How Well Do You Know This Decade in History? 1920-1929

Last updated · 7 min play time

This quiz was expert written by Colleen Curran. Colleen earned an MA in History at Boston College in 2016. She specialized in nineteenth and twentieth-century American race and labor history. She currently works as an Editor for the Massachusetts Historical Commission and continues her education in the Sustainable Development program at the Harvard Extension School.

Let's go back in time to the Roaring Twenties! Remembered as a jazz-infused, flapper-filled, over indulgent decade, the '20s showcase many changes at home and abroad between the two major World Wars. Test your skills and see what you can remember about this exciting time.


Colleen earned an MA in History at Boston College. She currently works as an Editor for the Massachusetts Historical Commission, and continues her education in the Sustainable Development program at the Harvard Extension School.

She specialized in nineteenth and twentieth-century American race and labor history.

1920s Quiz Questions

20 Questions · 136.8K Plays · 3 Comments

Question 1

This medical contraption was first used for clinical purposes in 1928 on patients suffering from polio:

  • A
    Iron Lung
  • B
    Nebulizer
  • C
    Back Brace
  • D
    Leg Crutches

Question 2

American writer, F. Scott Fitzgerald, wrote this work, which was published in 1925. The book became popular following Fitzgerald's death during the WWII era.

  • A
    The Great Gatsby
  • B
    The Sound and the Fury
  • C
    Ulysses
  • D
    The Stranger

Question 3

This parade is the largest parade in the world and first started in the fall of 1924.

  • A
    St. Patrick's Day Parade, Dublin
  • B
    The Philadelphia Mummers Parade, Pennsylvania
  • C
    Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, NYC
  • D
    Dia De Los Muertos Parade, Mexico

Question 4

This device became a popular source for news and entertainment for Americans following World War One:

  • A
    Video
  • B
    Newspaper
  • C
    Television
  • D
    Radio

Question 5

Organized crime spread during the era of Prohibition. What is the name of the infamous struggle between an Irish and Italian gang in Chicago that resulted in the deaths of seven by gangster Al Capone and the South Side Italian gang?

  • A
    Rosewood Massacre
  • B
    Ludlow Massacre
  • C
    Saturday Night Massacre
  • D
    St. Valentine's Day Massacre

Question 6

This famous baseball player set a home-run record in 1927. Not until 1974 did MLB player, Hank Aaron, beat this record.

  • A
    Jackie Robinson
  • B
    Babe Ruth
  • C
    Lou Gehrig
  • D
    Ted Williams

Question 7

In 1925, a teacher was convicted and fined for teaching evolution at a school in Tennessee. What is the name given to this highly publicized case that showcased the differences between fundamentalist and modern views of American values?

  • A
    The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes
  • B
    Texas v. Johnson
  • C
    Gideon v. Wainwright
  • D
    McCulloch v. Maryland

Question 8

A speculation bubble developed throughout the roaring twenties and caused the stock market to crash, triggering the worst economic crisis and economic depression in the United States. This economic crash affected all industrialized nations, limiting production and trade worldwide. What year did the Great Crash happen?

  • A
    1933
  • B
    1927
  • C
    1929
  • D
    1928

Question 9

Americans witnessed the emergence of new sounds and dances, like the Charleston, during the Jazz Age of the 1920s. What musician was NOT part of the Jazz Age in the '20s?

  • A
    Wynton Marsalis
  • B
    Louis Armstrong
  • C
    Bessie Smith
  • D
    Duke Ellington

Question 10

Chiang Kai-Shek was the president of what country from 1928 to 1975?

  • A
    Vietnam
  • B
    Japan
  • C
    China
  • D
    Korea

Question 11

Before winning the 1928 presidential election, he was a worldwide engineer, who acted as United States food administrator during WWI, as well as the director general of the American Relief Administration:

  • A
    Herbert Hoover
  • B
    Woodrow Wilson
  • C
    Franklin Delano Roosevelt
  • D
    Calvin Coolidge

Question 12

In 1923, Canadian scientist Frederick G. Banting and Scottish physiologist John Macleod, won the Nobel Prize for their medical co-discovery of:

  • A
    Germ Theory
  • B
    Insulin
  • C
    Anaesthetic
  • D
    Penicillin

Question 13

The Soviet Union became a country in what year?

  • A
    1926
  • B
    1991
  • C
    1945
  • D
    1922

Question 14

The League of Nations was founded in 1920 following the first World War. The goal of the organization was to provide ways to resolve and prevent future international conflicts. What country failed to join the League of Nations?

  • A
    Brazil
  • B
    Great Britain
  • C
    United States
  • D
    France

Question 15

The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 limited immigration into the United States through a national origins quota. What is another name for this law?

  • A
    Chinese Exclusion Act
  • B
    Hart-Cellar Act
  • C
    Taft-Hartley Act
  • D
    National Origins Act

Question 16

Which nation was given independence in 1922, but remained subordinate to British power until 1954?

  • A
    Pakistan
  • B
    Kenya
  • C
    Iraq
  • D
    Egypt

Question 17

In what year was the first modern-day Winter Olympics Games?

  • A
    1924
  • B
    1929
  • C
    1920
  • D
    1921

Question 18

Turkey became a country in ____ following the abolishment of the Ottoman Sultanate Empire, which began in 1299.

  • A
    1935
  • B
    1924
  • C
    1923
  • D
    1902

Question 19

The first radio broadcast of this company took place in 1922:

  • A
    The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
  • B
    The Cable News Network CNN
  • C
    National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
  • D
    The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Question 20

Adolph Hitler wrote Mein Kampf while imprisoned for political crimes. In his autobiography, he described his political ideology, as well as his plans for Germany. What year was Mein Kampf published?

  • A
    1923
  • B
    1921
  • C
    1925
  • D
    1929

Comments (3)

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Fantastic Quiz---Like so many. I learn History & not "revisionist" History. The true & real knowledge. For all its faults, this is & will always be the greatest creation of ALL countries. You quizzes make me very proud.....

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I got 100% :)

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Some good question in this quiz. Thanks

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