History, U.s. Honors - Ch 13-3 Lecture

Lecture Honors U.S. History Mr. Irwin Week 22

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CHAPTER 13 – POSTWAR SOCIAL CHANGES, 1920 - 1929 Chapter 13-3 Cultural Conflicts Prohibition The term, prohibit, means to “forbid by authority.” In our course of study, what became prohibited, was alcohol. The “back story” on this issue is that in the late 1800s, women’s groups had formed for the purpose of bringing about certain reforms to American society. Some people had come to believe that the consumption of alcoholic beverages was leading to immoral behavior and causing neglect and conflict within the family unit. As the result, “temperance” societies cropped up across the U.S., which ended up launching a full-fledged movement. The ultimate goal of the temperance movement was to have alcohol banned in the U.S. Eventually, Congress gave the temperance movement what it wanted when, in 1920, it passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution (often simply referred to as the Prohibition Amendment). . Volstead Act Even though the 18th Amendment banned Alcohol in the U.S., the alcohol ban was widely ignored, especially in larger cities, along the coasts, and in the upper Midwest. This act of Congress was passed in 1919, and it gave government law enforcement agencies the authority to enforce the 18th Amendment. Bootleggers, Smugglers, & Speakeasies Although Prohibition was established to end alcohol consumption in the U.S., what it really did, was to create a “black market” in which alcohol could be procured through illegal means. Bootleggers, people who broke the law by manufacturing and distributing alcoholic beverages began producing a variety of “brew.” Since many Americans chose to ignore the law, liquor was in high demand. As the result, bootleggers were able to make quite a profit on what they produced. A variation on this theme was the smuggling of alcoholic products into the U.S., primarily from Canada, and from the Caribbean.

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Speakeasies – the name of illegal private clubs that operated as “underground” bars and saloons. Many speakeasy owners paid bribes to law enforcement in order to keep from being shut down and arrested. Organized Crime The huge profits that could be realized through involvement in any aspect of alcohol manufacture, distribution and/or sale, attracted gangs which in turn ultimately grew into “organized crime” syndicates. One of the most notorious crime bosses was Al Capone. He was able to take control of much of the illegal activities in Chicago, which included the distribution and sale of alcohol, prostitution, and gambling, all of which were illegal. Capone’s organization grew to be quite sophisticated. He was able to climb his way to the top of the crime business by murdering his opponents and by bribing law enforcement and public officials. At the height of his crime days, it was estimated that he was bringing in $60,000,000 per year! The government finally arrested Capone on income tax evasion. He was convicted and sentenced to prison. The 21st Amendment Ultimately, the United States government came to the conclusion that prohibition was not working. In 1933, the 21st Amendment was passed, which in turn repealed Prohibition. Before Prohibition, the U.S. government had been receiving tax revenue from all alcoholic beverages purchased in the U.S. During Prohibition, this tax money disappeared because “legal” alcoholic beverages were not being sold. The illegal booze was sold and never taxed! During the Great Depression, government officials thought that the tax revenue stream could be restarted if only alcohol was once again legal…and so the 21st Amendment was born. Religious Fundamentalists vs. Evolutionists In 1925, when Tennessee science teacher John T. Scopes began teaching the theory of evolution to his student, he found himself to be at odds with religious fundamentalists (people who believed in the bible’s version of the creation of man (that the first man was created by God). Evolutionists began to believe that man “evolved” over millions of years, from apes. Scopes claimed that his right to free speech allowed him to teach the theory of evolution, but he was subsequently arrested. This event turned into one of the biggest legal cases of the decade. Two of America’s www.mirwin.weebly.com page 2 of 3

most prominent lawyers, Clarence Darrow, and William Jennings Bryan, squared off to argue the case in court. Bryan argued in favor of the fundamentalist position, while Darrow defended Scopes on the basis of the 1st Amendment’s freedom of speech component. After deliberating for only a matter of minutes, a jury found Scopes guilty, and a judge fined him $100.00. This case came to represent a larger than life philosophical battle between “Fundamentalists” and “Modernists.’ Revival of the Ku Klux Klan During the decade of the 1920s, the KKK revived itself, undoubtedly as the result of the Great Migration, which brought large numbers of African Americans to northern and Midwest manufacturing cities. Racial violence increased as the result. The Garvey Movement Marcus Garvey, who had come to New York City from Jamaica, had set up the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Through his organization, he attempted to build up self-respect and economic independence for African Americans. Garvey encouraged African Americans to invest in and set up black-owned businesses. Eventually, Garvey got the idea to get a “Back to Africa” movement going. He believed that African Americans could relocate themselves back to Africa, and then establish a new society in the “Motherland” of Africa, that would be free of the discrimination of America. Garvey was never able to accomplish this goal. As the result of a scandal that he had misappropriated other peoples “Back to Africa” money, he was jailed and ultimately deported back to Jamaica in 1927. End of Lecture

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