Taft had died) who joined with William Van Devanter (appointed by Wilson) and blocked the First New Deal with decisions like the Sick Chicken and Hot Oil cases and saved the United States from going the way of fascist Italy and maybe even Nazi Germany (you'll need to know something about Weimar Germany's constitution and how Hitler exploited it to follow up this, as well as be familiar with the opinions).
Coolidge, of course, inherited what was left of Harding's presidency and primarily followed in Harding's footsteps.
The other two things you need to focus on are the government's favoritism of Big Business (look up the Webb Pomerene Act) and the financial hanky panky which was happening at the Fed, which sets the stage for the Great Depression. It is beyond the scope of a Yahoo Answer to cover this, but visit the Ludwig von Mises Institute online and read Murray N. Rothbard's America's Great Depression. Some of what he says you have to take with a grain of salt, but he does provide the information on the misconduct which was occurring at the central banks, and especially how banks were able to blow up their deposits to maximum by changing time deposits in to de facto demand deposits.
The other thing you might look into are some of the cultural things which were happening in this time. The Ku Klux Klan rose and fell in the Twenties, spurred by the carryover of Wilson's racism and fueled by movies like Birth of a Nation, until its arrogant leaders became involved in a sex scandal and were sent to prison (perhaps not appropriate for 12th graders -- talk to the principal first re how to handle this). The theme of Harding's campaign was, of course, the "return to normalcy." He pardoned Eugene Debs (after Wilson refused) and basically tried to undo some of the damage the Progressives had done to the country. During this time, there was a lot of reaction against the Great War, and many great writers like Hemingway and the racist Ezra Pound fled the country, only to return near the end of the decade. The Sacco Vanzetti Trial occurred during this time (modern evidence links Sacco's gun to the murder, but Vanzetti well may have been innocent). Also the Scopes Monkey Trial in Tennessee (showing Inherit the Wind with Spencer Tracy perhaps is a good idea). Einstein's general theory is proven in 1919, and he is at the height of his celebrity. There are significant advances in the field of physics which advanced our understanding of atomic theory, culminating in the discovery of the neutron by Chadwick in 1931. Ford has perfected his assembly line and is turning out cars by the thousands, which Americans are buying. The railroads begin to feel the pinch (the zenith of American railroad trackage is in 1916, so railroads already are feeling the pressure). Nevertheless, the railroads are running faster than ever, including the famous cross-country silk trains (which lasted until some Dupont guy invented nylon, and stockings and panties never were the same). Women take their first steps toward "liberation," having won the right to vote and, because of the labor shortage during the war, having taken their first unchaperoned steps outside of a restrictive home environment. There is a strong peace effort among the nations of the world, which have not fully come to grips with the terrible costs of the war. The Portsmouth Naval Treaty limits the size of competing national navies. There even was an effort to repeal Congress' constitutional power to declare war. Lord Keynes writes Economic Consequences of the Peace, a prelude to his General Theory or Employment, Interest, and Money. Von Mises writes The Theory of Money and Credit, laying the foundation for his student, Friedrich Hayek, to explain the causes of business depressions.
Add your own answer in the comments!
Other posts like this, by keyword:
Events:
History of the United States, Containing All the Events Necessary to Be Committed to Memory: With the Declaration of Independence, the Const ...
Doctor Johns: being a narrative of certain events in the life of an orthodox minister of Connecticut ...
Notable Events of the Nineteenth Century: Great Deeds of Men and Nations and the Progress of the World ...
Online Events – Seizing the Opportunity for Consumers to Continually Tune in Reviews ...
The Visions of England – Lyrics on leading men and events in English History ...
The Most Striking Events of a Twelvemonth’s Campaign With Zumalacarregui, in Navarre and the Basque Provinces (Volume 2) Reviews ...
The French Revolution (Events of Yesteryear) ...
Medical Uses of Statistics, Second Edition ...
Current Events Brief 31 ...
Vampire The Masquerade Volume 3: Blood and Loyalty (Vampire: The Masquerade) ...
about:
Kids’ deaths raise doubts about DCF privatizing system ...
What We Know about Emotional Intelligence: How It Affects Learning, Work, Relationships, and Our Mental Health ...
A Complete Guide to Obesity Surgery: Everything You Need to Know About Weight Loss Surgery and How to Succeed ...
Could Jesus Walk on Water?: 164 Questions and Answers About the Faith ...
AFTER THE NEW AGE: A Novel about Alternative Spiritualities ...
Under the Sea: a Treasury of Great Writing about the Ocean Depths ...
Talking with Patients and Families about Medical Error: A Guide for Education and Practice ...
Top Secret Tourism: Your Travel Guide to Germ Warfare Laboratories, Clandestine Aircraft Bases and Other Places in the United States YouR ...
Betting Baseball ‘09: The Secrets That Professionals Won’t Talk About, Until Now! ...
The Back of Beyond: A Story About Lewis and Clark (Creative Minds Biographies Series) ...
Teach:
Using Internet Primary Sources to Teach Critical Thinking Skills in World Literature (Libraries Unlimited Professional Guides in School Libr ...
Q&A: Can anyone recommend a good website to teach me the basics of investing my 401K? ...
Teach Yourself Green Parenting Reviews ...
Teach Your Baby Italian ...
How to Teach Poetry Writing: Workshops for Ages 5-9 (Writers’ Workshop) ...
The Thousand and One Nights’: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, Volume 4 ...
Making Puppets Come Alive: How to Learn and Teach Hand Puppetry (Dover Craft Books) ...
Squares and More Squares: A Download from 50 Ways to Teach Your Learner (Pfeiffer Electronic Downloads) ...
Team Power: A Download from 50 Ways to Teach Your Learner (Pfeiffer Electronic Downloads) ...
Why does the church no longer teach how to spot and kill vampires, werewolves and witches? ...
Some:
Q&A: What are some good horror movies that involve viruses? ...
What are some adult novels with teen appeal? ...
Q&A: What are some of the most overused poems/readings at weddings? ...
What are some great books to prepare for my speaking test? ...
What are some cool horror movies without slutty girls and college kids? ...
Do you know of some good psychological suspense/thrillers? ...
What are some creative ideas to do in a classroom to bring children to literature? ...
Can anyone name some hobbies that I could look into to cure my time alone? ...
What are some quintessentially masculine activities or hobbies? ...
What are some good mystery novels for high schoolers? ...
Important:
Do you feel that religion/spirituality is an important thing to instill in your children? ...
A World of Ideas : The Dictionary of Important Ideas and Thinkers ...
Why do you think is important to train detectives and prosecutors in different subjects os forensic science? ...
Language more important in economics rather than sciences? ...
Important events in Kashmir, June 1990 to Oct. 1993 ...
What are the most important events in Atlas Shrugged? ...
What are four important events that happen to Ponyboy in the movie The Outsiders? ...
The Dramatic Year [1887-88]; Brief Criticisms of Important Theatrical Events in the United States ...
What would you say is 5 important events out of the whole movie of Gone With the Wind? ...
Twenties:
Roaring:
No comments:
Post a Comment