The National Humanities Center presents collections of primary resources compatible with the Common Core State Standards - historical documents, literary texts, and works of art - thematically organized with notes and discussion questions. Topics discussed in this unit include the following: Becoming Modern: America in the 1920s: Wets & Drys. Includes news items on Prohibition, political cartoons, art work, and newsreels of the day.

This is a very comprehensive discussion of Prohibition, the reasons supporters pushed for it, the problems with enforcement, and its failure. Read about anti-German sentiment as a reason for Prohibition, the increase in organized crime because of it, and its dubious public health benefits.

The following education materials have been created to engage students with digitized Polish-American newspapers. Students will learn how to search the Chronicling America website to find evidence of the past, detect bias in newspaper articles, and place current immigration issues in a historical context.

This collection uses primary sources to explore F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby. Digital Public Library of America Primary Source Sets are designed to help students develop their critical thinking skills and draw diverse material from libraries, archives, and museums across the United States. Each set includes an overview, ten to fifteen primary sources, links to related resources, and a teaching guide. These sets were created and reviewed by the teachers on the DPLA's Education Advisory Committee.

A detailed article, along with related video clips and a photo gallery, covering Prohibition and 1920s America.

A collection of primary sources supporting and disputing the efficacy of Prohibition and the enforcement of the Volstead Act.

U.S. History is designed to meet the scope and sequence requirements of most introductory courses. The text provides a balanced approach to U.S. history, considering the people, events, and ideas that have shaped the United States from both the top down (politics, economics, diplomacy) and bottom up (eyewitness accounts, lived experience). U.S. History covers key forces that form the American experience, with particular attention to issues of race, class, and gender.Senior Contributing AuthorsP. Scott Corbett, Ventura CollegeVolker Janssen, California State University, FullertonJohn M. Lund, Keene State CollegeTodd Pfannestiel, Clarion UniversityPaul Vickery, Oral Roberts UniversitySylvie Waskiewicz

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Explain how the status of organized labor changed during the First World War
Describe how the lives of women and African Americans changed as a result of American participation in World War I
Explain how America’s participation in World War I allowed for the passage of prohibition and women’s suffrage